Is anyone else finding themselves knee deep in bottle cleaning and
wrestling with the corker machine? We spent the better part of the weekend
bottling some recent past vintages.
Our '05 Syrah finally found it's way into the bottle. We're really
pleased with this one, albeit a small batch (5 gallons). This is the vintage
that we lost over 30 gallons due to some serious H2S problems. We were
only able to save a 5 gallon carboy of free run we had put aside. But it
is wonderful. While I grieve for what would have been about 40 gallons
of great wine - at least we have a couple cases put away in the cellar.
hard part now will be leaving them alone for another year. Final alcohol
12.7%; pH 3.63; free SO2 at bottling 30 ppm. Clear, spicey but subtle
nose, firm tannins and a long finish. Lightly oaked for about 3 months on
French medium toast staves.
The '06 Pear wine also made it's way into the bottle - 5 cases of it. We
left about 3% residual sugar to make it an off-dry apertif style wine.
Slight bentonite treatment, and extended settling time got this year's
wine perfectly clear with no filtering. No MLF of course, brought
fermentation to a halt with refrigeration, then used potassium sorbate to
prevent any further activity. Delightful wine - we really recommend pear
wine for anyone looking for a fruit wine that is more "wine like", yet
fresh and light.
Lastly, we bottled the small batch of '06 Pomegranate dessert wine that
we experimented with. We have been pleasantly surprised. The color is a
brilliant (and I mean brilliant) clear blood red. The nose is not great
- smells like the pithy part of a pomegranate (kinda woody), but the
flavor is great. We made this more in the 7% RS range, with a crisp lively
acidity (pH of 3.1).
Still have the '06 Marsanne / Viognier to bottle, but all in all, a good
weekend, It's always good to see the bins full of one's own wines. --

Wow. inspiring! As I spent last night inventorying my wines, I find I am
again - needing to make more. Where does it all go? I had a couple
disappointments - the Pinot Noir, I cooked so it went south quickly in
the bottle. Dang that was cases down the drain. Some of my fruits -
first ones I ever did - were too dry, so need 1-2 tablespoons of sugar
to make them nice. No big deal, but can't give away like that! smile.

Saturday is our wine tasting party - we have 13 different types to
sample. Can't wait. Our first ever party with mostly our own wines!

thanks for your status. inspiring. DAve

Ric wrote:
>
> Is anyone else finding themselves knee deep in bottle cleaning and
> wrestling with the corker machine? We spent the better part of the weekend
> bottling some recent past vintages.
> Our '05 Syrah finally found it's way into the bottle. We're really
> pleased with this one, albeit a small batch (5 gallons). This is the vintage
> that we lost over 30 gallons due to some serious H2S problems. We were
> only able to save a 5 gallon carboy of free run we had put aside. But it
> is wonderful. While I grieve for what would have been about 40 gallons
> of great wine - at least we have a couple cases put away in the cellar.
> hard part now will be leaving them alone for another year. Final alcohol
> 12.7%; pH 3.63; free SO2 at bottling 30 ppm. Clear, spicey but subtle
> nose, firm tannins and a long finish. Lightly oaked for about 3 months on
> French medium toast staves.
> The '06 Pear wine also made it's way into the bottle - 5 cases of it. We
> left about 3% residual sugar to make it an off-dry apertif style wine.
> Slight bentonite treatment, and extended settling time got this year's
> wine perfectly clear with no filtering. No MLF of course, brought
> fermentation to a halt with refrigeration, then used potassium sorbate to
> prevent any further activity. Delightful wine - we really recommend pear
> wine for anyone looking for a fruit wine that is more "wine like", yet
> fresh and light.
> Lastly, we bottled the small batch of '06 Pomegranate dessert wine that
> we experimented with. We have been pleasantly surprised. The color is a
> brilliant (and I mean brilliant) clear blood red. The nose is not great
> - smells like the pithy part of a pomegranate (kinda woody), but the
> flavor is great. We made this more in the 7% RS range, with a crisp lively
> acidity (pH of 3.1).
> Still have the '06 Marsanne / Viognier to bottle, but all in all, a good
> weekend, It's always good to see the bins full of one's own wines. --
>
>

Nope, too much to do in the vineyard. Bottling in August before
harvest...when I need the carboys.

