2009 Vintage Update Coming Soon

I haven't forgot about the updates. It's been a very busy two weeks. I will be posting picture and video as soon as I get it all together. Check back soon!

2009 Merlot Harvest Update: 7/24/2009

In the coming days I will be posting a lengthy narrative, photos, and videos describing the awesome harvest we had yesterday. It was hard, back-breaking work from 4AM until well after midnight. Here's a brief synopsis of the last 24 hours:

1. This harvest could not have been possible without the help of family and friends. Ultimately, God blessed us with great weather and grapes. Let specifically thank all those who came to help:

-Dad and Jim: thank you for believing in this project and the courage to undewrite it, knowing full well that I had no idea what I was doing ;-) May this lead to a larger effort. Thanks for your hard work and organizing the crew and making us more efficient.

-Yoli, my trophy wife: you and your pitchfork saved us from being out into the wee hours of the morning crushing grapes. My wife also performed all testing of the grapes because I had no idea how they worked. She rocks.

-Jane, Shane, Hanker, Ann, Susan, Christian, Campbell, and Calvin: sorters and crushers extraordinaires. Shane and I spend more time than neceesary figuring out the calculations for the yeast. Thanks to Yoli, we were able to get the right measurements.

-My landlord Kevin: thanks for getting the a/c in and helping me with the buildout.

-All: without your help this would not have been possible!

2. We picked up the grapes in Brenham, TX around 6AM and had them at the crushpad by noon. We spent the next eight hours crushing, sorting, and filling the fermenters. From the 3,100 pounds, we ended up approx. 310 gallons of crushed grapes and juice which I divided into three lots. Shane and I inoculated the lots with yeast yesterday around midnight and by this morning (7/24) the tanks were buzzing and a thick cap had formed.

3. Tonight, I ran the final tests and performed the last punchdown. The caps are nice and thick, with lots of ruby color. We began with 22.5 Brix and we were at around 18 Brix as of 11:45PM this evening. Fermentation appears to be strong and things are progressing smoothly. I performed 5 punchdowns today.

4. Thank God we did not get me on film being chased around the vineyard by an agressive bumble bee. It was quite embarassing. Charles, the vineyard manager did a superb job of getting us packed and on our way.

I'm tired. I'll try to get photos and videos up sometime tomorrow.

Harvest Time!

It's time! We will be harvesting this Thursday, July 23, at 6AM. Call me at 713-517-5713 if you would like to help.

Vineyard Report #2: 7/19/2008

The latest vineyard metrics are:

Varietal: Merlot
Brix: 21.9
pH: 3.88
TA: 4.3

They're just about ready. Looks like we will be harvesting either this Thursday or Friday. I should know which day by tonight.

If you are interested in helping us out with crush, please call me at 713-517-5713.

Vineyard Report: 7/14/2009

We got our first chemistry report from the vineyard:

Varietal: Merlot
Brix: 20.6
pH: 3.8
TA: 6.0

The vineyard owner said the grapes look great!

SO2: Laffort Effervescent Tablets

Effervescent SO2 ("sulfite") tablets are cool. I bought these packs primarily for SO2 additions in the barrel post fermentation. They are a measured mix of 66.6% potassium metabisulfite and 33.3% potassium bicarbonate and work like Alka Seltzer. I bought both the 2g and 5g size tablets. The 5g tablet is primarily intended for a standard 225L barrel and will yield the desired sulfite content of around 22 ppm. I bought the smaller 2g tablets in order to make minor adjustments if necessary.



Here's the info from the product brochure:

Oenosteryl Effervescent Tablets™ are a blend of potassium metabisulfite and
potassium bicarbonate. They are packaged in 2 g (48/box) and 5 g (48/box) dosage
levels. The effervescent action of the bicarbonate provides mixing in barrels or
small tanks while reducing time and labor needed for stirring. The easy-to-use
tablet form helps prevent overdose problems associated with other forms of SO2
additions. Sealed strip packages keep unused tablets fresh for optimal potency.
Cellar workers and others in the immediate area require no safety equipment
because the tablets are solid and odorless. The potassium bicarbonate fraction
in these tablets has little or no effect on pH.

