Hi all! Well, the first couple of ferments are almost finished now (the Cherry Grove Vnyd fruit we picked on 9/29), and we're stacking more and more fruit into the winery every day. Most of the vines are beginning to go dormant, so everything is about as ripe as it's going to get. The only thing to do now is wait for some dry weather windows and pick like mad weasels.
So...We'll have everything into the winery by Friday, and we'll likely have some wine in barrel by the end of the weekend. However, by the time I go back to work on October 24th, there will still be plenty of wine bubbling away in fermenters.
More of today's update:
- Big Thanks to Dave and Ralph!
- The Picking Schedule
- Update from Dave's micro lab
- Margot Arrives!
- More chances to help with the wine-making
Big Thanks to Dave and Ralph
- Huge thanks to Ralph Leftwich for showing up to help sort fruit on Friday! After waiting around for everything to arrive, for lunch to start and finish, etc., we sorted 9 tons of fruit! With Ralph's expert help (who knew that he'd worked in a fruit processing plant?), we got everything into fermenters in around 4 hours! We couldn't have done it without him.
- Dave Shykind has also started his efforts (even with the total lack of focus from your's truly). He's now cooking up agar and slants and getting our baseline micro-biology samples established...More on this below.
The Picking Schedule
There's lots of fruit coming in this week! If anyone would like to help out for an afternoon, please just give me a call (503.866.6699).
Tuesday
--> 1.5 tons of Pinot Noir from Justice Vineyard in the Eola hills
--> 1.2 tons of Pinot Noir from Maresh Vineyard in the Dundee hills
Steve K. is showing up to help - What a great guy!!
Wednesday
--> 3 tons of Pinot Noir from Stoller Vineyard...Uncertain schedule, as TONS of people are picking and sorting on Wednesday, but this will likely be an afternoon affair. This block from Stoller Vineyards delivered some of our most beautiful wine in 2004.
Thursday
--> Rest day...If you'd like to show up and help with the "in between" winemaking tasks, feel free.
Friday
--> 0.5 tons of Pinot Noir from Anderson Family Vineyards
--> 3 tons of Pinot Noir from Momtazi Vineyards
If you'd like to see fruit coming into the winery, this is your last shot for the year. Other than a little bit of Chardonnay later next week, after this, we're all in!
Update from Dave's micro lab
Dave stopped by on Sunday afternoon to collect samples for the beginning of our micro-biological studies. We're trying to figure out what levels and species of yeasts and bacteria are coming into the winery on the fruit, are resident on the winery equipment, and are present in my cooperage. This should be really great, as Dave has the best scope and camera set up to capture images of what he finds. He's already talking over my head! I'm psyched! Stand by for update photos.
Margot arrives!
Tomorrow, our new part-time cellar hand, Margot, arrives. I'm very excited, as I'm pretty old and out of shape, and I can really use the help! We're sharing Margot with Patrick and Lee from Dominio. I'll be sure to you all when you stop by.
More chances to help with the wine-making
If anyone wants to see more “behind the scenes” activities like pressing or sending wine to barrel, let me know, as Athena and I can always use an extra set of hands, and everyone can be useful. Just give us a buzz or send an email!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Info on media for culturing samples
Dave - Sorry it took me so long....I've been slacking. For some reason, I can't respond to your last posting; it might have something to do with the fact that my interface crashed as I was trying to post a response...
Here's the info on growth media. We'll need two different types of media. The first is a generic growth media for grape must - this'll highlight the good and bad yeast, as well as the other bacteria growing in the fermenter. The second will be a Brettanomyces-specific media that will not grow Saccharomyces (the good yeast) but will allow the Brett to grow.
An ideal sampling protocol would be as follows:
- One day after destemming into the fermenter, we'll pull a sample to see what survived the initial dose of SO2. This'll let me know if I'm taking any risk letting the native population of yeast take off or if I should innoculate with a cultured strain.
- As we drain off to barrel, we'll pull another sample to check for Brett on the way to barrel. This'll let me know the risk level and management I need to do in barrel.
