Glad to say I’ve officially woken from my annual mid-winter hibernation. When it gets really cold ( for non-Minnesotans that would be -25f or a string of days where the high doesn’t get above zero) and the days are short up here in Minnesota, a person just doesn’t feel like doing much. But now that it’s mid-February and the days are getting longer and sun is gaining strength, you can’t help but jump forward a couple months and think about when the average daily highs will be in the 50’s!
That said, I’ve begun to ruminate on my plans for this spring. One of the first things on the agenda will be pruning sometime around mid-March. Then I’ll be preparing for starting a few new plants – likely more Prairie Star, Frontenac and Marquette. Sometime in that same time frame, I need to rack two batches of wine that I started last fall – one Frontenac and one Valiant. I’ll be posting more about my plans for which vines will go where in the coming days.
It’s been a month since I last posted about the batch of Valiant wine I’m making. I racked it the other day and have to say I’m really looking forward to the day when it’s ready to bottle. One noticeable trait about it is the grapey nose. The strength of the aroma has subsided in the past month, but it’s still there. Sort of a Smuckers-like smell. It’s not bad, but just different. I expect it will disappear more with aging. Alcohol has landed at about 15% – a little on the high side, but not too bad.
In my winemaking, I refer to a number of different books. One of the more helpful ones is Winemaking: Recipes, Equipment, and Techniques for Making Wine at Home by Stanley and Dorothy Anderson. It includes many recipes from which to start experimenting as well as a ton of tips from processing grapes to which equipment they recommend. Check it out on Amazon.com.
The link below is to a set of documents put together by the kind people at Iowa State University. They have compiled information from different sources on all grapevines that are generally considered to be cold hardy. Very helpful information for the grape grower and the wine maker.
http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu/cultivars/cultivars.html
Categories: General Tags: climate, cold, foch, frontenac, grape, growing, iowa, marquette, minnesota, Prairie Star, sabrevois, valiant, Wine, Winemaking, wisconsin
I racked the Valiant wine to secondary tonight. Overall, I’m pleased. If my calculations are correct, alcohol is a little under 16%. There is decent body, with a slight acidic bite. I added light oak chips to it right after racking. It’s a pretty dark color – more purple than red. But a nice color nonetheless. In about two weeks, I’ll rack it again and set it aside to age.
Categories: General, Grape Growing, Wine, Winemaking Tags: chips, grape, minnesota, oak, valiant, vineyard, Wine, Winemaking, yeast
I racked the Frontenac tonight and have to say I’m very happy with the flavor and body of this young wine. I used lightly toasted oak chips and they did their job just fine. Still a slight acid bite, but very workable. and a nice oaky feel/taste. Here are the numbers on it:
SG: 0.993
Brix: 7%
Alc: 11.1%
Res Sugar: 19 g/L
Categories: General Tags: acid, backyard, frontenac, grape, light, minnesota, oak, toast, vineyard, Wine, Winemaking