WTN: Hart Cellar Riesling 2010

I have been the appreciative recipient of several varieties of Howie Hart's wines over the years, and I have to say, while all have been very fine, this is extraordinary! The label states (Howie, you're getting so sophisticated!!) :

Produced and bottled by Howie Hart. Grapes from Don DeMaison Vineyard. Niagra Escarpment AVA, Niagra County, New York. Alcohol 11.2% by volume. Sussreserve .75%, RS, .76 TA

Pale wheat color and shy on the nose, with only a hint of citrus; it is a total surprise on the palate. Immediate impression is of biting into the fresh juicy white flesh of a Bartlett pear with notes of clover infused honeycomb...not the store bought stuff, the whole comb you buy right from the farmer. Beautiful medium weight plays on the tongue and lingers for a long, satisfying finish. I kept thinking how elegant this wine was as I came back to it over the next two nights. It did throw some tartrates, but that gave me something to munch on as I composed this note.

Well done, Howie!
JuliaB

Thank you Julia - I'm glad you liked it. Don DeMaison is a grower I've known for years and 2010 was an exceptional year for grapes in this area. I made about 14 gallons of Riesling, that I divided into two batches, just before bottling. 13 gallons were fermented to dry (in 2 6.5-gallon carboys). The other gallon was frozen as fresh-pressed juice. Just before bottling, I thawed the juice and blended it back into the wine (Sussreserve). One batch was sweetened to 0.7% RS (which is what you posted on) and is considered "Dry" by the IRF guidelines. The other has 2.3% RS, which is "Medium Sweet". This is really just another example of a wine that made itself. The fruit was perfect. Aside from adding the reserved juice, all I did was ferment, clarify and bottle it.

Sounds good.
Thanks to Howie's generosity , I have a bottle of the "Medium Sweet" that I will be needing to try real soon!

Howie,
I have been a home winemaker for 20+ years and had a few questions about your method of back blending suss reserve in your Riesling. Do you filter the raw juice before blending? How many ppm So2 do you use? Do you use a pad filter to clarify your wine to keep from another fermentation starting? Any suggestions?

Thanks
Michael

Hi Michael - After I crush and press out the juice, I reserve some of the clear juice in 2-liter soda-pop bottles, leaving a small air space. Then, I squeeze the bottle to eliminate the air and tighten the cap and put it in the freezer. This allows for expansion in the freezer without bursting the bottle. I ferment the rest of the batch to dry. In this particular wine I used EC-1118. In 2009 I used D-47 yeast and the wine developed reduction problems. I like EC-1118, but am looking for something that would enhance the aromatics more. When fermentation was complete, I racked it, added bentonite fining and then cold stabilized. Last year I bought an SO2 meter and kept the SO2 level between 35-45 ppm until bottling time. After cold stabilization, I then racked and fined it with Sparkalloid. When it fell clear, I racked it again and thawed the juice. When I blended the juice back in, I increased the SO2 to about 60 ppm and added a recommended dose of potassium sorbate. I then filtered it using a Buon Vino Mini-Jet with fine pads and then bottled on January 17th. The filtering was a bit tedious. The wine has now recovered from bottles shock, is quite stable and both versions are drinking nicely now. I used Pearson's Square to calculate the amount of juice to blend into each batch.

Howie,

Thanks for the information. May I suggest Epernay II for your yeast. I have used it exclusively for years. I like the slow clean, fermentation it gives. I use the same pad filter you do. How long do you usually run water through the pads to get ride of that paper taste? Do you run water & So2 through it? Grapes are starting to get expensive around here and I want the best results I can get for small batches.

Thanks again
Michael

Thanks for the yeast recco. I'll check it out. Actually, I do a coarse filtration using coffee filters cut to size and then I circulate diatomaceous earth with SO2 through the filter, then recirculate the wine until it runs clear before transferring to a clean carboy. After that I use the fine filter pad. I hook up a hose from the laundry tub faucet through the filter, by-passing the pump and run hot water for about 3-4 minutes, followed by a cold water rinse to cool things off. No paper taste. Here is a link to a thread I posted on another website about using the coffee filters and DE: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/34722-buon-vino-mini-jet-using-coffee-fileters-and-de/