- About 3-4 weeks after the wine's in barrel, we'll pull a sample from each lot (not each barrel) to check for any Brett growth. Again, this'll help determine if we need to pull any special tricks to control contamination.
One question for you - Do you have a filter housing that we can use to filter a large (300 ml) sample of juice through a .45 um filter? It's pretty easy to get quick growth from smears made from the concentrate on the filter surface. If you don't have one, how about BC funding some capital equipment for your lab? Think about it, and let me know.
Here are the media recipes:
(Everything below is from "Wine Production and Analysis" by Bruce Zoecklein; in the BC library)
General grape juice growth media:
- Mix 20 g of agar (YM) in approx. 800 ml of grape juice diluted 1+3.
- Fully dissolve agar by holding in a boiling water bath and bring to 1L volume with reserve juice.
- Sterilize by autoclaving
Brett selective media:
- In approx 600 ml of deionized water, add the following:
2.4 ml Bactoglycerol (or equiv)
48.3 g agar (wort or YM)
50.0 mg actidione (cycloheximide)
Actidione is what kills off the Saccharomyces while leaving the Brett happy to grow. It may be incorporated directly into the water used in making he agar.
Let me know if any of the ingredients are expensive, as you now have the open BC expense account for lab supplies. Keep in mind that I can by pre-prepared culture plates (either standard or Brett-selective) for ~ $1/plate from Vinquiry or Millipore...We can always go that option, too.
Here's the info on growth media. We'll need two different types of media. The first is a generic growth media for grape must - this'll highlight the good and bad yeast, as well as the other bacteria growing in the fermenter. The second will be a Brettanomyces-specific media that will not grow Saccharomyces (the good yeast) but will allow the Brett to grow.
An ideal sampling protocol would be as follows:
- One day after destemming into the fermenter, we'll pull a sample to see what survived the initial dose of SO2. This'll let me know if I'm taking any risk letting the native population of yeast take off or if I should innoculate with a cultured strain.
- As we drain off to barrel, we'll pull another sample to check for Brett on the way to barrel. This'll let me know the risk level and management I need to do in barrel.
- About 3-4 weeks after the wine's in barrel, we'll pull a sample from each lot (not each barrel) to check for any Brett growth. Again, this'll help determine if we need to pull any special tricks to control contamination.
One question for you - Do you have a filter housing that we can use to filter a large (300 ml) sample of juice through a .45 um filter? It's pretty easy to get quick growth from smears made from the concentrate on the filter surface. If you don't have one, how about BC funding some capital equipment for your lab? Think about it, and let me know.
Here are the media recipes:
(Everything below is from "Wine Production and Analysis" by Bruce Zoecklein; in the BC library)
General grape juice growth media:
- Mix 20 g of agar (YM) in approx. 800 ml of grape juice diluted 1+3.
- Fully dissolve agar by holding in a boiling water bath and bring to 1L volume with reserve juice.
- Sterilize by autoclaving
Brett selective media:
- In approx 600 ml of deionized water, add the following:
2.4 ml Bactoglycerol (or equiv)
48.3 g agar (wort or YM)
50.0 mg actidione (cycloheximide)
Actidione is what kills off the Saccharomyces while leaving the Brett happy to grow. It may be incorporated directly into the water used in making he agar.
Let me know if any of the ingredients are expensive, as you now have the open BC expense account for lab supplies. Keep in mind that I can by pre-prepared culture plates (either standard or Brett-selective) for ~ $1/plate from Vinquiry or Millipore...We can always go that option, too.
Thursday, Oct 6th update from BC Harvest
Two weeks into vacation...two weeks to go...Not a single fermenter close to finished yet, and 80% of the fruit still in the vineyards. It looks like I'll be pretty sleep-deprived once I get back to work - The winery should still be crammed full of bubbling fermenters that will require attention before and after work.
