6:36 AM
Thursday February 05, 2009 - Serving Wine
Today's Serving Wine Article
Fruit Wines and Fruit Winemaking ? Part 2 of 2
I hope that this summer was a pleasant one for you and a productive fruit wine season. Here in Western New York the availability of summer tree fruits like apricots and peaches is winding down. For berries, cultivated blackberries and blueberries are still available, and locally grown blueberries will be available until the first frost. This year I managed to get strawberries, mulberries and blueberries for winemaking.
There is a terrific website that can aid you in locating pick-your-own farms across the country, and even in other parts of the world along with fruit availability and picking tips. Go to www.pickyourown.org. There is even a section of unusual fruit, their characteristics and availability. This resource is updated daily, and I?ve found U-pick places locally that I never knew existed. So, if this year was a wash because you weren?t quite sure where to pick, you can plan for next year.
I took a bronze for my 2005 semi-dry blueberry in the 2006 Western New York Home Wine Competition at The Niagara County Fair on August 6th. My sincerest gratitude goes out to my fianc?e Patty Gniazdowski and my future mother-in-law Donna Hanel for the perennial help they offer me with harvesting, cleaning and crushing fruit. They are my right arm and make the whole experience more of a family outing. Kudos also goes out to Tom Chiappone of Chiappone Cellars Winery of Newfane, New York for hosting the event at his winery. If you visit his winery, try the Traminette, its awesome!
The recipe for this wine was a very basic one that I had found several years ago on Jack Keller?s Winemaking Homepage winemaking.jackkeller.net, a resource every home winemaker should utilize. I picked the berries at Childs Blueberry Farm in Humphrey, New York just south of Franklinville. Good wine always begin in the vineyard, orchard and field. The Childs family offers a superior product and this is attributed to their philosophy and methodology in cultivating blueberries. I encourage you to check out their web address, www.childsblueberries.com and visit their farm.
Below is the anaerobic fermentation presented in graphical form. A prototypal BubbleFlo was used with non-prototypal airlocks. After the wine finished the primary fermentation and was put in carboys, the degradation of the secondary fermentation by number of CO2 discharges per hour was closely monitored. I used Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) to ferment the wine.
As with any winemaking sanitation is the first concern. When underway, temperature control plays a large role in the quality outcome of the wine. This wine was fermented in a temperature range of 730 to 740 Fahrenheit, a temperature range many would say is a bit high for anaerobic. I won?t argue with that, but more importantly most winemakers have found that maintaining a consistency in fermentation temperature leads to a better outcome. Blueberry wine is usually a long fermenting wine regardless of the type of yeast used to do it. This one logged 863 hours (nearly six weeks) in anaerobic. It was the long, seemingly unending fermentation of blueberry wine that inspired the concept of the BubbleFlo.
We are heading for the grape harvest and locally the weather last April dealt a harsh blow to Western New York wine grape producers. A late spring freeze last April devastated wine grape crops locally. Last May the Amherst Times reported the losses in the affected counties.
Below are the estimated crop value losses for each affected county:
Estimate of -
County Total Acreage Affected Acreage Estimated Loss
Chautauqua 17,877 5,000 $7,000,000
Cattaraugus 517 414 $496,800
Erie 1,661 1,293 $1,552,000
Niagara 901 90 $108,000
Estimated crop value losses $9,156,800
Not to end on a sour note but, if you source your juice locally you may want to contact your supplier and find out if they were affected by the freeze and if it will impact your winemaking plans for this year.
Andre Pazik, Executive Vice President & CTO, is a former teacher with a passion for fine food and wine. During his successful careers in criminal justice and education, Andre?s interest in winemaking continue to grow. His experiments in monitoring fermentation led to the invention of the BubbleFlo? system.
Thoughts about Serving Wine
Fruit Wines and Fruit Winemaking ? Part 2 of 2
I hope that this summer was a pleasant one for you and a productive fruit wine season. Here in Western New York the availability of summer tree fruits...
Click Here to Read More About Wine ...
