***+ Chez Ray Gewurztraminer, Columbia Gorge, Underwood, WA, 2008

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, gewurztraminerJan 23rd, 2010 | No Comments Find Columbia Gewurztraminer at WineZap. 

This Chez Ray Gewurztraminer 2008 white wine started life almost exactly one year ago as frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards, specifically, this lot:

328-06CGGW - 2006 Columbia Gorge Gewurztraminer, Underwood WA (G8)

They were fermented with a 58w3 yeast, aged with a couple small slices of charred French oak, and bottled two weeks ago.  In the glass, this is a light yellow, with hints of green.

Poured cold and swirled vigorously, the nose is bright with sweet lemon and grass.  On the palate, the first note is almost a brisk lime spritz that hits the back of your mouth.  Robust acids draw it up and out into your cheeks.  Finish is clean and perky.  Three stars on the Spirit of Wine scale. 

This might actually want to be a lightly sweet wine, as some gewurz' tend to be.
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Testing the sweet-hypothesis, at a sweetness level of between 6-8 teaspoons sugar per 750 ml, Chez Ray Gewurztraminer earns a plus on its three stars for friendliness, without having lost its varietal tanginess.

Comparing pressed-dry with extended maceration wines

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, extended maceration, merlot, pressing, zinfandelNov 8th, 2009 | No Comments For the 2008 Chez Ray vintage, I tried an experiment, separating the vintage into two batches: one batch pressed dry (ie, immediately as fermentation completed); and the second batch pressed after extended maceration.

Today, I have some recently bottled sample batches of 2008 merlot and zinfandel to compare between these two pressing techniques.

Let's start with the Chez Ray Merlot, 2008:

Pressed dry: The pressed dry merlot shows medium dusty red in the glass. Aromas are bright, bold, plumy and yeasty. A strong inky, alcoholic component. On the palate, a bright but bold mid palate impact, showing very ripe plums and some blackberry. Finishes clean.

Extended maceration: The merlot which underwent extended maceration shows similar in the glass, a touch less purple. Aromas seem to show a somewhat riper, spongy plum element. On the palate, the impact is round, full and soft and ripe in the back of the tongue. Seems more aged already, with less definitive fruit. The finish curls with a bit of acid. Slightly inferior to the pressed dry version.

Now let's try the Chez Ray Zinfandel, 2008:

Pressed dry: The pressed dry zinfandel shows medium cherry red in the glass. Upon swirling, aromas are tangy, metallic and almost citrus. On the palate, a spicy fruit touches the front of the mouth first, slowly unfolding back, sweeter and sweeter as it moves back along your tongue. The finish is moderate and clean.

Extended maceration: The zinfandel which underwent extended maceration shows a similar color - possibly just a touch more faded. Aromas show a similar note, a touch less tangy and bright. The palate is even, full and flush from the start, beginning at the middle of your tongue and spreading out. Perhaps even some chocolate elements as it spreads. Slick, clean finish. Improved over the pressed dry version.

Overall observations: My expectations were that the extended maceration might cause each of the wines to lose some "edge" and distinctiveness. It is probably true that the "edge" has been slightly muted in both. However, with the zinfandel, the extended maceration did not mute the final result. In the merlot, it caused a bit more aged "genericism" in the final product. In the zinfandel, though, it nicely knitted together some otherwise discordant elements. Perhaps that would happen with age in the pressed-dry zinfandel, perhaps not.

So my findings on extended maceration are, in the final analysis, mixed. I believe it muddied the merlot, but enhanced the zinfandel. If I was forced to operate one way or another on all my wines based on this one tasting, I would probably choose to press dry. That is because I believe the merlot was challenged more than the zinfandel was improved.

Too bad life is so complicated!

New red wines: Love VQ-15 (VQ15, Rockpile) Yeast!

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, yeastsMay 29th, 2009 | No Comments On my 2008 vintage dry reds, the Rockpile (VQ-15, VQ15) yeast is blowing away the Assmanshausen (AMH) and Bordeaux (BDX) yeasts. It provides a deep, sweet fruit; overall chocolate edge; silty tannic style to the mix.

