Home winemaking: My 2006 vintage begins

<table align="right" valign="top"><tr><td><img src="http://members.allstream.net/~pabs/wine/2006cayuga.JPG" border="1" align="left"></td></tr></table>Finally, after much deliberation and uncertainty as to whether I'd even be making wine this year (the Concords I wanted to buy were in appallingly poor condition this year, half being unripe and the other half rotten), I picked some nice and healthy Cayugas yesterday at a local vineyard and thanks to the sturdiness of this cultivar and its fruit, I will be making wine after all.

I had my heart set on a dry Concord again this year to try and rival my 2002 effort, but it wasn't to be given the truly awful, cold and rainy September that we had - just at the crucial time for excellent crop health and ripeness. Concords and Niagaras seem to have been affected particularly badly this year - no doubt due to their characteristic of splitting berries when there is excessive swell due to rain harvest-time. I am curious, incidentally, how the weather affected the labrusca juice growers this year. The few baskets of Concord that I bought for eating showed distinctly retarded fruit flavour development and sourish acidity - they were not wine-quality by any means this year.

Cayuga White, however, seems to have the ability to swell up on the vine during a rainy September - but with no cracking whatsoever. A crack-resistant grape is a boon to the grower: you don't have the problem of wasps clamoring for your fruit when you do finally get out into the field to harvest it, nor does mold take hold (pardon the rhyme). Actually, yesterday while picking my Cayugas I was extremely surprised and impressed by the complete absence of rot on these grapes. That is truly something wonderful - especially considering that this vineyard did not receive any sprays at all.

The grapes do have a flavour of their own, especially those that received the most sun exposure (the canopy was quite properly open at this time of year) - it is a somewhat peachy, somewhat muscatty flavour. I didn't pick up any labrusca notes, even though Cornell says that they are a possibility when the grapes are ripe. If they mysteriously emerge in my final wine, I will be happy no doubt.

This is my first non-labrusca homemade wine. I am eager to see how it turns out. I plan to do the traditional treatment with it: full-skin maceration, full skin contact during primary and, if necessary, cold stabilization. It will be 100% bone-dry, as per my custom and preference.

Watch this space for updates!

Hey Paul,
How did you attach that awesome pic to your thread?

Aaron, I tried to paste the code in here ... but the software, of course, "reads" the code and displays it as an empty picture box. I'm not sure how to deactivate the system from reading the code and letting you see it. Maybe Robin knows a trick on how to do it.

In any case, the picture is of the very last bunch of grapes that I picked to make the wine that I am writing about in this thread. The sun was just setting over the Niagara Escarpment and I thought the moment would be most memorable. Also, I'm thinking that I'll probably use the picture for my label.

Today, finally, I transferred my '06 Cayuga into gallon jugs for clarification and possible cold-stabilization. I say "possible" because after evaluating the wine I am not convinced that it actually needs cold stabilization; the acidity is very crisp but not harsh or sour in any way....

Paul - I highly recommned that you do the cold-stabilization. The reduction in acidity will be miniscule, it will help greatly with clarification and should you decide to serve the wine chilled, will prevent it from becoming cloudy in the fridge. I'm planning on blending some of my Cayuga with Vignoles. I will be doing the racking on all my wines this week, except the reds (Foch and Leon Millot), which I plan to put through M-L.

Thanks Howie - what you say makes perfect sense. I was not afraid of having wine diamonds in the future, but having a wine that's not clear - now that's a problem for me since I love my whites to be brilliantly clear when I serve them to people.

Clarification during cold stabilization is also crucially important in my opinion. If the forming tartrate crystals also pull down some of the fine matter in suspension, that will of course be a bonus. With whites I usually give the wine a final nudge with isinglass a few weeks prior to bottling, but of course it's best to get it as clear as possible without finings first.