Things are moving slowly, but they're still moving...I still don't have any pictures ripped off the camera, but I SWEAR that either Athena or I will do it soon and get some visuals up. We'll be slowly bringing fruit into the winery over the next few weeks, and should (hopefully) have everything in barrel by Halloween. Lots to see and do, so come on out and join us!
- Update on Ferment '05
- Latest Update on Friday Picking
- How's the weather?
Update on Ferment '05
So far, things are looking really good (despite the weather that's been giving me a heart attack...www.accuweather.com). Fruit quality continues to look good, and the long, slow ripening is allowing lots of flavor development while maintaining the acidity.
We've still just picked one lone block of Clone 667 Pinot Noir from Cherry Grove Vineyard. The two lone fermenters in the winery are being heated today to get the yeast off to a strong start after a long cold soak. So far the inky black color and sweet flavorful juice are making me happy...if only I can get the ferment started today.
Latest Update on Friday Picking
Since the rain's taken a bit of a holiday (showers just bum me out, but don't really affect things that much), the fruit out in the vineyards has had a chance to ripen up. We're picking ~ 7 tons of Pinot Noir tomorrow:
Cherry Grove Vinyard: Block 3 (Pommard) ~ 3 tons
Block 7 (Wadenswil) ~ 1 ton
Block 8 (777) ~ 0.5 tons
Shea Vineyard: Block 11 (115) ~ 1.5 tons
Anderson Family Vineyard: South Block (115) ~ 1.5 tons
So far, Ralph's confirmed that he can help out - Thanks Ralph! For anyone else who wants to show up, come on out. We'll likely be sorting fruit off and on (as it comes in) from ~ 11-ish until ~ 6 pm. Food and bevs. will be provided to all helpers.
For those of you with more traditional schedules, let me know if you'd like to come out on a weekend sometime, and we can plan some work for you.
How's the weather?
While I would certainly have picked cool, sunny days over the off/on showers/rain we've been having the last couple of weeks, the vineyards are holding up remarkably well. No signs of disease pressure, no split berries (yet), and mostly green, leafy canopies. The flavors I'm tasting in the samples are great, so other than my cardiac health, this looks like a fantastic year for Pinot Noir!
Things are moving slowly, but they're still moving...I still don't have any pictures ripped off the camera, but I SWEAR that either Athena or I will do it soon and get some visuals up. We'll be slowly bringing fruit into the winery over the next few weeks, and should (hopefully) have everything in barrel by Halloween. Lots to see and do, so come on out and join us!
- Update on Ferment '05
- Latest Update on Friday Picking
- How's the weather?
Update on Ferment '05
So far, things are looking really good (despite the weather that's been giving me a heart attack...www.accuweather.com). Fruit quality continues to look good, and the long, slow ripening is allowing lots of flavor development while maintaining the acidity.
We've still just picked one lone block of Clone 667 Pinot Noir from Cherry Grove Vineyard. The two lone fermenters in the winery are being heated today to get the yeast off to a strong start after a long cold soak. So far the inky black color and sweet flavorful juice are making me happy...if only I can get the ferment started today.
Latest Update on Friday Picking
Since the rain's taken a bit of a holiday (showers just bum me out, but don't really affect things that much), the fruit out in the vineyards has had a chance to ripen up. We're picking ~ 7 tons of Pinot Noir tomorrow:
Cherry Grove Vinyard: Block 3 (Pommard) ~ 3 tons
Block 7 (Wadenswil) ~ 1 ton
Block 8 (777) ~ 0.5 tons
Shea Vineyard: Block 11 (115) ~ 1.5 tons
Anderson Family Vineyard: South Block (115) ~ 1.5 tons
So far, Ralph's confirmed that he can help out - Thanks Ralph! For anyone else who wants to show up, come on out. We'll likely be sorting fruit off and on (as it comes in) from ~ 11-ish until ~ 6 pm. Food and bevs. will be provided to all helpers.
For those of you with more traditional schedules, let me know if you'd like to come out on a weekend sometime, and we can plan some work for you.
How's the weather?
