After a few days in a tank we racked our wine into a French oak barrel. We also helped to rack other wines into other barrels. The easy job was to place a wand (a long tube attached to a pump) into the tank. It could rest on the side of the [...]]]>

After a few days in a tank we racked our wine into a French oak barrel. We also helped to rack other wines into other barrels. The easy job was to place a wand (a long tube attached to a pump) into the tank. It could rest on the side of the tank until the wine was near the bottom, then you would have to hold in closer to the bottom. It didn’t take long to fill a barrel.

After some of the wine is in the barrel we placed Tan‘Cor, Tan‘Cor Grand Cru and Quertanin to the wine in the barrel. We then added more wine to the barrel. Tan’Cor is suppose to improve the overall structure of the wine and to help protect the wine from oxidation during aging. The Tan’Cor Grand Cru also helps with the wine’s structure while enhancing a softer middle palate. It also helps enhance the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit character. The Quertanin helps with wood neuances without the toast and smoke character. These three additions to the barrel sort of jump starts the aging process.

Filling the barrel to the top was easier said than done. I wonder how many gallons were spilled onto the sides of the barrels and the floor. However, we all had accidents with filling barrels including DJ, the winemaker. I knew when the wine reached the top of the barrel but wasn’t fast enough with the turn off valve on the wand. Kathy did the best job of filling barrels without spilling as much wine. It was fun filling a barrel. I was sent to the lab to get more batches of the three aging tannins. My lab skills are improving.

View a short slide show of the racking process.

Pressing the must was a breeze using Vint Hill’s neumatic press. Cleaning up took longer than pressing. Using the forklift, DJ lifted a fermentation bin and dumped the must into the wooden slat press unit. This unit was then rolled under the neumatic press and the pressing began. At first the free [...]]]>

Pressing the must was a breeze using Vint Hill’s neumatic press. Cleaning up took longer than pressing. Using the forklift, DJ lifted a fermentation bin and dumped the must into the wooden slat press unit. This unit was then rolled under the neumatic press and the pressing began. At first the free run juice came out. The juice was pumped into a stainless tank. More pressure was increased and more wine flowed. The pressing was automatic. Set the pressure on the gauge and let the machine do the work. We were pressing two Cabs from California. One was the Cab that we are making.

After pressing and cleanup we tasted the two cabs from their tanks. Although made from the same sourced grapes on the same day, both Cabs already tasted different. The difference was in part due to different yeasts used in fermentation. The wine will remain in the tanks for a few days during which time heavier particles can settle to the bottom.

Kathy and I helped with another press a couple days later. This time we were pressing California Zinfandel. The Zinfandel must was quite liquidy and splattered during pressing. It did not require the same amout of pressure as did the Cab. Clean up took a bit longer though.

View the short slideshow of the Cab press.

A week after crushing the grapes and adding yeast to the must, it was time to press the mixture. The liquid is now wine. In order to extract more wine from the must, rice hulls were added to the must and stirred. Buckets were used to transfer the must from the fermentation [...]]]>

A week after crushing the grapes and adding yeast to the must, it was time to press the mixture. The liquid is now wine. In order to extract more wine from the must, rice hulls were added to the must and stirred. Buckets were used to transfer the must from the fermentation bin to the bladder press. At first there was a lot of free run wine. This was the wine that went through the press without pressing. Everyone was surprised at how good the free run wine tasted.

Eventually the fermentation bin was empty and and the bladder was inflated. More juice ran from the bladder. As the juice ran, buckets of the wine were collected and poured into a barrel. The barrel was soon filled; extra wine was poured into a stainless steel tank. The barrel was moved into the barrel room where malolactic fermentation will take place and the wine will age for months.

A ninety-second video shows the process.

