A Solera-Like Blending System

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherMar 10th, 2010 | No Comments A friend shared a wine with me last month that he said was a "special blend." It was quite good – excellent, in fact. When I tactfully inquired as to the blending components ("Hey, Lou, what all's in this blend of yours?"(, he pretended he didn't hear me. I let it go. Last night he called to apologize. Seems he couldn't remember that it was Mustang grape, more Mustang grape, another batch of Mustang grape, and a final batch of Mustang grape. But when he explained how he blended it, I said, "Oh, it's almost like a Solera system." "A what?" he asked. Read more....

A 40-Year Old Mustang Wine, Revisited

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherMar 10th, 2010 | No Comments Two months ago I wrote about a 40-year old Mustang we consumed at a San Antonio Regional Wine Guild meeting. At our February meeting, another bottle of the 40-year old Mustang was opened and we declared it barely drinkable due to acetic acid. While I was still trying to get my taste buds around it, our host dumped the bottle down the drain, produced yet another bottle, and that wine was moved to a decanter after passing the sniff test. Although all three bottles reportedly came from the same batch of Mustang, each tasted completely different from each other. The first bottle was trying to become sherry, the second vinegar, and the third was sweet, quite cloudy, but very drinkable. I have a theory that explains this. Read more....

Storage of Honey

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherMar 7th, 2010 | No Comments A winemaker – sometimes meadmaker – asked why his light golden honey turned black, crystallized, and soured. Wow. Three big strikes against using that particular honey for mead and proof enough that honey is a perishable commodity with a variable shelf life. I don't know that anyone can predict the shelf life of a given honey as there are too many contributing causes of its deterioration. But we do know enough about honey to explain each of the changes that occurred in this instance. Read more....

Sulfite Overdose

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherMar 6th, 2010 | No Comments Blog ideas come from many places. Bob Toombs wrote about a customer who added a teaspoon of potassium metabisulfite to a 5-gallon carboy of must. He had already written to Tim Vandergrift of WineExpert and their minds met on the "dump it" solution. I have to concur. It is possible to get the free sulfur (as SO2) down to a manageable level, but the bound sulfur level will be so high as to be disagreeable. Read more....

Juicy Fruit Wine

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherMar 6th, 2010 | No Comments You're going to laugh at me, but for many, many years I've tried to concoct a blend of fruit that tastes and smells like Juicy Fruit chewing gum. This quest is for my wife, who loves Juicy Fruit but will no longer chew it because Wrigley insists on loading it up with aspartame. Read more....

***+ Chez Ray Merlot, 2003, Yakima Valley, WA

Posted by Ben in 2003, General, Other, merlotMar 2nd, 2010 | No Comments

Original Review, October, 2008: This 2003 Chez Ray Merlot is made from frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards, fermented warm with Pasteur Red yeast, pressed at dryness.

Medium dusty red in the glass. No bricking yet, despite five years of age. Aromas are medium/shy, deep and ruddy. Only a hint of oak and deep fruit.

On the palate, you note a full, deep middle - somewhat inky - with even tannins coating the rest of your mouth. Finish is balanced, moderately long, fairly classic.

Three stars with a plus for classical beauty, using the Spirit of Wine scale.

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Updated Review, February, 2010:  Color, aromas and body have held very well during the past couple of years.  Now, furry and round on the finish.  Heading toward four stars. 

What Fruit Do You Eat?

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherFeb 20th, 2010 | No Comments Seven of us at work were discussing fresh fruit. Only two of us ate fresh fruit every single day and I was the only one that eats – sometimes three – two portions of fresh fruit each day. I eat a banana on the way to work or before I have my coffee on weekends and have a second fresh fruit midway through the morning. I sometimes have a third portion mid-afternoon or as a dessert following my evening meal. But my interest here is the fruit we most frequently chose to eat as well as that we simply ignore. Read more....

When to Pull the Plug

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherFeb 20th, 2010 | No Comments Another reader asked me to comment on when to pull the plug on a wine or mead. He said he wasn't sure when to give it more time, when to dump it or do something else. It's a good question, and a tough one even for a commercial winemaker to answer. It's especially tough for the home winemaker without an in-house lab, but I will give you my thoughts. Read more....

Bentonite – To Use or Not

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherFeb 20th, 2010 | No Comments In my last "WineBlog" entry I mentioned a potential sluggishness problem when fining with Bentonite. At least two of you over-reacted. Please re-read the entry. The potential problem exists when using a yeast strain with high nitrogen needs. Most yeast strains are not affected but listed below are some that are. Perhaps more importantly, there are other things you should know about Bentonite. Used correctly, it can be among your best winemaking friends. Read more....

Sluggish Canned Blackberry Wine

Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherFeb 20th, 2010 | No Comments A few days ago a reader wrote that he had followed one of my recipes to the "T" and after a month the specific gravity had only dropped from 1.110 to 1.046. After several email exchanges, he finally admitted he did two things different – he used Lalvin RC212 yeast instead of Red Star Montrachet and added Bentonite before pitching the yeast. "All the red wine kits do it," he said. And so I had to explain to him why his fermentation is slower than a snails' race and how to correct it overnight. Read more....