Wine Press Confirmed: Tuesday, November 2nd at 6PM

We are scheduled for a pretty convenient night if you watch the Giants. Be sure to vote as it is election day (if you need reasons to vote Hell No! on Props 23 & 26, let me know) and then get ready for some serious juicing: we will do one barrel after the other.

A couple o' pointers for the rookies: (1) wear clothes you won't mind getting wine spilled on and (2) wear comfortable shoes to counteract the concrete slab floor.

Wine pressing is, like pretty much every thing we seem to do, pretty thirsty work, so bring a bottle of something interesting (white & rosé work, too) paired with a bottle of water, con gas or non. And since us wine workers sure like to eat, consider upholding the fine picnic dining tradition by bringing simple hearty peasant fare that will be easy to eat.

Look forward to seeing you all Tuesday night. Go Gigundas!

Wine Crush, Part Deux: Work, Work, Work

We came, we worked, and we worked some more. It took days get our hands de-purpled.

The second stage, Pressing into barrels, should occur next week. Looking at Tuesday the 2nd since it is a World Series off-night. Stay tuned.

The Friday night session turned out to be pretty tough. Stalwarts Jim, Charmaine and Frank and I (all you other guys owe us!) hand-picked seven cases of leafy Syrah bunches to finish off the Syrah portion of the Syrah/Petit Sirah. We then began work on a new container of Syrah to get eight more cases to go along with six cases each of Grenache and Petit Verdot (sorry, no Barbera or Old Vine Zin available...sounds good, along with a Mourvèdre blend, for next year!) creating a 30/40/30 blend. With the conveyor diverted for use with a big Chardonnay crush, Dominick fork-lifted bins up tot the crusher, with Jim guiding the grape bunches in from a fifteen foot height with a big fork. With the addition of stopper, yeast food and yeast solutions, the two vats are busy a-bubbling, with occasional bunch-downs by Bacchus staff. Thanks again to Jim, Charmaine and Frank for all their hard work.

On Second Thought: The Case for Old Vine Zin and Barbera

This morning I found a post from RSWC member Pat Merril reminding me of his audacious blending idea. Pat's two cents, below. Regarding his suggestion, there is a precedent. Kunde used to put out a Meeker Barbarian blend of Barbera and Zin. If it sounded like a mistake, it was.  The two wines were accidentally combined one year, and by the time anyone noticed, it was too late. Winemaker Charlie Meeker said that rather than toss out all that juice, they decided to see what might come of it. What they got, at least in the 2002 I tasted, was a wine that that has all the strength of Barbera – dried fruit and cigar smoke - tempered by aromatic, ripe, peppery zin.

My thought is to do an Old Zin/Barbera blend. At the Bachuus tasting event a month or two ago, I tasted some very good Old Vine Zin and Barbera. This is an unsual (a good thing?) blend, but one that has been endorsed by The Rhone Ranger (Randall Graham) himself. I blended these two (in my glass) at the tasting and a 65-70%% old zin/30-35% Barbera blend seemed yummy. Given strength of the Barbera, I think its important Zin is from OLD (softer, fruitier) zin vines.

Wine mag excerpt:

With over 10,000 acres of Barbera already planted in California, it hardly qualifies as "experimental." Nevertheless, there is a strong interest in the traditional workhorse grape, since it is now being taken seriously as a varietal capable of producing fine wines, not something to blend into bulk jugs.

Randall Graham of Bonny Doon vineyards in Santa Cruz County has been a leader in both the Rhone and Italian experimentation. "I think we can make world-class Barbera in California. I think Barbera is tremendously underrated," Graham told Wines & Vines when asked about the "new " California Barberas. Graham said the just-released Montevina Reserve Barbera, 1987, is "the best American Barbera I've ever had."

He has 10 acres of Barbera planted in a vineyard near Soledad in Monterey County and is experimenting with a number of other Italian grapes-Aleatico, Nebbiolo, Refosco, Sangiovese, Dolcetto and "others too numerous to mention."

"It probably isn't a good enough reason to plant, but I'm doing it because I love the Italian varietals. But I do think it is crucial there be a marriage between vineyard site, varietal, soil and rootstock. We really have no idea what is going to succeed at this point," Graham said.

Zinfandel/Barbera

70% Zinfandel and 30% Barbera. This blend has all the qualities of a great Zinfandel with the added softness from the Barbera.

Barbera

This grape generates a red deep-colored, full bodied wine. Produces a somewhat dry and tannic (mouth dry sensation) wine that ages well and softens with time. This wine has highalcohol content and can exhibit a ripe, current flavor with a hint of smokiness.

Wine Crush, Part One: The Case of the Missing Mourvèdre

We came, we met (Welcome first-timers Glenn and Aileen, Bruce and Michael!), we crushed.
Well, we did as much as we could and then, as is club tradition, we broke for food and refreshments. With limited Syrah on hand, we did 75% of the Syrah/Petit Sirah. However, the GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) combo faces some serious reshuffling as Dominick informed us of an inability to secure Mourvèdre grapes. There was much to ponder.

Wine Crush, Part Deux will commence this Friday at 4PM. Obviously, this is a somewhat awkward time, but if you can make it, great. As usual for Crush, comfy shoes and grape-juice friendly clothes are in order. Catering expectations this time will be minimal as the focus will be on the job at hand. We will add the balance of Churchillo Vineyard Syrah to the Syrah/Petit Sirah and then do the second barrel. I suggest we rejigger the GSM plan and do a 40/40/20 combo of Petit Verdot, Syrah and Grenache.

Looking over the grapes available, the Petit Verdot stood out as the nicest looking and best tasting. PV is a late-ripening bother in Bordeaux and gets added as a 1-5% "dollop" on tannic intensity in traditional blends. But California wineries like Ferrari-Carano make well-received 100% PVs and the trends in blending Bordeaux-style blends have given PV much more prominence (30-40%).  Post-crush research indicates that “noble” but unappreciated PV may be much better suited to California than to its native Bordeaux. 

The 40/40/20 blend will combine the characteristic tannins, dark fruit, and color of PV, the full flavor and body of Syrah, and the bright berry spice of Grenache. Should be quite something.

Crush Alert!

Crush Alert! Syrah grapes due to arrive Wednesday.