After waiting for the grapes to arive from Stagecoach Vineyards in California via New Jersey it was time for the vintners to process their grapes. The first group destemmed Syrah. They were interested in making a bold Syrah. The grapes were in excellent condition having been presorted at the vineyard. The grapes [...]]]>

After waiting for the grapes to arive from Stagecoach Vineyards in California via New Jersey it was time for the vintners to process their grapes. The first group destemmed Syrah. They were interested in making a bold Syrah. The grapes were in excellent condition having been presorted at the vineyard. The grapes in plastic lugs were dumped onto a sorting table where few MOG were removed. The MOG consisted primarily of leaves, grape tendrils and a rare piece of a vine. Although bees were plentiful, they managed to fly off prior to destemming.

The must was punched down and samples of juice were collected to read the brix level. Dave used a refractrometer to read the brix while Rob used a hydrometer to determine the potential alcohol levels. The group decided on which yeast to use and began mixing the yeast in a bucket. Juice from the fermentation bin was added to the bucket of yeast. This was done to slowly match the temperature of the yeast with the temperature of the must.

Dave instructed the group about acid levels and had them take the pH reading. The reading was 3.72 and Dave intrepreted that reading and discussed how it would change over the different fermentations. View the one-minute video showing the process.

Grapes have arrived at Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Howard County, Maryland. Dave Zuchero and Rob Pearre had been waiting at Tin Lizzie all day. By 4:20pm when I arrived, the 18-wheel truck still had not arrived. Dave was excited with anticipation of the arrival of these grapes. He had been told they [...]]]>

Grapes have arrived at Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Howard County, Maryland. Dave Zuchero and Rob Pearre had been waiting at Tin Lizzie all day. By 4:20pm when I arrived, the 18-wheel truck still had not arrived. Dave was excited with anticipation of the arrival of these grapes. He had been told they were “Beautiful!  Picture postcard perfect!”  Dave and Rob were eager to see the arrival of these grapes that were from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa, California.

Finally the moment arrived, we could just see a sliver of white truck across the cornfields. Five minutes later the truck came rolling down the road. After manipulating the truck to the proper location (not easy for a truck of that size), the doors opened. The truck was carrying 5 tons of grapes: two tons of Cabernet Sauvignon, two Syrah and one Merlot. The grapes were indeed beautiful. They were sorted in California and packed into plastic crates that held 36 pounds.

The first job was to unload the pallets. Then the pallets need to be moved into cold storage to await processing beginning today.

Dave and Bob must be very pleased and happy that the grapes have arrived and processing is about to begin. View the video. For more information about Tin Lizzie, read the Wine Trail Traveler article.

A large group showed up last Saturday at Vint Hill Craft Winery to sort the Cabernet Sauvignon that had earlier arrived from Arciero Vineyards in Paso Robles, California. Rather than dumping the grapes into a hopper, DJ put the box of grapes onto the end of the first sorting table and cut [...]]]>

A large group showed up last Saturday at Vint Hill Craft Winery to sort the Cabernet Sauvignon that had earlier arrived from Arciero Vineyards in Paso Robles, California. Rather than dumping the grapes into a hopper, DJ put the box of grapes onto the end of the first sorting table and cut out an area of the box. Just as two weeks ago, people on the first sorting table removed stems, vines, leaves and grapes with a fungus on them. The grapes than proceed onto an elevator to the destemmer. From the destemmer the grapes passed along a second sorting table. At the end of the second sorting table the grapes were gently crushed using an empty bucket. The crushed grapes fell into a fermentation bin.

The grapes and juice in this bin were gently stirred. Three substances were added to the fermentation bin. Each of these helps with color stability. The Lafase He Grand Cru, an enzyme, was dissolved in water and added to the must. This enzyme helps to extract gentle tannins. The second liquid added to the fermentation bin was Color Pro. Color Pro is a pectinase that helps break down the cell walls of red grapes and gently extract phenols and tannins. Wines made with this pectinase tend to have increased tannins, reduced herbaceous character and improved clarity. The last item added to the fermentation bin was brownish-red powder, VR Supra. This fermentation tannin helps to keep indigenous tannins in the must rather than those tannins precipitating out. It will also help improve the mid-palate mouthfeel.