Malolactic Cultures: MBR VP41

The malolactic cultures arrived cold this morning from Scott Labs. A mix up with the shipping meant I had to be here today for the delivery so that they would not have to sit all day in the 100+ degree Houston heat and get ruined.



We're going with Lalvin's MBR VP41 cultures. After fermentation and pressing, when the wine goes to barrel, we will rehydrate these little guys and pour them directly into the barrel. The dosage is one pack per barrel. MLF will take anywhere from 2-4 weeks depending on the wine's parameters. Here's the info from the product brochure:

Lalvin MBR VP41 was isolated in the Abruzzi region of Italy during an
extensive European Union collaboration for use in red and white wines. MBR VP41
was chosen for its good implantation, steady fermentation, high alcohol
tolerance (up to 15% v/v), enhanced mouthfeel and wine structure. This strain
will ferment well with a pH above 3.2 and total SO2 levels up to 50-60 ppm. In
red wines, increased spicy, cherry and red fruit flavors have been noted. Red
and white wines fermented with MBR VP41 have increased richness and
complexity.

Construction Update #4

The build out is almost done. I just need to tape and float the sheetrock, insulate the garage door, and complete some small odds and ends. My landlord finished the eletrical wiring and lighting. He should complete the mini split install sometime next week. The room is gonna be chillin': 9000 BTU and R-19 insulation in at least half the walls. Here's the latest photo:



Harvest is just around the corner! They're saying the first week in August. The chemistry reports should begin to arrive in July, once the grapes begin veraison.

Equipment Update #3

The cooperage arrived last week. Sitting in my living room are three 225L American oak barrels from Nadalie USA, heavy to medium toasting with toasted heads. I ordered different wood and toasting patterns for each barrel to experiment with the oak flavoring. While the entire 1.5 tons will be aged in these three barrels for 12 months, we will reserve a small lot that will age an additional 6 months in a small French oak barrel.



I also ordered an 2 additional 600L (160 gallon) tanks for primary fermentation. The plan was to ferment in 1/2 ton poly fermenters. However, after much thought, I decided to go stainless to minimize spoilage during maceration and cold-soaking. That gives us a total of 560 gallons of stainless fermentation and storage space.

Construction Update #3

So close! I'm done with all the framing and almost there with the sheetrock. All that's left to do: A/C installation, electrical wiring, and garage door insulation. I've decided to go with a 9,000 BTU ductless mini-split system. While a window unit would have worked, the mini-split is better at maintaining a consistent environment.



My super-wife has her own juicing and fermentation projects going on: kambucha. It's definately an acquired taste.

Equipment Update #2

After an awesome week with the family in San Antonio and New Braunfels, my super-wife drove me and my two youngest boys to Austin to pickup a truck and drive equipment we purchased from St. Pat's back to Houston. After a great breakfast with my brother and his wife, we were on our way back home.

Here's my youngest son, affectionately known as "G-Baby," standing next to the 80-gallon tank.



The 50-gallon RP55 ratchet press. I almost broke my back removing the ratchet mechanism for cleaning. I had to screw it down to a piece of plywood so that I could move it with a dolly.



The 29-GPM flexible impeller pump from Enoitalia. This is the same line of pumps used by many commercial wineries.



This is racking wand below is pretty awesome. It's basically a standard racking wand with a screen attached halfway down. This will be used to rack the wine away from the solids after fermentation.



The ENO-15-S destemmer/crusher. Standard stainless screw and rubber rollers. It will process about 1.6 tons per hour.



All that's left are the barrels, yeast, and chemicals.

Construction Update #2

It's hard to believe that in less than two months this room will be processing 1.5 tons of Texas Merlot.



The fourth and last wall is almost completed. I will be installing the door and support framing this evening. Look at the fourth photo: can you guess what one of the labels will be called?

