Tag Archives: sulfuring

2014 Sauvignon Blanc/Merlot Status

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2014 Sauv Blanc

 

This was a very good year for different wines at Turtle Vines.  Not only are we going to have 3 different Pinot’s (see previous post), but we ended up with 21 gallons of Sauvignon Blanc and 9 gallons of Merlot.  The Merlot is from rogue plants in the Pinot vineyard.

The Pinot is now put to bed in our outdoor wine room as it has finished malolactic fermentation.  However, since we picked the Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot in October, and it takes 4-6 weeks to finish ML, I moved them into the house until Thanksgiving.  At that time, I’ll rack, adjust the pH/TA, remove the oak from the Merlot, and sulfur them.

One last note…we tasted the Merlot and think it will turn out great…so good in fact that I may not graft them out of the Pinot vineyard, but live with the hassle while we farm.

2012 Turtle Vines Pinot Analysis

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2013 SB 8-3

 

What you see is our 2013 Sauvignon Blanc just after we have leafed it on Aug 2, 2013.  I hope you can tell from the picture that we can see through all 4 of the rows.  In order to remove some of the grassiness you need to remove most of the leaves. Should be a great crop this year!

But the real news…I took our 2012 Pinot Noir in for analysis to see what the alcohol content was and if I’m sulfuring correctly.

13% alcohol – 0.565 conversion from our 23% sugar content at harvest, about typical.
pH 3.88 – Very high, so just need a little extra sulfur
VA(volatile acidity) 0.65% – the lower the better, but below 0.7 is OK. You can taste the bad stuff above 0.6%
Molecular sulfur 0.42 mg/l – this should be 0.5 mg/l, so I have to add some this next week. This is what keeps the wine from spoiling.
Free sulfur 50 mg/l – this should be 60-70 mg/l to reach 0.5 mg/l molecular sulfur.
TA(titratable acidity) 5.5 g/l – perfect…this is acid content and between 5-7 is great.

All in all, I’m happy with the results and it tastes very good. In fact, I’ll probably serve it at my nephew’s wedding in a month straight out of the barrel!