Tuesday, October 19, 2010

PRIME 2010 Chardonnay

Chard SS and oak barrels
The Berry Lane Chardonnay has officially finished fermentation and made the transition from grape juice to wine.  This is the view as you shine a flashlight into the barrel, the juice is bubbling indicating the release of carbon dioxide and the conversion of sugar to alcohol.

This last week each barrel tested at -1.7 Brix telling me that the fermentation is over (avoided the dreaded "stuck fermentation").  Today we will top up the barrels and send samples to the lab to find out the alcohol, acid levels, residual sugar etc.  Now I can go back to worrying about the Cabernet...

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

HydeAway Events in San Francisco

On September 16th we participated in a very cool event on the San Francisco waterfront. There was a collective of six small vintners, music by a talented trio, more food that people could consume and it was held in the historic Maritime Museum which has recently been renovated. It is called HydeAway and if this name doesn't sound familiar to you then you are not on our mailing list. The location will change to other areas of the San Francisco Maritime National Park (all near and on Hyde Street Pier). It is invitation only but we do send out an invite to our mailing list so make sure you are on it today! The next one is in November.

View of Alcatraz from the top deck of Balclutha






Gerard's Paella

Trio - but you could probably figure that one out on your own