Serving Wine Products we recommend
Ausbruch Mini Case Special
Beautiful selection of our very popular and delicious blends of Hajos-Bajai Kekfrankos Ausbruch, Blaufraenkisch Ausbruch, Dornfelder Red Volz Ausbruch, and Marom Merlot - Red. The full-bodied variety is excellent will all types of dishes. We'll pay the tax and shipping! Order a 12 bottle case, 3 of each for just $247.00 delivered, (save $90). Order a Mini Case (1 of each) for $89.00 (save $30.00). Prices include tax and delivery. AUSBRUCH-MINI
Price: 119.00 USD
Headlines on Serving Wine
Whist (Opus One Dinner) – Santa Monica, CA – Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:20:53 -0800
On the last Wednesday of each month, Whist is hosting a different Napa Valley wine producer for their “Viceroy Wine Dinner Series.” I was invited to attend the initial wine dinner and instantly accepted. Not only was it a chance to taste wines from one of California’s most revered wineries, the dinner was also a great opportunity to get to know new Executive Chef Taite Pearson. The adventurous chef and Opus One combined to produce a memorable dining experience. Our progressive meal began on the
Job Cuts At Kendall Jackson
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:57:22 -0800
Filed under: WineOne of California's most popular wineries is the latest to lay off workers. Jackson Family Wines, the purveyors of the popular Kendall-Jackson wines, has laid off workers in response to the recession. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that around 170 people in all areas of the winery operations lost their jobs last week Those cut included winemakers, marketing professionals, administrative assistants, accountants and hospitality staff. According to The Press Democrat's Outl
Call for Wine
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:09:47 -0800
My friend Edward asked me if I knew anything about Call for Wine. They specialize in "high-quality professional outbound telesales, exclusively for the wine industry." I hadn't heard of them, but I found their "how we got started" story interesting: Founder Mark Parton was lying on his couch in Chicago a few months after a Sonoma vacation, when the phone rang. Armida Winery was calling. Mark had joined their wine club during his visit and was happy to get the call. I thought it was really nic
Good bye Bay Area . . . Hello Vino!
Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:06:49 -0800
We woke early on Friday - we couldn't pick up the car until 10 so we decided to do the quintessential tourist thing in San Francisco and take the cable cars to the warf. We walked along the harbour, it was peaceful and free of the hordes of tourists that would surely be there later in the day. Of course we had to say hello to the seals by Pier 39. After taking the cable car back downtown we gathered up our luggage and walked to the car rental office. Here I learned never to let an elderly c
Sunday Hash
Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:48:00 -0800
"Attention, bibliophiles: The world's largest rare book fair is about to get under way in San Francisco again, and among the dandy items that will be up for sale is one of only 100 copies of a book of his own poetry that Jim Morrison of the Doors had privately printed. That's got a $12,500 price tag dangling from it, but it will be far from the most expensive item on display as the 42nd annual California International Antiquarian Book Fair opens at 4 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Concourse Exhibition Cent
Cell Phone
Wine Atlas
Wine Chiller
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Fruit Wines and Fruit Winemaking ? Part 2 of 2
I hope that this summer was a pleasant one for you and a productive fruit wine season. Here in Western New York the availability of summer tree fruits like apricots and peaches is winding down. For berries, cultivated blackberries and blueberries are still available, and locally grown blueberries will be available until the first frost. This year I managed to get strawberries, mulberries and blueberries for winemaking.
There is a terrific website that can aid you in locating pick-your-own farms across the country, and even in other parts of the world along with fruit availability and picking tips. Go to www.pickyourown.org. There is even a section of unusual fruit, their characteristics and availability. This resource is updated daily, and I?ve found U-pick places locally that I never knew existed. So, if this year was a wash because you weren?t quite sure where to pick, you can plan for next year.
I took a bronze for my 2005 semi-dry blueberry in the 2006 Western New York Home Wine Competition at The Niagara County Fair on August 6th. My sincerest gratitude goes out to my fianc?e Patty Gniazdowski and my future mother-in-law Donna Hanel for the perennial help they offer me with harvesting, cleaning and crushing fruit. They are my right arm and make the whole experience more of a family outing. Kudos also goes out to Tom Chiappone of Chiappone Cellars Winery of Newfane, New York for hosting the event at his winery. If you visit his winery, try the Traminette, its awesome!
The recipe for this wine was a very basic one that I had found several years ago on Jack Keller?s Winemaking Homepage winemaking.jackkeller.net, a resource every home winemaker should utilize. I picked the berries at Childs Blueberry Farm in Humphrey, New York just south of Franklinville. Good wine always begin in the vineyard, orchard and field. The Childs family offers a superior product and this is attributed to their philosophy and methodology in cultivating blueberries. I encourage you to check out their web address, www.childsblueberries.com and visit their farm.
Below is the anaerobic fermentation presented in graphical form. A prototypal BubbleFlo was used with non-prototypal airlocks. After the wine finished the primary fermentation and was put in carboys, the degradation of the secondary fermentation by number of CO2 discharges per hour was closely monitored. I used Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne) to ferment the wine.
