Winemakers' Daily Notebook for 1999 Production
10.16.99 Pick Day
Brix check for cab is 24 brix. Merlot is 25 brix.
838 pounds Cabernet Sauvignon (estate grown)
produced 92 gallons of must
308 pounds Merlot (Thornton estate, Portola Valley)
produced 32 gallons of must
Cab PFCs:
D: 32 gallons must
E: 28 gallons must
F: 32 gallons must
Merlot PFC:
C: 32 gallons must
Added 30ppm SO2 to each PFC.
6pm pick day for cab, 9pm pick day for merlot
Added Pasteur red yeast -- 3g per gallon, mixed in water first. Added Superfood 2grams/gallon -- sprinkled directly into must. Superfood added 1/3 today, and 1/3 each of next two days.
10.17.99
punch down. all frothing. all have 10 inch caps. juice of merlot (c) is crimson in contrast to the plum color of others.
C: temp 76
brix 23.0
E: temp 77
brix 22
F: temp 74
brix 23
D: temp 75
brix 22
viniflora will be added directly to must (per WL). 1/2 packet per PFC. Leuco adds directly to must also -- .3 g/gallon
10.18.99
ants on the counter, none near the superfood. rich smell of grape fills the rooms.
F: 76 degrees, 10 inch cap, very frothy
E: 80 degrees, 12 inch cap, med frothy
D: 79 degrees, 10 inch cap, very frothy
C: 82 degrees. not as distinct a cap, lots of berry skins, med frothy, very crimson
added rest of superfood
everything going well
10.19.99
can smell wine outside the barn
D:79 degrees, froth down, 10 brix
E: 80 degrees, froth down
F: 78 degrees, 11 brix
C: 78 degrees
10.20.99
hi lo thermometer 56-86, reset it
temperature 67 degrees
D: 74
E: 74 4 degrees on the -5 to 5 and 3.5 degrees on 0-30 hydrometer
F: 74
C: 71
10.21.99
temperature 63 degrees.
D: 73 degrees
E: 72 degrees
F: 72 degrees
C: 70 degrees
10.23.99 5:30pm
D: 0.5 degrees
68
E: 0.1 degrees
68
F: 1.2 degrees
70
C: 0.6 degrees
68
clinitest for E is .5 degrees residual sugar.
have to wait til Thursday to press. will add layer of CO2 to preserve til then. only light punch down each night to keep cap moist. re add CO2 each night.
10.28.99 Thursday
Fred, Richard, David. Pressing. Adding 40ppm SO2. Yield is 68 gallons of cab, placed in 120 gallon stainless steel tank. Yield of merlot is 18 gallons -- putting 15 gallons in upright beer keg and 3 gallons in the Pepsi container (pressurized with CO2).
11.12.99 Friday
Just got the results of The Wine Lab's tests:Cabernet (aka Sample SS)
TA: .84 g/100ml
pH: 3.45
Alcohol: 13.4%
Free SO2: 21 ppm
Total SO2: 44 ppm
Enzymatic ML: 0.06 g/l
Enzymatic RS: 0.03 g/l
Merlot (aka Sample BK)
TA: .72 g/100ml
pH: 3.49
Alcohol: 14.1%
Free SO2: 16 ppm
Total SO2: 46 ppm
Enzymatic ML: 0.40 g/l
Enzymatic RS: 0.10 g/l
Cabernet numbers look good. Alcohol level was better than I expected. Both have the characteristic Cross Creek tartness. Michelle Fay, the oenologist at TWL, said that this meant that the merlot had not finished either sugar fermentation or malolactic fermentation. She recommended an electric blanket for a couple of days to keep the merlot up to 70 degrees to complete the fermentations. (This of course will raise the alcohol above 14.1 -- no wimp here.) Fred, is there a formula to convert grams/liter into percentages for residual sugar?
Bottling is the 20th. 14 cases of champagne green pushup Bordeaux bottles and corks from California Glass in Oakland will arrive early next week. Bottles were $7.49/case; shipping is almost $4/case. Richard, we may want to rack the wine this weekend when I am over to sweeten the new barrel with SO2 water so that we have two shots at getting rid of the lees. I recall our concluding that last year in addition to screwing up by not adding SO2 to the stainless steel vat we under-racked.
11.14.99
1. move barrels in place.2. fill 60 gallon barrel with sweetened water.
3. plan bottling.
4. move netting behind the winery.
50 ppm SO2 = 60 x 5 x .08 = 24 g.
2 heaping teaspoonfuls of citric acid
To Do:
R: Soak corks overnight Friday.
R: Pick up tubing for bottler.
R: Get backup racking pump.
D: Order 1 dozen clear fifths for marinade.
D: Check quality of corks.
D: Bring ingredients for ribs, including marinade.
Saturday:
Turn 60 gal. barrel 180 degrees.
Ask Fred about racking twice before going into oak.