We’re just hours away from bottling our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon we crafted at Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia. This day feels like a graduation, however, it is just one more step in the process of making wine. Although the wine has aged in a French oak barrel, Ana Sélection for almost 21 months, [...]
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I recalled that Bob Biale of the Robert Biale Vineyards in Napa said I was crazy to consider blending Cabernet Sauvignon with Tannat. Other California winemakers had raised eyes when I mentioned my plans a year ago. There were also those who said unenthusiastically to “go for it.” So I recently bottled my experimental [...] Kathy and I traveled to Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia to taste our Cabernet Sauvignon in the barrel. Our Cab has been in French oak for nine months, since last November. I can keep it in the barrel until next summer. DJ (Vint Hill’s winemaker) explained that the longer a wine remains in [...] I’ve been collecting bottles for the past few months. After finishing the wine, the bottles are rinsed and then placed in a wine rack. However I am paranoid about cleaning the wine bottles. After retrieving the bottles from the wine cellar, I placed them in the dishwasher and ran the SaniWash cycle. I did [...] After blending the California Cabernet Sauvignon with Virginia Tannat, I wanted to run a couple of tests on the wine. At home I measured the pH. My meter measured a pH of 3.8, which I thought was higher than I expected. Since Kathy and I were going to go to Vint Hill Craft Winery [...] I’ve waited for ten months to blend my west coast, California, Cabernet Sauvignon with east coast, Virginia, Tannat. Having family home for my youngest son’s wedding afforded an opportunity to get feedback on potential blends. The wine was to be Cabernet Sauvignon based so I set up four trials with a 10 percent Tannat [...] The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon made with grapes from Arciero Vineyard in Paso Robles has been aging in French oak since it was racked to the barrel last November. Recent data from Virginia Tech indicated that malolactic fermentation is complete. At present the wine has a slight dark berry aroma and taste. There are oak [...] |
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Drink Local Wine Conference Session Axes Cabernet Sauvignon
This year’s Drink Local Wine Conference was held in Lansdowne, Virginia. One of the surprises came in a session that discussed the grapes that grow well in Virginia. The three winemakers on the panel all axed Cabernet Sauvignon. It wasn’t due to the fact that Cabernet Sauvignon can grow in Virginia. It was due [...]