Construction Update

I'm about 50% done with the lab and production room buildout. It's small, but it will get us through this first vintage. All of the walls are almost framed out and I am installing rafters for the last partition this evening. The thing I am most interested in is maintaining a stable environment. If I can contain the swings in temperature to within 5-7 degrees, I'm doing good.

The 2009 Merlot Offering

While the jury is still out as to the vintage name and label design, we are, however, going to produce two general lots: a Merlot and a Merlot Reserve Selection. The former will be aged twelve months in 100% new American oak and the latter an additional six months in 100% new French oak. Most likely there will be three to four labels emanating from these two lots.

This is all, of course, subject to change :-)

Equipment Update

After many months of deliberation, I finally have a formal equipment list for the upcoming vintage:

Primary Fermentation: fermentation will take place in 1/2-ton poly bins. As I indicated in a previous post, these bins will serve both as picking bins on the day of harvest and as primary fermenters. The 1.5 tons of grapes will be divided equally into these three bins in order to experiment with different maceration techniques: 1) cold-soaking, 2) extended maceration, and 3) no maceration. Cold-soaking is basically allowing the juice to "soak" with the skins and seeds prior to fermentation. The grapes are crushed, dumped into the bins, and dry ice is added in order to bring down the temperature to between 45-50 degrees (to prevent spoilage and wild yeasts from going postal). The must is then allowed to sit for 1-2 days, extracting important elements from the skins that affect color and taste. Once I get the extraction I want, the dry ice additions are stopped and the temperature is allowed to return to normal. The must is then inoculated with yeast and the magic begins.

The process is essentially the same for extended maceration. However, instead of allowing the juice and skins to soak prior to fermentation, extended maceration accomplishes the same objective but on the other side of fermentation at room temperature, sometimes lasting up to four weeks. Once fermentation is complete, we place the lid on the bin, wrap the top of the bin with food-grade plastic, and gas the headspace with an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen. We need to create an air-tight environment in order to keep potential spoilage at bay. The lid, wrap, and inert gas will accomplish this. Each day, the cap will be punched down and the must tested until we get the extraction we want. Winemakers are somewhat divided as to the effectiveness of these techniques. There is a substantial amount of research data supporting each technique and nearly all commercial wineries employ one (or both) of these methods.

I have also purchased an 80-gallon stainless steel variable capacity tank for storage, bottling, and rack-and-return operations. Originally, I was going to ferment in the 160-gallon version of this tank but couldn't justify the cost. While poly bins are widely used by commercial wineries and more than adequate for producing great wine, the stainless tanks are definately more convenient.

Yeast: Lallemand ICV-D21. I decided to go with all commercial-grade yeast, nutrients, and malolactic cultures - I need all the help I can get! I didn't originally know this but the yeast themselves play an important role in the quality and taste of the final product.

Yeast Nutrients and Derivatives: Go-Ferm, Fermaid-K, Opti-Red. These components will help to insure a healthy and stable fermentation.

MLF and Nutrients: MBR-VP41, Optimalo Plus ML, Malostart. Almost all of the great commercial red wines will go through MLF or some kind. Again, it's not technically a fermentation but rather a malic-to-lactic acid conversion by induced by lactic bateria. The effect is a softer and more integrated wine. You read more about it here.

Ezymes: Scottzyme Color Pro. Added at crush or during pump-over operations, this liquid enzyme will assist extraction by breaking down the cell walls of the grapes. Like yeasts, enzymes can play a major role in quality and taste.

Tannins: Verasupra NS fermentation tannins to help with extraction and color. Like the enzymes, these are added to the must prior to fermentation.

Testing Equipment: mostly Accu-Vin test kits. These self-contained kits test a broad spectrum of important elements: pH, total acidity, malic/lactic acid, residual sugar, SO2, etc.

Cooperage: Three varieties of 100% new 225L (59 gallon) American oak from Nadalie. See my previous post for details.

Racking Equipment: I really wanted a gas racking system but could not justify the expense for such as small vintage. Instead, I've decided to go with a manual system that includes a 29 GPM (gallons per minute) food-grade pump and stainless racking tubes and accessories.