While I would certainly have picked cool, sunny days over the off/on showers/rain we've been having the last couple of weeks, the vineyards are holding up remarkably well. No signs of disease pressure, no split berries (yet), and mostly green, leafy canopies. The flavors I'm tasting in the samples are great, so other than my cardiac health, this looks like a fantastic year for Pinot Noir!
Monday, October 03, 2005
BC Harvest Update Oct 5 -- Anyone want to work in the winery on Friday, Oct 7th?
Just a quick update from the Harvest '05 crew at Boedecker Cellars.
- Thoughts about the rain
- Help needed this Friday at the Winery
- Micro work on the way for Dave
Thoughts about the rain
Well, I'm sitting here watching it rain, but breathing a quick sigh of relief that the weather forecast looks better moving forward....
So far, we've picked one block from Cherry Grove Vineyard in Gaston - That's a grand total of 3 tons (out of a planned 20 tons) in the winery so far. I've been filling my time with worrying about the rain, wondering when everything else is going to ripen, worrying about the rain, thinking about other things I can do while I wait for fruit to ripen, worrying about the rain, etc.
Honestly, I was out in the vineyards today, and other than the water that the grapes have taken up over the last few days, there isn't any significant damage at this point. It's going to be a great year!
Think happy thoughts of nice looking grapes
Help needed this Friday -- Fruit sorting!
It looks like we're going to have a big picking day on Friday - We'll pick another 3-5 tons from Cherry Grove, pick ~ 1.5 tons from our block at Shea, maaayyybe pick our block at Stoller (another 3 tons), and probably pick our Chardonnay from Anderson Family, too.
--> If anyone would like to come and help sort fruit (it's really fun, and we feed you...free beer), this Friday would be a wonderful time! Even if you can only make it for part of the day, we'll definitely be able to use the help.
For those of you who are interested, just send me an e-mail (stewart@boedeckercellars.com)
Latest micro work for Dave!
I've taken the first juice samples for Dave's mad lab! For those of you who don't know, Dave Shykind is our unofficial microbiologist and photo-microscope guru. I'll soon have some really cool pictures of yeast cells up on the web site from Dave! Right now though, Dave has graciously offered to help me culture some juice and wine samples to ensure that all of my ferments are clean and free of any nasty little organisms.
Until later!
- Thoughts about the rain
- Help needed this Friday at the Winery
- Micro work on the way for Dave
Thoughts about the rain
Well, I'm sitting here watching it rain, but breathing a quick sigh of relief that the weather forecast looks better moving forward....
So far, we've picked one block from Cherry Grove Vineyard in Gaston - That's a grand total of 3 tons (out of a planned 20 tons) in the winery so far. I've been filling my time with worrying about the rain, wondering when everything else is going to ripen, worrying about the rain, thinking about other things I can do while I wait for fruit to ripen, worrying about the rain, etc.
Honestly, I was out in the vineyards today, and other than the water that the grapes have taken up over the last few days, there isn't any significant damage at this point. It's going to be a great year!
Think happy thoughts of nice looking grapes
Help needed this Friday -- Fruit sorting!
It looks like we're going to have a big picking day on Friday - We'll pick another 3-5 tons from Cherry Grove, pick ~ 1.5 tons from our block at Shea, maaayyybe pick our block at Stoller (another 3 tons), and probably pick our Chardonnay from Anderson Family, too.
--> If anyone would like to come and help sort fruit (it's really fun, and we feed you...free beer), this Friday would be a wonderful time! Even if you can only make it for part of the day, we'll definitely be able to use the help.
For those of you who are interested, just send me an e-mail (stewart@boedeckercellars.com)
Latest micro work for Dave!
I've taken the first juice samples for Dave's mad lab! For those of you who don't know, Dave Shykind is our unofficial microbiologist and photo-microscope guru. I'll soon have some really cool pictures of yeast cells up on the web site from Dave! Right now though, Dave has graciously offered to help me culture some juice and wine samples to ensure that all of my ferments are clean and free of any nasty little organisms.
Until later!
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