Its cold outside...

Snow in Napa yesterday. This picture however is not Napa. The snow melted as it hit the ground but it was still rather exciting. The bad news I want our Cabernet to finish up ML fermentation and the colder the wine, the slower the fermentation. Go, bacteria, go! (Technical note: the reason that one would want their red wine to complete ML quickly is so one could then add sulfur dioxide which protects the wine from nasty microbes and smelly oxidation.) The wines will hit the lab in a few days for a check-up. Fingers are crossed.

Our First Review!

Our first review that we know of anyway. Joe Roberts of 1winedude.com gave our wine a spin and here is a clip of what he had to say.

"The nose is dominated by black plum, with a hint of dried black fruits and elegant spice (rather than hefty oak). After several minutes in the glass, pepper and dried herbs start to creep out, and once in a while you sniff some wet dirt (but in a good way).

Take a sip, and and the fruits get a little more red (cherries and currants), but still "feel" dried. The tannins are smooth but almost coffee-thick, and the coffee notes stick around on a finish that is almost half a minute long."

see whole review here

Wax or no?

I read Steve Heimoff's blog about "wax" seals on wine bottles with much interest.  I use this method for some of the wines at Jarvis and really like the look.  Today I opened thirty or so "wax" sealed bottles myself and I must agree it is not that easy to do.  The quotes around wax are there because the "wax" contains no wax and is really plastic.  It is fairly easy to apply by hand and looks really good but is it worth it?  

I think it is.  First, it has to be applied by hand by someone that takes a lot of care to make it look good.  This hand crafted feature is important to a luxury product.  Second, it stands out visually as different and special.  

To make it actually possible to open one of these bottles I am working on a device that will score a ring in the "wax" while it is still soft.  The ring should break off easily when the cork is removed.  At least that's the plan...I will have to get a bottle to Steve when the design is complete.

The Grapes

A classic close up of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. If you look close you can see the individual grapes are a bit shriveled from the heat. The sugars here are not that high but the heat has sucked out some of the water. You can also see the stems are a nice bright green which tells you the vine is still healthy. I brought these grapes in before they dried out, some brave souls wait till they look like raisins. Way in the background is my sweet new truck.

Harvest 2008

Now that the crazy blur that is harvest is over I had a minute to look at some pics I took. Here is our Midoriya Cabernet being crushed as Jeff Fontanella and Amy Aiken of Meander look over the process. All that shiny equipment is brand new for 2008. Oh, and the dog just happens to be named Payton.

Ratings: Love to hate them

Alder at Vinography got me thinking today, do I really want to get my wine rated?  As a new, super small production winery why do I need great scores to sell my wine?  No, probably not.  Screw the ratings.  I am proud of my wine and I want people to taste it and make their own judgements.  

In an ideal world sure, people would seek out unknown treasures on their own and not pay attention to what the media tells them.  But this is not how the consumer works in a market saturated in wine.  So while my business partner says no, I think yes, lets submit the wine, get the name out there.  And what can happen?  

1. A good review and it helps sell the wine. (here comes the fame and fortune)

2. A bad review and nobody ever will read it.(what review?)

3 No review at all (a la Alder in today's post) 

LISTED Rose by Prime Cellars

We have your wine for Turkey Day. We were actually testing out a stuffing recipe and discovered that our LISTED Rose was the perfect compliment. The stuffing received a thumbs up too (recipe link)! What is LISTED Rose you may ask? Well there are some of you that have had the opportunity to try this surprise late addition to our line up, but we will let the rest of you in on the secret. Opportunity knocked and winemaker Ted was able to create this beautiful ripe but dry wine from some juice that came available in late 2007. Full of fresh fruit and fermented till it was dry, those of you who think of Rose as a sweet dessert wine will have to rethink Rose. Not only will this wine taste lovely with dinner it will also bring a splash of color to the table!

At $13/bottle there is still money left over for poker after dinner (or is that just our family?).