Sounds like you put up some nice wine, though. I love pear, along
with blackberry and elderberry one of the best fruit wines.


Steve
Oregon


On Tue, 01 May 2007 18:40:47 GMT, > wrote:

>
>
>Is anyone else finding themselves knee deep in bottle cleaning and
>wrestling with the corker machine? We spent the better part of the weekend
>bottling some recent past vintages.
>Our '05 Syrah finally found it's way into the bottle. We're really
>pleased with this one, albeit a small batch (5 gallons). This is the vintage
>that we lost over 30 gallons due to some serious H2S problems. We were
>only able to save a 5 gallon carboy of free run we had put aside. But it
>is wonderful. While I grieve for what would have been about 40 gallons
>of great wine - at least we have a couple cases put away in the cellar.
>hard part now will be leaving them alone for another year. Final alcohol
>12.7%; pH 3.63; free SO2 at bottling 30 ppm. Clear, spicey but subtle
>nose, firm tannins and a long finish. Lightly oaked for about 3 months on
>French medium toast staves.
>The '06 Pear wine also made it's way into the bottle - 5 cases of it. We
>left about 3% residual sugar to make it an off-dry apertif style wine.
>Slight bentonite treatment, and extended settling time got this year's
>wine perfectly clear with no filtering. No MLF of course, brought
>fermentation to a halt with refrigeration, then used potassium sorbate to
>prevent any further activity. Delightful wine - we really recommend pear
>wine for anyone looking for a fruit wine that is more "wine like", yet
>fresh and light.
>Lastly, we bottled the small batch of '06 Pomegranate dessert wine that
>we experimented with. We have been pleasantly surprised. The color is a
>brilliant (and I mean brilliant) clear blood red. The nose is not great
>- smells like the pithy part of a pomegranate (kinda woody), but the
>flavor is great. We made this more in the 7% RS range, with a crisp lively
>acidity (pH of 3.1).
>Still have the '06 Marsanne / Viognier to bottle, but all in all, a good
>weekend, It's always good to see the bins full of one's own wines. --
>

>Still have the '06 Marsanne / Viognier to bottle, but all in all, a good
> >weekend, It's always good to see the bins full of one's own wines. --- Hide quoted text -


I was going to bottle some this morning; I have 3 carboys left from 05
that are due. One more thing to like about reds, they wait for you...

Joe

Sorry to hear about the Syrah.

Your pear wine sounds like it would be wonderful. Would you mind
sharing with us the recipe, and what type of pear you used?

> The '06 Pear wine also made it's way into the bottle - 5 cases of it. We
> left about 3% residual sugar to make it an off-dry apertif style wine.
> Slight bentonite treatment, and extended settling time got this year's
> wine perfectly clear with no filtering. No MLF of course, brought
> fermentation to a halt with refrigeration, then used potassium sorbate to
> prevent any further activity. Delightful wine - we really recommend pear
> wine for anyone looking for a fruit wine that is more "wine like", yet
> fresh and light.

wpattison > wrote:
>Sorry to hear about the Syrah.
>
>Your pear wine sounds like it would be wonderful. Would you mind
>sharing with us the recipe, and what type of pear you used?

Three years ago, came across the following recipe;
Pear Wine Recipe (One Gallon) 4 lb Pears 6 pts Water 4 cups Sugar 2
1/2 tsp Acid Blend 2 tsp Pectic Enzyme 1 tsp Yeast Nutrient 1
Campden, crushed 1 pkg Wine yeast(good for up to 5 gallons) Use ripe to
firm-ripe pears. l. Wash, drain, remove stems, cut in half and core. Cut
into smaller pieces. 2. Using nylon straining bag (or press) mash and
strain out juice into primary fermentor. As juice is extracted
immediately add Campden to prevent spoilage and browning. Keeping all pulp in
straining bag, tie top, and place in primary fermenter. 3. Stir in all
other ingredients EXCEPT yeast. Cover primary. 4. After 24 hrs., prepare
and add yeast. Cover primary. 5. Stir daily, check Specific Gravity, and
squeeze pulp lightly to aid extraction. 6. When ferment reaches 1.040
(3-5 days) squeeze juice lightly from bag. Siphon wine off sediment into
glass secondary and attach air lock. 7. When ferment is complete (S.
G. has reached 1.000 -- about 3 weeks) siphon off sediment into clean
secondary. Reattach air lock. 8. Siphon again in 2 months and again if
necessary until clear before bottling. Age for 3 months. Cool and enjoy.

