*** 2002 Chez Ray Red Blend – Cabernet Sauvignon / Zinfandel / Syrah

Posted by Ben in 2002, General, Other, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, zinfandelSep 3rd, 2010 | No Comments This is an eight-year-old blend of mostly "kit" wines, including RJ Spangols Cellar Classic "Rosso Grande", Wine Art Gold cabernet sauvignon, Brew King "Old Vines Zin" and real grape syrah from Yakima, WA.   In the glass, 2002 Chez Ray Red Blend is deep burgundy with distinct brick tones at the edges.

Aromas are sweet, deep, cherry, appearing over-aged and slightly oxidized. 

The palate is more solid.  Round, sweet and full, it is just a bit too friendly and easy, not showing vigor in tannins, acids, or finish.  Still, it is a nice, deep cherry experience.  Just touches three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale.  This wine is definitely NOT looking for any more years in the bottle. 

Deep Fried Twinkies

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 25th, 2010 | No Comments If you read my tweets, you know I read Katy Vine's article in Texas Monthly entitled, "I Believe I Can Fry." It is the story of Abel Gonzales, Jr., the undisputed high priest of deep fried everything. His throne room is the Texas State Fair, and what he introduces annually quickly becomes the rage throughout fairs across the country. We're talking about deep fried Coca-Cola, deep fried cookie dough, deep fried butter, deep fried pineapple rings, and deep fried peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches. He has even deep fried beer! Read more....

Novel Wines

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 25th, 2010 | No Comments When I am asked what my most novel wines were, I immediately say Bermuda Grass Clipping Wine, then Sand Burr Wine, and then Chickweed Wine. And they all fooled blind tasters and they all won ribbons. But here are two more traditional yet novel wines anyone can make with a little forethought that will not draw judgmental glances or questioning stares. And they are both fabulous wines. Read more....

Why Use Pectic Enzyme?

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 21st, 2010 | No Comments A winemaker wrote an a forum that he was out of pectinase and starting a mango wine. He wanted to know if pectic enzyme is purely a clearing agent and if there is any benefit to flavor or yeast health using pectic enzymes before fermentation, or will it do the same thing after fermentation? Good questions, so I tried to give him good answers. Read more....

Raisins vs. Concentrates for Adding Body to Country Wines

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 21st, 2010 | No Comments In a forum discussion 2-3 weeks ago, a winemaker mentioned using raisins for adding body to a wine made from blackberry jam. I felt compelled to comment on this. Quite a few of my older recipes call for using raisins, but in all honesty I haven't used them in years. Here then are my reasons why. Oh, and he also asked the difference between using jams, jellies and preserves, which I also felt compelled to answer. Read more....

What Percent [of Alcohol] is Too Much?

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 18th, 2010 | No Comments This was a great question, asked casually at a wine tasting in Alamo Heights, an incorporated area surrounded by San Antonio. The gentleman tasted a Pinot Grigio, made a face denoting displeasure, picked up the bottle and announced "Too much alcohol" while scanning the label. "Ah," he said, "14.6% – too much." His companion asked, "What percent is too much?" His response was both illuminating and totally correct. Read more....

Dried Tart Cherry Wine

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 18th, 2010 | No Comments I recently had a "come to Jesus" moment regarding a long-held assumption I had about dried cherries. I had always assumed that 1 pound of dried tart cherries equaled about 4 pounds of fresh and 1 1/4 pounds of dried sweet cherries equaled about 4 pounds fresh. I discovered that 1 pound of dried (either tart or sweet) equaled 6 to 8 pounds of fresh, depending on the size of the cherries and their pits. I also discovered the sugar content of the dried, approximately 68%, was much higher than I had assumed. This drastically changed my outlook on making dried cherry wine. Read more....

*** Chez Ray Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004

Posted by Ben in 2004, General, Other, cabernet sauvignonAug 11th, 2010 | No Comments This is made from frozen Napa grapes obtained from Brehm Vineyards, fermented in BDX yeast, and pressed at dryness.

Original Review, August, 2010, five years from vintage date: In the glass, deep burgundy, opaque in the middle.  Aromas are bold, tangy, high-pitched, alcohol-tinged, black fruit.

On the palate, intense, perfumed, tannin-packed extract of ripe plum skins. Three stars. WAY too young to fully judge.  Let's watch it in five years or so.

Deep Fried Coca-Cola

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 9th, 2010 | No Comments This has nothing to do with wine, but was just too good not to share. A friend sent me this recipe (thank you, Pete) and I had to read it through twice to make sure it wasn't a put-on. I found it on-line just to be sure, and finally I said, "Okay, I've got to try this." This is basically a funnel cake recipe and is being served at county and state fairs all over the country. I ran to the store to get some Coca-Cola, whipped cream and Coca-Cola Syrup. It turns out you can't buy Coca-Cola Syrup in Pleasanton, Texas, so I used a method I found on-line to make some. If you cannot find it either and have to make it, by all means make it up before you start on the funnel cakes. Read more....

Minimizing Oxidation

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherAug 9th, 2010 | No Comments A fellow on a forum wrote about consistency between wines. He had made two wines from canned concentrate and questioned why one is very pink and the other has an amber tint to it. Also, the flavors are not the same. After a shortened version of 20 questions, it was probable that the second wine was starting to oxidize early. I offered seven reasons this might occur. I thought you might like to read them. Read more....