*** Chez Ray Bordeaux Blend, 2004, Lodi, CA

Posted by Ben in General, OtherNov 30th, 2008 | No Comments
Review: The 2004 Chez Ray Bordeaux Blend is a mix of 2004 cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes from Lodi, CA. In the glass, it is medium/deep red, showing purple and brick at the edges.

Aroma is strong, fruity and oaky. Robust and simple - think pizza wine aromas. On the palate, there is a bit of an old-world style; it hits to the back of the mouth, with a bit of smoke and tannin. Not much fruit up front, in contrast with the aroma. The bit of gritty tannin is unexpected, but nice. It allows for a rolling, lengthy finish, where the fruit finally arrives with a bit of shy wave: "Here I am, after all..." it says.

Three stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale.

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Blend: I added 40% 2005 Chez Ray Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon to create a rounder middle. Stong blend! The Woodbridge added a middle; the Bordeaux Blend gave the front and back.

***+ Chez Ray Mmmm-Berry 2008: Our Thanksgiving Wine

Posted by Ben in General, OtherNov 27th, 2008 | No Comments
For our Thanksgiving meal, we chose 2008 vintage Mmmm-Berry, the combined black raspberry and red currant wine, made from home-grown red currants and frozen black raspberries (our home black raspberry plants have stopped producing in any harvestable quantities). Recipe and process is available here.

For storing, Mmmm-Berry was finished dry. For drinking, a 750-ml bottle is combined with 8 teaspoons sugar to yield the sweet/tart combination which we seek.

Here are tasting notes:

In the glass, Chez Ray Mmmm-Berry is luminscent, almost a flourescent ruby red. One of the brightest colors I've seen in a red wine. Aroma is stong of mid-summer, especially picks up a tangy, red currant element. No hint of sweetness in the aroma.

On the palate, the sweet middle is apparent right up front. It's nicely balanced by the side trickle of acids. Flavor is a faint hint of the aromas, but does carry through in a clean finish.

I'll award three stars out of five on the Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for it's bright accessibility in the first year of harvest.

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For a fuller dessert wine, the blend of choice is 50 percent Mmmm-Berry (sweetened) plus 50 percent 2005 Botrytis Dessert Wine (Chenin Blanc plus Chardonnary). Nice acids and brightness from the Mmmm-Berry and a fullness and botrytis overtones from the white dessert wine. Color is a bright ruby red. Beautiful!

Weekend Wine Word – Wine Press

Posted by James DeRosa in Weekend Wine WordNov 26th, 2008 | No Comments

Wine Press

A wine press is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during wine making. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts controlled pressure in order to free the juice from the grapes. The pressure must be controlled, especially with grapes, in order to avoid crushing the seeds and releasing a great deal of undesirable tannins into the wine.

Types of Presses

Basket Press

A basket press consists of a large basket that is filled with the crushed grapes. Pressure is applied through a plate that is forced down onto the fruit. The mechanism to lower the plate is often either a screw or a hydraulic device. The juice flows through openings in the basket. The basket style press was the first type of mechanized press to be developed, and its basic design has not changed in nearly 1000 years.

Horizontal Screw Press

A horizontal screw press works using the same principle as the basket press. Instead of a plate being brought down to put pressure on the grapes, plates from either side of a closed cylinder are brought together to squeeze the grapes. Generally the volume of grapes handled is significantly greater than that of a basket press.

Bladder Press

A bladder press consists of a large cylinder, closed at each end, into which the fruit is loaded. To press the grapes, a large bladder expands and pushes the grapes against the sides. The juice then flows out through small openings in the cylinder. The cylinder rotates during the process to help homogenize the pressure that is placed on the grapes.

Continuous Screw Press

A continuous screw press differs from the above presses in that it does not process a single batch of grapes at a time. Instead it uses an Archimedes screw to continuously force grapes up against the wall of the device. Juice is extracted, and the pomace continues through to the end where is it extracted. This style of press is not often used to produce table wines, and some countries forbid their use in higher quality wines.

Highlight – Coppola Rosso Classic (2004)

Posted by James DeRosa in Reviews & HighlightsNov 25th, 2008 | No Comments
Coppola Rosso Classic (2004)

Coppola Rosso Classic (2004)

Blend: 47% Zinfandel (Lodi), 32% Cabernet and 21% Syrah.

I came across this wine at a local shop and sure it is commonly available most wine shops. Jerry Hall over at winewaves.com describes this wine as:

Deep warm ruby red in the glass, the aromas are fruity raspberry, cherry, cassis, plus hints of forest and smoke. The mouthfeel is light-bodied, nicely tart, with dry mild tannins. The cherry, citrus rind and spicy oak flavors evolve in the balanced easy finish.

I couldn’t agree more. This truly is a great wine to have a case on hand. Perfect for any occasion and an unbeatable value at $9-11 a bottle. To be honest all of the vintages from this line that I have tried are amazing. Just wanted to share this little gem with all of you.

Go find yourself a bottle – you will be glad you did.

 

Salute! Chindun!

How To Make Wine With Your Old T-Shirt

Posted by Scott Young in General, OtherNov 24th, 2008 | No Comments

When I make wine and have a full carboy out in the open I always wrap it in an old towel (in this case, an old “Les Miserables” beach towel we weren’t using anymore).

The main reason I do it is so that the natural light coming in from the window doesn’t interfere with the wine.  If you don’t do this you could fall prey to the following:

  1. The colour of your wine could fade
  2. The heat from the light could cause temperatures of your wine must to go up and down throughout the day.
  3. The UV light could damage your wine

I’m sure you’ve heard that you should store your wine in a cool dark room and not use clear bottles for your wine and this is why.

