Wine Adventures
Posted 11/25/11
We made no wines in 2010 or 2011. Life was just too busy and we were too tired! :)
Posted 11/3/10
The final labels for 2009 wines can be seen here. Click on the 2009 wine.
Posted 10/13/10
We didn't actually get to bottling the zin until the 9th. The wines we got in 2009 seem to have yielded much more juice than previous vintages. Perhaps because we were able to have them harvested at our desired sugar level. In any event, it took four hours to finish the bottling -- fortunately we started at noon. Clean up ran until 6:00pm, but it was a definite relief to have it in bottle finally. It is drinkable now, like the SG, but unlike the SG it's not yet stable. Need some bottle time.
On the 10th, we bottled the cab franc. It's going to need a year or more in bottle before it's truly ready, but it's easy drinking and has all the character of CF. That was a hard day. Frank had things going on early and we didn't get down to bottling until around 3:00pm. For whatever reason, I couldn't keep more than one siphon going on the bottler. We didn't finish that one until 7:30pm. It was too dark, and I was too tired to do the entire cleanup that night. It waited until next day.
Posted 10/6/10
Bottling zin today. It tastes wonderful with not too sweet dry creek attributes, but a very mellow and rich flavor. Looking forward to drinking this one. Also will start labeling the Sam-giovese any day now. I'm already drinking that one ;)
Posted 9/30/10
As of today, we've bottled the Merlo Sangiovese which is incredible, as always. We've racked the Cab Franc and Dolcetto. I was surprised how much I like the Dolcetto! We were very fortunate as home winemakers to have the CF, Dolcetto and zin harvested at the brixº we prefer. I think it's made all the difference in the finished result of the Dolcetto. I'm expecting that one to be my long range favorite of the '09's. We need to rack and bottle zin, and bottle the dolcetto and CF. Hope to get to this next week as it looks like the weather will be cooler. It's been too hot to have the wine out for bottling the last couple of weeks.
Posted 5/21/10
There were simply too many grapes made available to us this vintage. We have Merlo Vineyards Sangiovese Grosso, Windsor Oaks Zin RRV, Windsor Oaks Cabernet Franc RRV, Windsor Oaks Dolcetto Chalk Hill and Tucker Merlot Sonoma Valley. So, we haven't yet had a barrel tasting other than to sample the SG one night ourselves after top-off. Very tasty. Will keep everyone posted about a barrel sampling event soon.
Current Wine Picks
Updated 9/26/10
Favorite White over $20 would have to be Crinella Sauvignon Blanc
2009. This is by far, the best wine they have ever produced! www.crinellawinery.com
Favorite White under $20 Kim Crawford, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Awesome; grapefruit all over this one!
Favorite Dry Rosé is fun. (dry means 'not sweet') I like so many it's tough to pick a
favorite. These wines don't fit into whites or reds in terms of
traditional descriptions. In terms of premium wines, I'll have to choose the Hart's Desire Rosé of Grenache ($18). Other things to try: I had again the Unti
which is Grenache and Mouvedre and is delicious. I don't really
know the price range, but probably $15-$18 - very dry with amazing
aromas. One of my favorites (could drink it everyday) is ultra-dry and is Cotes du Ventoux Ferme
Julien. It is a fabulous everyday wine, price range around $5-$6. Another
I enjoy is very different, yet interesting from Hop Kiln. The grapes are Grenache
from the Lodi region and it's less dry than any others I've tasted, but
still qualifies as a dry rosé. Genuinely has strawberry nose and
delightful to drink. It is among the higher priced rosés at $20.
Favorite Red over $20 is awfully hard. I adore red table wines and
have much less fondness for most of the finer wines most people enjoy. I
guess I'll say some of my favorites are from David Coffaro, although they're
just barely over $20. I always like the
ZP2C and Escuro. www.davidcoffaro.com
Favorite Red under $20 Well, other than what we make ourselves, which is really my favorite, this is a hard one. Something I've occasionally picked up that is fun -- Ferme Julien Rouge. Try
it with fresh strawberries and see what you think...
Favorite Sparkling Champagne or otherwise is still Gloria Ferrer
Sonoma County Brut.
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