Friday, December 28, 2018
Christmas 2018
Allie and Jake were home for Christmas. Allie brought Joe which was great because Joe is a breadmaker. Puzzles. Games. Good food. Family Fun!
Sunday, December 23, 2018
Concrete Countertops
Indecision about countertops in the new poolhouse turned into inspiration and we decided to build them on our own out of concrete.
Very satisfying project. I may have found a new medium.
I researched the many ways to do this and eventually decided on the Buddy Rhodes "press technique." We got concrete from Lowe's and pigment and other ingredients online and set to work.
The forms were fashioned out of 2" hard foam. Prior to pressing the concrete we coated everything with Pam as a form release.
I have to say it worked better than expected.
Shawn and Jake both helped with the skim coats of contrasting colors, the sealant, and the wax.
I cut out a space for the drain flange and they are awaiting final hookup in the poolhouse. I'll have to grind a bit out of the bathroom counter as the front of the sink extends a bit too far. The 24" x 48" piece will get special treatment as a custom island.
Very satisfying project. I may have found a new medium.
Christmas Repairs
The weekend prior to the Christmas holiday turned out to be sunny and warm. Allie, Joe, and Jake are here but went off shopping, so I took that opportunity to fix the truck bay garage door opener. Then I got on a roll and repaired the fence, a bathroom dimmer, and a TP hanger. While we still have months to go, I'm very anxious for spring.
Sunday, November 11, 2018
2018 Wines - Chapter 8 - Zinfandel
The 2017 OVZ is looking great with some barrel aging but we're trying some more new techniques with the 2018 batch. Started with 108#, added 14ml 10% KMS at crush, along with 2t tannin, 8g Booster Rouge, 8g Opti Red, 2T pectic, 1.2g Lallzyme EX, and into the fridge for a 3 day cold soak. I pulled it out and let it warm for an entire day before inoculating with RC 212. It was step fed with Fermaid K. The malolactic bacteria was co-inoculated the next day. We used 2.5g VP41 with 10g Acti ML. We got good peak temps, 85F or better, punched the cap twice a day, and the SG was down to 1.006 within a week. But rather than press the wine at that time, we did an additional week of extended maceration. This is supposed to lighten the color slightly but soften the tannins.
The wine was pressed yesterday. There's a fair amount of sludge so I'll rack again today and bring the carboys up into the nice, warm pantry to finish MLF. Great tasting yummy wine already.
The wine was pressed yesterday. There's a fair amount of sludge so I'll rack again today and bring the carboys up into the nice, warm pantry to finish MLF. Great tasting yummy wine already.
2018 Wines - Chapter 7 - Grenache Rosé
I gained some confidence with the Row 7 rosé, so we scaled up. Picked up 108# of Grenache, and I wondered if these were grown relatively cool or picked early, because the color was very light. I couldn't imagine making a red wine from these grapes. We crushed on Saturday, added 2T pectic enzyme, 15g Opti White, 1.2g Lallzyme EX; by the following day it was a nice pink color and we pressed off about 8 gallons. At crush pH 3.11, TA 0.78%, SG 1.100. So much for picking early. Inoculated with QA 23, 12g bentonite, and step fed with Fermaid K. The SB was in the chiller so this wine started off in the new 10g fermenter in ice baths.
The ferment was nice and clean but started slow. After a week it was only 1.065, but at that time the SB came out of the chiller and this rosé went in. Once the temps were steady it dropped quickly. At 1.004 I racked to carboy and hit it with KMS at rate of 1ml/gal. It was in the fermenter with minimal disturbance for 2 weeks. It finished in the carboy and is developing nice color.
The ferment was nice and clean but started slow. After a week it was only 1.065, but at that time the SB came out of the chiller and this rosé went in. Once the temps were steady it dropped quickly. At 1.004 I racked to carboy and hit it with KMS at rate of 1ml/gal. It was in the fermenter with minimal disturbance for 2 weeks. It finished in the carboy and is developing nice color.
2018 Wines - Chapter 6 - Sauvignon Blanc
The Sauvignon Blanc had to sit at the brew shop with the California grapes for a few days until I had time to drive over on a Saturday. Using the two $20 gift certificates won at the Kansas City Cellarmasters Wine Classic last year, I picked up a nice 10 gallon fermenter and some odds and ends. The SB came in at pH 2.97 and SG 1.088. I added the usual: 1T pectic, 12g Opti White, 0.7g Lallzyme EX (probably not needed), and inoculated with 5g of QA 23. It got 9g bentonite day 3 and step fed with Fermaid K. I fermented it in the chiller at 57F. Around day 5, at 1.040, I wondered about an off odor so I added a bit of Fermaid O. The next day it was clearly smelling a little reductive. I hit it with KMS at 1.020 and vigorously racked it off to carboy. A couple of days later the SG was 0.998 and the off odor was gone. This wine might have become formulaic. May try grapes next year.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
2018 Wine - Chapter 5 - Pear
We had our best pear harvest to date. A storm knocked off at least 5# of pears early on, and despite my best efforts, they refused to properly ripen. A few weeks later, however, our Bartlett tree yielded some 22# of pears. Then our trusted friend and ally Tom offered 11# of his Seckel pears, purported to be the only truly American variety in commercial production. I chilled the pears for a couple of weeks to help with ripening, then froze them whole, with a plan to press and ferment 100% juice.