I was reading the December 2008 - January 2009 edition of WineMaker Magazine and saw a great idea, which I wanted to pass along. It basically takes my idea and gives a bit of a nudge.

Instead of using an old towel Scott Freedman from http://homemadewine.wordpress.com/ suggested using an old t-shirt instead.

It sounded like a great a idea so I gave it a try this evening and it works perfectly!

Think about it, the hole for the head fits nicely over the neck of the carboy (we wrapped it around the neck) and a large shirt is long enough/wide enough to fit around a 23-litre carboy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

- Scott “The Wine Making Guy’

Weekend Wine Word – Barrel

Posted by James DeRosa in Weekend Wine WordNov 21st, 2008 | No Comments

A barrel (also known as a cask) is a cylindrical container, usually made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. The term “barrel” typically refers to wooden vessels that are small enough to be moved by hand, up to puncheon size. Someone who makes wooden, iron-bound barrels is known as a cooper. Barrels can also be made of aluminum and plastic but are not as popular as wooden ones when it comes to making wine.

 

Oak Wine Barrels

Oak is used when making wine barrels. The use of oak in wine plays a significant role in winemaking and can have a profound effect on the resulting wine, impacting the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of the wine. Oak usually comes in contact with wine in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods. It can be introduced to the wine in the form of free floating oak chips or as wood staves (or sticks) added to wine in a fermentation vessel like stainless steel. Oak introduced in the form of a wine barrel can impart other qualities to the wine through the process of evaporation and low-level exposure to oxygen.

How an oak wine barrel is made.

Saucelito Canyon – Passing of Trust

Posted by James DeRosa in GeneralNov 19th, 2008 | No Comments

Saucelito Canyon

Sometimes you just need a good story to read that inspires and helps to illustrate the determination of wine makers from around the country. This particular story is about Saucelito Canyon owners Bill and Nancy Greenough handing the business over to a trusted young lady (Amy Freeman)

It reveals how Bill, at the age of 30, bought a dilapidated vineyard and turned it into a thriving winery after 34 years of hard labor and an immense amount of dedication. Taking what he has made – turning it over to a trusted young and intelligent individual.

It is a great read and always heart warming to hear the line:

No longer is he going from shops to restaurants selling cases of wine out of the back of his trunk.

Full Story is here

Working to Liberate Vines of Phylloxera

Posted by James DeRosa in AgriculturalNov 17th, 2008 | No Comments

Stop Phylloxera

Our previous Weekend Wine Word was “phylloxera” and we learned about these diminutive pests that can be capable of destroying an entire vineyard. Not that I am growing my own grapes (yet) it is always nice to see research done to help better the industry. That is exactly what Washington State University is doing.

Richard Cockle over at OregonLive.com has written an article titled Hard to spell, hard to fight which covers the plans over at WSU.

A new research winery near this southeastern Washington farming town is transforming grape growing and wine making, or vinification, into war planning — sort of.

"We want to be prepared if there is an invasion," said James F. Harbertson, a Washington State University enologist, or wine scientist.

Harbertson, 35, is referring to phylloxera, a destructive aphid, or root louse, that preys on grape vines and injects a poison into roots as it feeds, and it could be headed this way. It devastated the great vineyards of France in the 1860s, forcing Europe’s foremost wine-drinking nation to switch to absinthe, a bitter, green liqueur, for a decade or two.

Continue to the story

Weekend Wine Word – Wine Cellar

Posted by James DeRosa in Weekend Wine WordNov 14th, 2008 | No Comments

L'uva Bella

A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not climate-controlled, and are usually built underground to reduce temperature swings. An aboveground wine cellar is often called a wine room, while a small wine cellar (less than 500 bottles) is sometimes termed a wine closet.

John L.'s Wine Cellar

As you can see from the picture above – wine cellars can be quite stunning looking the attention to detail is amazing. This particular wine cellar is located at Devil’s Thumb Ranch.

Learn more about them here and here.

Events at L’uva Bella Winery – Updated

Posted by James DeRosa in EventsNov 12th, 2008 | No Comments

Thursday November 13th: Tasting room and lounge open on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday from 11:00AM to 11:00 PM.  The lounge will be open Wednesday Nov. 26th (day before Thanksgiving also). Wood fired cuisine featuring L’uva Bella pizza.

Friday, November 14th: and the day before Thanksgiving Wednesday, November 26th, Friends will be playing the blues, jazz and light rock starting at 9:00PM.

Saturday, November 29th: On the Split with Jeff Godina from 12:00 to 3:00 PM; lamb and chicken. RSVP 330-536-6450

Wednesday, December 11th is L’uva Bella’s Christmas Party. Medure’s catered dinner, dessert, bottle of wine, soft drinks, and a Christmas present: $75.00 per couple, $40.00 single.  Additional beverages are extra.  Reservations only, seating is limited. Beef with soy ginger, chicken with lemon, pasta station, salad, gourmet cookies and assorted miniature desserts

Wednesday, December 31st is our New Years Eve Party. Ring in the New Year L’uva Bella Style.  Medure’s catered dinner, dessert, bottle of wine, soft drinks, Champaign toast, and entertainment after dinner.  $99.00 per couple, $60.00 single. Additional beverages are extra.  Reservations only, seating is limited. Prime rib, roasted turkey, chicken scaloppini, pasta station, potatoes, cheeses, fruits, chips/ crackers/dips, grilled vegetables, rolls, assorted miniature cheesecakes, and carrot cake.
 

More events will be planned
Sunday – Wednesday available for private parties.

 

Lounge Open: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM

Retail (Winemaking supplies, gift shop and wine):  Mon-Wed 10-4, Thurs.-Fri 10-6 & Sat 10-3

Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Retail hours starting Jan. 2nd until March 26th: Thurs. – Fri 11-6, Sat 11-3

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