According to the wholesalers, VQ15 is a recently isolated Californian strain that was selected from spontaneous Rockpile Syrah fermentations by Vinquiry in collaboration with winemaker Jeff Cohn. VQ15 is a moderate rate fermenter with average nitrogen demands. Due to its' ability to develop a structured yet lush and balanced mouthfeel, VQ15 is said to be suited to making rich, concentrated reds. Initial winemaker feedback has indicated that VQ15 does well with emphasizing varietal flavor and red fruit character. In addition, with careful hydration and nutrients, VQ15 delivers good mineral and spice notes to wine. VQ15 is recommended for Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best results from 59 to 90 degrees F, with an alcohol tolerance to 16%.

My own findings are that it seems to be outstanding on syrah, and excellent for providing a lushness to cabernet sauvignon, at least in its youthful stages.

Tough job…

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, syrahApr 5th, 2009 | No Comments ...but somebody's got to do it!

I'm checking out the progress of the 2008 vintage Chez Ray, currently resting with oak slats in 3- and 5-gallon carboys. What that means is thieving a bit of wine from each carboy, and sipping!



The Alexandar Valley Syrah (Brehm code 534) is yummy indeed, especially with VQ-15 yeast.

Chez Ray 2008 Vintage: just resting

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, malolacticMar 5th, 2009 | No Comments All in carboy, the 2008 vintage is sitting at room temperature for a few weeks, letting malolactic fermentation take hold.

Fourth Pressing for the 2008 Chez Ray Vintage

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, malbec, pressing, syrah, yeasts, zinfandelFeb 16th, 2009 | No Comments There were a few more buckets of red grapes still left to press from the 2008 vintage. We had done two earlier pressings last fall of the fresh grapes (one batch pressed dry, and a second under extended maceration); and a pressing two weeks ago of the first batch of frozen grapes. Brian joined me for these festivities (ie, work!).


A late arriving bucket of malbec was put to AMH and VQ15 yeast, and is dry after two full weeks of fermentation. Meanwhile, two buckets of Alexander West Side Syrah are approaching dryness after four weeks of fermentation (one with AMH, the other with VQ15 yeast).

And, finally, the crazy Limerick Lane Zinfandel from Sonoma, which started life at an incrediblly sweet 38 degrees brix, was being pressed today too. I may put half of this under brandy as port, leaving the other half with natural residual sugar. We'll see. Here's Brian checking out the zin:


Yum!

Time for Racking off the Gross Lees and Starting Malolactic Fermentation

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, yeastsFeb 8th, 2009 | No Comments A week after the 2008 vintage wine was pressed, all of the gross lees have settled to the bottom of our Chez Ray pails, and the wine can be racked (essentially, decanted) from the five-gallon pails into glass carboys. (We call them "carboys", but they're really the old three- and five-gallon glass water cooler jugs from the old days.)


To "rack" the wine off its gross lees, you simply pour the juice through a funnel into a carboy, stopping just before the gross lees (the yucky stuff on the bottom) makes its way to the funnel. Voila, clear racked wine.

At this point, it is appropriate to begin malolactic fermentation, which is a bacterial fermentation that helps to convert malic acid to lactic acid, softening the wine and leaving it more stable for storage.
For the 2008 vintage, I used Enoferm Alpha malolactic starter, mixed with Acti-ML as a nutrient solution. After mixing, I spooned it evenly across the freshly-loaded carboys.

I will let the carboys sit for a few weeks in warmer room temperatures to give the malolactic fermentation a chance to begin, then move them to the basement for longer-term storage.

Brrrr… Pressing in the Cold

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, pressingFeb 1st, 2009 | No Comments Wine waits for no man (or woman)... but only when it comes to pressing. Almost everything else may be done at leisure.