Finally I collected some juice to gather some lab data. First I placed some of the juice on a refractrometer and get the brix level. The Cabernet Sauvignon measured 23.9 brix. That level of brix has the potential of making a wine that is about 13.2 percent alcohol. Next I used a machine to calculate the pH and TA. The Cabernet Sauvignon measured a pH of 3.94. This was a bit high. It would be better to have it around 3.6. In order to lower the pH, acid will need to be added to the fermentation bins. The TA measured 4.57. That was low. One would hope for a TA around 7.0. Adding the acid to the fermentation bin should increase the TA level.

You get the hang of things after doing several samples. So the chemistry isn’t that hard. It’s knowing what to do with the data that is important though.

View a one-minute slide show about sorting tables and chemistry.

Not all winemakers sort grapes brought to the winery from the vineyards. Of those that do sort grapes, some wineries will use a single sorting table while others may use a double sorting table. One of the reasons that many wineries do not use sorting tables is the added costs to make [...]]]>

Not all winemakers sort grapes brought to the winery from the vineyards. Of those that do sort grapes, some wineries will use a single sorting table while others may use a double sorting table. One of the reasons that many wineries do not use sorting tables is the added costs to make a bottle of wine. There is a cost of equipment and then the labor involved.

Vint Hill Craft Winery uses a double sorting table. People along the first sorting table remove large materials other than grapes (MOG) as well as fruit that may be moldy. Generally the fuit is then sent to a destemmer wher most of the berries come off the stems. The the fuits goes to a second sorting table where jacks, stems that made it past the destemmer, small leaves and green berries are removed.

The use of sorting tables significantly reduces the green material (jacks and stems) that may be in the fermentation bins. These green materials produce harsher tannins. The video shows the sorting of Merlot and Cabernet Franc at Vint Hill Craft Winery.

On a recent visit to California we had the opportunity to video tape harvest. Kathy and I helped Basignani Winery in Maryland, harvest Marechal Foch grapes in 2007. The workers in California put us to shame. They were much faster than we were and selective in what they took from the vine. [...]]]>

On a recent visit to California we had the opportunity to video tape harvest. Kathy and I helped Basignani Winery in Maryland, harvest Marechal Foch grapes in 2007. The workers in California put us to shame. They were much faster than we were and selective in what they took from the vine. The smaller clusters of grapes near the larger clusters were left on the vines. They filled the lugs in a fraction of the time we filled one. Of course we probably spent more time talking than snipping.

Harvest is yet another example of the work that has to be done to create a bottle of wine. Some California vineyards harvest during the nighttime. They have bought or made their own light systems that can light up the section of grapes that are being harvested. The nighttime temperatures are cooler for the workers as well as the grapes.

I didn’t have any inclination to jump in and help. I would have slowed the workers down. The video is of a harvest at the Lanza Vineyards in Suisun Valley, California.

Many of us at Vint Hill Craft Winery and Tin Lizzie Wineworks are sourcing grapes from California. Kathy and I just returned from California where we visited vineyards and wineries in Suisun Valley, Lake County, Napa and Sonoma. The largest acreage of vineyards that we visited was Snows Lake Vineyards in Lake [...]]]>

Many of us at Vint Hill Craft Winery and Tin Lizzie Wineworks are sourcing grapes from California. Kathy and I just returned from California where we visited vineyards and wineries in Suisun Valley, Lake County, Napa and Sonoma. The largest acreage of vineyards that we visited was Snows Lake Vineyards in Lake County. Snows Lake has 810 acres under vine. Their clients include wineries such as Rosenblum, Cakebread, Dynamite, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and La Famiglia. The vineyards were beautiful, well kept and picturesque. While in Lake County we also visited Fortress Vineyards, Brassfield Estate Winery and Langtry Estate and Vineyards.

All the vineyards visited in Lake County are considered high elevation. The vineyards ranged in elevation between 1500 feet and 2400 feet. This puts them above the fog line. We noticed that more grapes had already been harvested than in the other regions. Lake County vineyards are warmer than Napa, Sonoma and Suisun Valley to the south. The grapes ripen a couple weeks earlier. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes fermenting in a bin at Vint Hill Craft Winery looked very good. They were from a vineyard in Lake County.

Take a moment to view a short one-minute video of Lake County vineyards.