Some of the differences in my own process include;
* I use tartaric acid, rather than a blend (just because that's what I
have in the winery!). I try to shoot for a pH in the range of 3.1 to 3.3;
preferring the wine to be slightly more acidic, in that I try to keep
some residual sugar.* I use potassium metabisulfite, and use it as one would with wine
rather than 'recipe' style. I try to maintain somewhere in the region of 30
ppm from secondary through bottling.* I test sugar levels when I first make the must, and try to target a
12% final alcohol, with a little residual sugar (preferring a light fruity
wine)* I always prepare yeast starters, and get a healthy batch going before
pitching. Ergo, one packet goes a long way!* I stop fermentation at my desired hydrometer reading with
refrigeration, the use potassium sorbate to suspend any further fermentation.* This year, I sued a little bentonite, then let the wine sit for some
weeks. That gave me a clear wine, versus the slightly cloudy I had
previously made
I have been using Bosc pears for the last three years we have been
making pear wine. Why? Because we have a very productive tree of Bosc! We
stem, core, and cut into smaller chunks - but we do not peel. Some folks
do, I guess.
This year, we started with about 50 lbs of pears, used 8 gallons of
water, and added about 20 pounds of sugar, all told. After 70 grams of
tartaric acid, pH was at 3.25 - should have pushed it down further.
Hope that helps - enjoy!

On May 1, 2:40 pm, > wrote:
> Is anyone else finding themselves knee deep in bottle cleaning and
> wrestling with the corker machine? We spent the better part of the weekend
> bottling some recent past vintages.
> Our '05 Syrah finally found it's way into the bottle. We're really
> pleased with this one, albeit a small batch (5 gallons). This is the vintage
> that we lost over 30 gallons due to some serious H2S problems. We were
> only able to save a 5 gallon carboy of free run we had put aside. But it
> is wonderful. While I grieve for what would have been about 40 gallons
> of great wine - at least we have a couple cases put away in the cellar.
> hard part now will be leaving them alone for another year. Final alcohol
> 12.7%; pH 3.63; free SO2 at bottling 30 ppm. Clear, spicey but subtle
> nose, firm tannins and a long finish. Lightly oaked for about 3 months on
> French medium toast staves.
> The '06 Pear wine also made it's way into the bottle - 5 cases of it. We
> left about 3% residual sugar to make it an off-dry apertif style wine.
> Slight bentonite treatment, and extended settling time got this year's
> wine perfectly clear with no filtering. No MLF of course, brought
> fermentation to a halt with refrigeration, then used potassium sorbate to
> prevent any further activity. Delightful wine - we really recommend pear
> wine for anyone looking for a fruit wine that is more "wine like", yet
> fresh and light.
> Lastly, we bottled the small batch of '06 Pomegranate dessert wine that
> we experimented with. We have been pleasantly surprised. The color is a
> brilliant (and I mean brilliant) clear blood red. The nose is not great
> - smells like the pithy part of a pomegranate (kinda woody), but the
> flavor is great. We made this more in the 7% RS range, with a crisp lively
> acidity (pH of 3.1).
> Still have the '06 Marsanne / Viognier to bottle, but all in all, a good
> weekend, It's always good to see the bins full of one's own wines. --

It's been Riesling and muscats here. Except 14 gallons of muscat has
gone south due to bad juice... and I still don't know the fate of the
20 gallons of Cab that had that funny stuff growing on it.

My 'bottle washer' is an aquarium pump and Iodophor solution. I pump
it into a PVC setup with 1/4 Tygon outlets, then spin the bottles.
Does 8x bottles at a time, then they drip dry on a rack. Can do 90
bottles in between anything ... next one will have a higher pressure
pump and some means of turning the bottles (Already have the design on
paper, just need to figure out how to make it).

Think there might be a home market for an auto-bottle washer for under
100$???