Switching gears a bit from my normally tech-related blog, I’m going to blog a bit about making wine. I’ve been making wine for about 5 years on my own, and have always had a hand in my Dad’s activities for as long as I can remember. This year I purchased a number of varieties; Old vine Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc.
I’ve taken some Sauvignon Blanc and added a tiny bit of Cabernet Sauvignon just to tint the colour a bit. That’s right, I’m making a Rosé! I’ve split it 70%-30%. I’ve never made a Rosé before so this is a completely random experiment. I’m also making a mix of 5% Sauvignon Blanc, 47.5% Merlot and 47.5% Cabernet Savignon. I also have Merlot, Cab Sav, and Zinfandel on their own at 100%.
This is just at primary fermentation, so things are not totally set in stone. I can add anything I want at any time really, but this is the general ratio I’m going for this year.
The numbers:
SG (Starting Gravity):
- Sauvignon Blanc – 1.098
- Cabernet Sauvignon – 1.110
- Merlot – 1.100
- Zinfandel – 1.100
I got my loot on Sunday, so all the SG is as of Sunday the 27th. Two days after initially setting up the barrels, I have the following numbers which indicate a yeast party (fermentation has begun):
- Rosé (Sauvignon Blanc + Cab Sav) – 1.090
- Cabernet Sauvignon – 1.098
- Merlot – 1.095
- Zinfandel – 1.095
Current shot of the yeast party in action:
I cannot believe how much variation there is on the visualizations of the CO2 bubbles generated. It’s almost as if the yeast in each varietal has it’s own personality. I’m sure that has something to do with how the wine matures and develops it’s complexty. The other thing I need to note is just how crazy eucalyptus smelling the Cabernet Sauvignon is.. it might be another really good Cab Sav! The last time I made Cab Sav was in 2007, and it was *amazing*. Loooking forward to seeing this one mature. 