When they came out of the freezer they were not much to look at. And when I first cut them up, I was not optimistic. The pears seemed unwilling to give up any juice. I cored the pears and pushed on, and I was thrilled with the result.
We got 2.3 gallons for a yield of about 14.5#/gallon. The numbers were great as well - SG 1.070, pH 3.78, TA 6.8. I made just minor tweaks, pectic enzyme, 6g tartaric to a target TA of 7.5, and 340g sugar to a target SG of 1.085. The yeast was K1-V1116 rehydrated with GoFerm, and once it got going it went into the chiller. Step fed with Fermaid K with 4g Bentonite. After 2 weeks in a mostly closed fermentation bucket, it slowly dropped to 1.020 and I racked it to carboys.
The pear wine is still slowly fermenting. If it sticks before it's dry, so be it, because it tastes great right now. If not, it will be backsweetened.
When they came out of the freezer they were not much to look at. And when I first cut them up, I was not optimistic. The pears seemed unwilling to give up any juice. I cored the pears and pushed on, and I was thrilled with the result.
We got 2.3 gallons for a yield of about 14.5#/gallon. The numbers were great as well - SG 1.070, pH 3.78, TA 6.8. I made just minor tweaks, pectic enzyme, 6g tartaric to a target TA of 7.5, and 340g sugar to a target SG of 1.085. The yeast was K1-V1116 rehydrated with GoFerm, and once it got going it went into the chiller. Step fed with Fermaid K with 4g Bentonite. After 2 weeks in a mostly closed fermentation bucket, it slowly dropped to 1.020 and I racked it to carboys.
The pear wine is still slowly fermenting. If it sticks before it's dry, so be it, because it tastes great right now. If not, it will be backsweetened.
2018 Wines - Chapter 4 - Traminette
This wine was trouble from the beginning. I don't mean starting with harvest, I mean starting with the decision to plant this grape. Since making that decision, we've sampled several Traminettes, mostly from southwest Michigan, and all have an overpowering floral, plumeria aroma of which we're not too fond. Fast forward to the 2018 harvest, where we originally intended to combine all of row 6. After sampling the Chardonel and Traminette together, we wound up picking them separately, only to find the Chardonel numbers pretty good but the Traminette number lousy.
My next mistake was attempting the so-called "double salt" technique to deacidify the wine. This involves adding the carbonate to a small portion of the must. The issue is that at lower pH, calcium and potassium carbonate pull out only tartaric acid. But if you get the pH up to 4.5 or better, you can pull out malic as well and supposedly keep the wine balanced. The trick is doing it without browning the wine. My Traminette is brown.
We started with 63# of grapes. I didn't write down the original numbers, but I used 22g K2CO3 with the double salt technique, leaving us with pH 2.83, TA 7.8, and 3.5 gallons of must. To that I added another 9g calcium carbonate, 3g Booster Blanc, 6g Opti White, 2t pectic, and 578g sugar to get the SG to 1.088. The pH came to 3.0, a more favorable environment for the 71B-1122 yeast, which hopefully will work on the malic acid. The must was step-fed in the usual manner with Fermaid K, and after a week fermenting it in a tub with ice packs, I moved it into a carboy at 1.040. A week later it was 1.030 and I finally had room in my chiller system. Three weeks on, it hit 1.018 and I brought it out and let it come up to room temperature.
In the event the color on this wine remains brown, I have some Polyclar to try to clear it up.
My next mistake was attempting the so-called "double salt" technique to deacidify the wine. This involves adding the carbonate to a small portion of the must. The issue is that at lower pH, calcium and potassium carbonate pull out only tartaric acid. But if you get the pH up to 4.5 or better, you can pull out malic as well and supposedly keep the wine balanced. The trick is doing it without browning the wine. My Traminette is brown.
We started with 63# of grapes. I didn't write down the original numbers, but I used 22g K2CO3 with the double salt technique, leaving us with pH 2.83, TA 7.8, and 3.5 gallons of must. To that I added another 9g calcium carbonate, 3g Booster Blanc, 6g Opti White, 2t pectic, and 578g sugar to get the SG to 1.088. The pH came to 3.0, a more favorable environment for the 71B-1122 yeast, which hopefully will work on the malic acid. The must was step-fed in the usual manner with Fermaid K, and after a week fermenting it in a tub with ice packs, I moved it into a carboy at 1.040. A week later it was 1.030 and I finally had room in my chiller system. Three weeks on, it hit 1.018 and I brought it out and let it come up to room temperature.
