Pinot Grigio - Yes, I'm making that too

I am making a Pinot Grigio. The grapes came in before I started the wine blog, so I decided not to write about it.... but then a friend asked about the wine....



The Pinot Grigio is from Villa Spatafora. It came in at 21.5 brix which is a little lower that I would have wanted. But tasting the wine now, 21.5 was probably a good brix number for this grape.



The wine has a mineral and flinty character and a nice acid level like the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. One of the knocks on Pinot Grigio, is that the grape makes a somewhat thick and low acid wine, so I'm happy to have something different at this point.



Pinot Grigio is a red grape. If you press the juice right after it is crushed, you get white juice. But if you let it sit on the skins in a cold soak for a day or two, you will get pink juice.



My friends at the Wine Group With No Name (WGWNN) are making their Pinot Grigio as a pink wine. I think that's a great idea and will be very interested to taste it.



While I was pressing my Pinot Grigio, my first two carboys were filled with free run juice are white. But the last two carboys that were pressed, were a very light pink.



I've kept the carboys separate and there is a difference in taste between the white and pink wine. As you might expect, the pink wine has fuller flavors. I'm looking forward to see how these two batches turn out...

The photos on the right show the pink and white Carboys of Pinot Grigio,

Nebbiolo and Zinfandel Grape Pickup

On Thursday Sept. 10, I picked up the Nebbiolo and Zinfandel grapes from Villa Spatafora.

When I arrived, the vineyard workers had everything ready to go, so the entire crushing/de-stemming and loading into my car took only 15 minutes!

The Nebbiolo and Zinfandel grapes bins were sitting side by side, and I couldn't tell which one was which! A quick taste test confirmed what the workers told me... the Nebbiolo grapes were the ones with the chewy skins!

Don't laugh, it's not easy...On the drive over my wife was reading me a story about a large winery owner that got sued for selling Zinfandel as Cabernet Sauvignon...

Not having any labels with me, I had to remember which containers were Nebbiolo and which were Zinfandel! Let's see... Nebbiolo crushed first, into the car first, so it's the last containers out...

When I got home I measured the brix. The Nebbiolo came in at 25 brix, and the Zinfandel at 22.5 brix.

Grapes ready for Pickup Thursday - Nebbiolo

I received an email from the vineyard manager yesterday saying that the Nebbiolo grapes were ready! They are at 25 brix. We set the pickup date for Thursday at noon.

25 brix is a little high and hopefully they won't gain another point before I pick them up.... but the true brix number will be determined when we crush the grapes and all the bunches are mixed together. e.g. some bunches may be 22, some 26 brix.... it the average number that counts!

Red grapes that come in too low in brix are a problem... they can make thin and acidic wines. If the brix is too high, you can get a wine that is very high in alcohol or worst, a fermentation that does not finish leaving a sweet wine.

One way to deal with high brix red grapes is to add water to the crushed grapes to lower the brix number. You must also add acid to bring the acid level back up, e.g. compensate for the water addition... but more on that if I have to do it... hopefully not.

BTW: My grapes supplier for the Pinot Grip, Malvasia Bianca, and Nebbiolo I'm making this year is Villa Spatafora in Tracy, CA.
http://www.villaspatafora.com/

My contact is Bob Granvelle. Bob is a very nice guy and a pleasure to do business with. Prices are very good. email Bob at: spatafore@caldsl.com It's late in the year, but there still might be grapes available.