As with any winemaking sanitation is the first concern. When underway, temperature control plays a large role in the quality outcome of the wine. This wine was fermented in a temperature range of 730 to 740 Fahrenheit, a temperature range many would say is a bit high for anaerobic. I won?t argue with that, but more importantly most winemakers have found that maintaining a consistency in fermentation temperature leads to a better outcome. Blueberry wine is usually a long fermenting wine regardless of the type of yeast used to do it. This one logged 863 hours (nearly six weeks) in anaerobic. It was the long, seemingly unending fermentation of blueberry wine that inspired the concept of the BubbleFlo.
We are heading for the grape harvest and locally the weather last April dealt a harsh blow to Western New York wine grape producers. A late spring freeze last April devastated wine grape crops locally. Last May the Amherst Times reported the losses in the affected counties.
Below are the estimated crop value losses for each affected county:
Estimate of -
County Total Acreage Affected Acreage Estimated Loss
Chautauqua 17,877 5,000 $7,000,000
Cattaraugus 517 414 $496,800
Erie 1,661 1,293 $1,552,000
Niagara 901 90 $108,000
Estimated crop value losses $9,156,800
Not to end on a sour note but, if you source your juice locally you may want to contact your supplier and find out if they were affected by the freeze and if it will impact your winemaking plans for this year.
Andre Pazik, Executive Vice President & CTO, is a former teacher with a passion for fine food and wine. During his successful careers in criminal justice and education, Andre?s interest in winemaking continue to grow. His experiments in monitoring fermentation led to the invention of the BubbleFlo? system.
Thoughts about Serving Wine
Fruit Wines and Fruit Winemaking ? Part 2 of 2
I hope that this summer was a pleasant one for you and a productive fruit wine season. Here in Western New York the availability of summer tree fruits...
Click Here to Read More About Wine ...
Serving Wine Products we recommend
Ausbruch Mini Case Special
Beautiful selection of our very popular and delicious blends of Hajos-Bajai Kekfrankos Ausbruch, Blaufraenkisch Ausbruch, Dornfelder Red Volz Ausbruch, and Marom Merlot - Red. The full-bodied variety is excellent will all types of dishes. We'll pay the tax and shipping! Order a 12 bottle case, 3 of each for just $247.00 delivered, (save $90). Order a Mini Case (1 of each) for $89.00 (save $30.00). Prices include tax and delivery. AUSBRUCH-MINI
Price: 119.00 USD
Headlines on Serving Wine
Whist (Opus One Dinner) – Santa Monica, CA – Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:20:53 -0800
On the last Wednesday of each month, Whist is hosting a different Napa Valley wine producer for their “Viceroy Wine Dinner Series.” I was invited to attend the initial wine dinner and instantly accepted. Not only was it a chance to taste wines from one of California’s most revered wineries, the dinner was also a great opportunity to get to know new Executive Chef Taite Pearson. The adventurous chef and Opus One combined to produce a memorable dining experience. Our progressive meal began on the
Job Cuts At Kendall Jackson
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:57:22 -0800
Filed under: WineOne of California's most popular wineries is the latest to lay off workers. Jackson Family Wines, the purveyors of the popular Kendall-Jackson wines, has laid off workers in response to the recession. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that around 170 people in all areas of the winery operations lost their jobs last week Those cut included winemakers, marketing professionals, administrative assistants, accountants and hospitality staff. According to The Press Democrat's Outl
Call for Wine
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:09:47 -0800
My friend Edward asked me if I knew anything about Call for Wine. They specialize in "high-quality professional outbound telesales, exclusively for the wine industry." I hadn't heard of them, but I found their "how we got started" story interesting: Founder Mark Parton was lying on his couch in Chicago a few months after a Sonoma vacation, when the phone rang. Armida Winery was calling. Mark had joined their wine club during his visit and was happy to get the call. I thought it was really nic
Good bye Bay Area . . . Hello Vino!
Sun, 01 Feb 2009 09:06:49 -0800
We woke early on Friday - we couldn't pick up the car until 10 so we decided to do the quintessential tourist thing in San Francisco and take the cable cars to the warf. We walked along the harbour, it was peaceful and free of the hordes of tourists that would surely be there later in the day. Of course we had to say hello to the seals by Pier 39. After taking the cable car back downtown we gathered up our luggage and walked to the car rental office. Here I learned never to let an elderly c
Sunday Hash
Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:48:00 -0800
"Attention, bibliophiles: The world's largest rare book fair is about to get under way in San Francisco again, and among the dandy items that will be up for sale is one of only 100 copies of a book of his own poetry that Jim Morrison of the Doors had privately printed. That's got a $12,500 price tag dangling from it, but it will be far from the most expensive item on display as the 42nd annual California International Antiquarian Book Fair opens at 4 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Concourse Exhibition Cent
Cell Phone
Wine Atlas
Wine Chiller
Labels: Wine Food | Wine Gift