For the 2008 vintage of Brehm frozen grapes, I wanted to press at dryness (eg, as brix sugar level approaches zero). Two weekends after yeast inoculation, dryness occurred (for all except the Alexander Valley Syrah and super-high-sugar Limerick Lane Zinfandel).


So here is the setup on our frozen deck, in the midst of pressing. Temperatures soared to 28 degrees Fahrenheit, making the process somewhat bearable.

Wine was pressed and restored to original buckets for settling. I'll allow the gross lees to settle for a week, then pour off (rack) into carboys and inoculate for malolactic fermentation. My plan is to allow the bottles three or four weeks in room temperature before retreat to the cooler basement for aging.

At this point, a late arriving bucket of malbec has just been put to AMH and VQ15 yeast, the Limerick Lane zinfandel and Alexander Valley syrah continue fermentation.

2008 frozen grapes arrive

Posted by Ben in 2008, General, Other, yeastsJan 17th, 2009 | No Comments
The frozen Brehm grapes for 2008 vintage have arrived, purchased from the terrific folks at Winemaker Products. Here they are, waiting patiently on the deck, in nice chilly 7 degree Fahrenheit weather. No hurry to get them underway.

It gives me a chance to consider yeasts and process. Here's my plan around the yeasts:

This year, like in 2007, I'm starting multiple yeasts in some buckets, but on separate sides of the bucket. They will mix at some point. And eventually one yeast will dominate. But some complexity seems to be achieved, based on my past experiements.

Here's the yeast schedule, with the associated grape and Brehm code:

VQ15
534-07AWSS - 2007 Alexander West Side Syrah, Sonoma CA
731-08SGS - 2008 Stage Gulch Syrah, Petaluma Sonoma CA
526-07RMS - 2007 Rodger's Vineyard, Mendocino CA
705-08SLCS - 2008 State Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa CA

Bordeaux (BDX)
731-08SGS - 2008 Stage Gulch Syrah, Petaluma Sonoma CA
705-08SLCS - 2008 State Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa CA

Assmanshausen (AMH)
540-07UMPN - 2007 Underwood Mountain Pinot Noir, WA
534-07AWSS - 2007 Alexander West Side Syrah, Sonoma CA
731-08SGS - 2008 Stage Gulch Syrah, Petaluma Sonoma CA
526-07RMS - 2007 Rodger's Vineyard, Mendocino CA

VQ-15 & BDX & Assmanshausen
526-07RMS - 2007 Rodger's Vineyard Syrah, Mendocino CA
707-08CHCS - 2008 Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma CA
720-08SRM - 2008 Suscol Ranch Merlot, Napa CA
739-08LLZ - 2008 Limerick Lane Zinfandel, Sonoma CA

VQ-15 & Assmanshausen
309 - 06CGMB - 2006 Columbia Gorge Malbec, Hood River OR

Cote des Blancs
100-05BOT - 2005 Botrytised Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc - Yakima Valley WA

58w3
328-06CGGW - 2006 Columbia Gorge Gewurztraminer, Underwood WA



This year, I'll incorporate Lallzyme EX enzymes into the red wine must before yeast innoculation, to drive higher color and polyphenols extract levels (except Malbec, which did not have Lallzyme EX added).

In addition to yeast, for the reds I'll incorporate about one ounce per pail of powdered American oak, and one ounce each of French and American medium toast oak chips. Fermaid-K yeast food will be added at rate of 1 teaspoon per pail about 6-12 hours after yeast innoculation, and 1 teaspoon when brix drops to 17 degrees (per the refractometer - actually about 12 degrees true brix).

All the Cote des Blancs pails (white dessert grapes) will be moved to cellar temperature once fermentation is underway. All other pails (red grapes) will ferment at (warm) room temperatures, and will be pressed as fermentation ends. Based on the test with fresh grapes earlier this (2008) season, I find that extended maceration seems to blunt both aromas and flavors to an extent that I do not favor.

Finally, for the reds, malolactic bacteria will be innoculated after the pressing and settling, at room temperature. There they will be left for an additional few weeks, so the bacteria can begin establishing before I remove pails to the cooler basement for aging.