In the event the color on this wine remains brown, I have some Polyclar to try to clear it up.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Fall Tropical Fruit Harvest
Today served up a nice variety of fruit. Cool weather has arrived and we'll start moving plants back tomorrow.
Clockwise, from top left: 'Mallika' mango (Mangifera indica 'Mallika'), 'Kari' star fruit (Averrhoa carambola 'Kari'), strawberry guava (Psidium cattleyanum), limeberry (Triphasia trifolia), miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum), lemondrop mangosteen (Garcinia madruno), Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra)
Saturday, September 8, 2018
2018 Wines - Chapter 3 - Chardonel
On August 18th, Lisa, Jake and I picked 80 pounds of Chardonel. In the field, pH 2.74, Brix 22.6, TA 10.5.
I added 25g calcium carbonate to get TA to 8.0. The pH rose to 2.93. Starting SG 1.093. It was cold settled for 24 hours on 2t pectic enzyme, then racked onto 4g Booster Blanc and 8g Opti White. We used QA23 and kept it in water bath with ice packs for the first week. The wine was step-fed with Fermaid K and bentonite added. After 1 week the SG dropped to 1.040 and I moved the wine to carboy and the temp control system set at 55F.
As with the Frontenac, the wine didn't get below about 58F, but after another week we were down to 1.000, so it was racked to carboys and treated with KMS.
I added 25g calcium carbonate to get TA to 8.0. The pH rose to 2.93. Starting SG 1.093. It was cold settled for 24 hours on 2t pectic enzyme, then racked onto 4g Booster Blanc and 8g Opti White. We used QA23 and kept it in water bath with ice packs for the first week. The wine was step-fed with Fermaid K and bentonite added. After 1 week the SG dropped to 1.040 and I moved the wine to carboy and the temp control system set at 55F.
As with the Frontenac, the wine didn't get below about 58F, but after another week we were down to 1.000, so it was racked to carboys and treated with KMS.
2018 Wines - Chapter 2 - Row Seven
We picked all of the grapes on the same day, in part because we wanted Jake to be able to help. Having read stories of difficulty making good red wine from Frontenac we elected to make rosé. We didn't have much Foch, and one of the vines billed as Frontenac is clearly not. So we lumped everything together from the seventh row and made rosé.
We adjusted the TA down from 1.08% to around 0.80% with calcium carbonate. The pH came up more than expected from 3.16 to 3.59. The wine may require some acid additions later. We also added KMS, 4g Booster Blanc, 6g Opti White. The starting Brix was 25, SG 1.102. We fermented it in our temperature control system set at 55F and the temp stayed in the 57-58F range throughout. I step fed with Fermaid K and added bentonite once the fermentation got going. That temperature didn't slow the QA23 and it powered through to 1.004 in a week.
After another week it was down to 0.994 and we topped with 1 bottle of cheap dry Missouri rosé from Stone Hill to make it an even 3 gallons.
We adjusted the TA down from 1.08% to around 0.80% with calcium carbonate. The pH came up more than expected from 3.16 to 3.59. The wine may require some acid additions later. We also added KMS, 4g Booster Blanc, 6g Opti White. The starting Brix was 25, SG 1.102. We fermented it in our temperature control system set at 55F and the temp stayed in the 57-58F range throughout. I step fed with Fermaid K and added bentonite once the fermentation got going. That temperature didn't slow the QA23 and it powered through to 1.004 in a week.
After another week it was down to 0.994 and we topped with 1 bottle of cheap dry Missouri rosé from Stone Hill to make it an even 3 gallons.
Friday, August 31, 2018
The Grape Harvest
Jake was home for the weekend two weeks ago and with the Frontenac at 24 Brix or better, we harvested the grapes.
One of the grapes billed as Frontenac is in fact a lighter colored grape. We're making rosé, so it went in with the Frontenac and a few Foch. We're calling this rosé "Row 7."
We pressed the rosé first, then the whites. We probably should have waited another 1-2 weeks on row 6, as the Traminette came in at around 17 Brix. We tried the double salt technique to manage the acid and it wound up browning the wine significantly. But the rosé and the Chardonel look good.
One of the grapes billed as Frontenac is in fact a lighter colored grape. We're making rosé, so it went in with the Frontenac and a few Foch. We're calling this rosé "Row 7."
We pressed the rosé first, then the whites. We probably should have waited another 1-2 weeks on row 6, as the Traminette came in at around 17 Brix. We tried the double salt technique to manage the acid and it wound up browning the wine significantly. But the rosé and the Chardonel look good.
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