Crusher/Destemmer: ENO-15-S. I also purchased a tall stand so that we could fill a 40-gallon transfer bin.

Press: RP55 ratchet press. It will press about 45-50 gallons at a time.

More to come...

The Three Little Bins

The bins arrived today. I've been like an expectant mother over the past two weeks waiting for these things. Due to logistical issues on both ends, I missed almost two days of work waiting for the "scheduled" arrival from the shipping company. It's all good. I got nothin' but time.



They are 4x4x3 feet and are double-wall constructed of heavy food-grade plastic. Each bin holds approximately a half ton of grapes and will serve both as a picking bin and as a primary fermenter. Optionally, I could have gone with the Macro Plastics T-BIN-S, but they have been extrememly difficult to find recently, and the used ones I did find in California, while inexpensive, would have cost an arm and a leg to ship here.

How 'bout some more CampbellArt®?

Cooperage

In addition to getting started with the buidout, I decided to go ahead and put in the order for the oak barrels. I figured I'd better go ahead and do it now since the lead time for these things is about 30-45 days. The fine folks at Nadalie walked me through the process and we are all set for three new 225L (59-gallon) American oak barrels sourced from three different regions:

Barrel 1: Pennsylvania oak (heavy toasting)
Barrel 2: Missouri oak (slow-heavy toasting)
Barrel 3: Virgina oak (medium toasting)

I also decided to go with the 3-year aged wood instead of the standard 2-year.

Construction Begins

The conversion of one side of our garage into a 2-ton production facility began in earnest over the weekend. The goal is to convert this dark and musty storage space into a bright and shiny climate-controlled lab and production room. I just finished framing one wall and will begin the itchy job of insulating tomorrow.

Here's what it looks like now:



My boys were busy building things too. Campbell was off with my hammer and all my nails and put these little guys together:



My boys rock!

I got 30 days to get this done.

2009 Merlot Announced

I finally got the winemaking plan completed and all the details worked out for this year's vintage. We will be producing between 73-90 cases of 100% Texas Merlot. The GPA's (Grape Purchase Agreements) have all been signed with a vineyard just outside of Brenham, Texas who has had some great years with regards to their reds. We are expecting Brix somewhere in the neighborhood of 22-23 (based on previous years), with the other key metrics expected to be within acceptable ranges. As you may or may not know, the harvest season in Texas is about 2 months shorter than it is in California; we just don't have the climate to sustain a longer growing season (and thus, additional ripening).

A special thanks goes out to my dad and a special friend (who shall remain anonymous until the results of the first tastings :-) for their help and support in making this thing happen. My father and a good friend are in the process of research with regards to starting a commercial winery, and this project is an attempt to familiarize ourselves with the winemaking process.

The plan is to ferment the 1.5 tons of Merlot in three lots:

Lot 1 (1/2 tons): Destem and crush; cold-soak; fermentation; press; rack to barrel; malolactic fermentation; stabilization and aging.

Lot 2 (1/2 tons): Destem and crush; fermentation; extended maceration; press; rack to barrel; malolactic fermentation; stabilization and aging.

Lot 3 (1/2 tons): Destem and crush; fermentation; press; rack to barrel; malolactic fermentation; stabilization and aging.

While different techniques will be employed with regards to maceration, all of the lots will undergo malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation (or MLF as it commonly known) is process that converts the harsh malic acid to the softer, buttery lactic acid. This mellows out the wine, provides for more complex flavors, and benefits the oak-aging process. Technically, its not a fermentation but an acid conversion. Since everyone knows it as MLF, we'll stick with the terminology.

Fermentation will take place in 3 half-ton poly bin fermenters and all lots will be aged 12 months in 100% new American oak barrels. A small sample of about 10-15 cases will be drawn from the best of all lots and allowed to age an additional 6 months in 100% new French oak as part of our Reserve Selection.

The 1/2 ton picking/fermentation bins should be arriving tomorrow from the guys at The Vintner Vault.