Well, I'm only putting up half so we may go ahead with the winemaking. That's why I brought in an outside source last time. I'd prefer we sell more shares. Whatever isn't sold by 8/31, I'll pick up the balance.

Even though our wine is not age-worthy, I do think it is much improved after sitting for 6 months to a year or so.

I think majority should rule re the blend. I want this to be fun for all involved. Please everyone vote, and find some peeps to buy shares! We do have 2 award winners under our belt!

klezman wrote:Paradoxically, I added more choices while culling a few based on re-reading the thread.

Please everybody go ahead and vote! Each choice is either "yes", "maybe" = (yes), or "no".

What? No PS??? I call Shenanigans!!!!!


Edit: Partial nevermind. There is a choice for a PS/PV blend, but instead of all the Mouvedre choices that are like ... 5% different, I think another blend of 80/19/1 for Syrah/PS/Viognier would be good too.

I don't really know enough about all the grapes and what affect they would have on each other, so I will abstain from voting. All of the mixes will be new to me anyway, so I'm all good with whatever the vote comes to.

MarkDaSpark wrote:What? No PS??? I call Shenanigans!!!!!


Edit: Partial nevermind. There is a choice for a PS/PV blend, but instead of all the Mouvedre choices that are like ... 5% different, I think another blend of 80/19/1 for Syrah/PS/Viognier would be good too.

I just went through and found the existing suggestions. Since most of them were around a S/M/V blend and various opinions of amount of S/M were thrown about, best to put them all there. Now if you'd suggested the S/PS/V blend initially I'd probably have that top of my list. As it is, I want people to vote for blends with more Mourvedre in them

klezman wrote:I just went through and found the existing suggestions. Since most of them were around a S/M/V blend and various opinions of amount of S/M were thrown about, best to put them all there. Now if you'd suggested the S/PS/V blend initially I'd probably have that top of my list. As it is, I want people to vote for blends with more Mourvedre in them

Hmmm, seems you missed one .....

MarkDaSpark wrote:Count me in for a case again. Unless it's sangio, then only 3 bottles.

Oct. 1st is out for me. Since I'm bottling my own Syrah then in Ventura. Everyone who comes by to help gets a bottle per couple.


And would like to see a Cab, PS, Syrah, Malbec combo. Or a PS and Petite Verdot combo.

But you're correct. I think I got discouraged with all the Mouvedre talk.

Saw this Dinner for two + wine on travelzoo, would be tempted to try it, mostly positive mixed but funny reviews on yelp.

I am still learning and my taste is always changing... I am just excited to be a part of this!!! Can't wait to see what the final mix is!!! Seeing how you have made award winners in the past.... I can't wait to taste this one!!

MarkDaSpark wrote:But you're correct. I think I got discouraged with all the Mouvedre talk.

You're right, I did miss one! Too much of a pain to edit the poll yet again, but it looks like thus far the only blends without any "no" votes are the 90/10 Cote-Rotie style and a Super Tuscan. I don't understand the hate for Mourvedre here...especially since I've never found it to be particularly earthy or dirt-like.

klezman wrote:You're right, I did miss one! Too much of a pain to edit the poll yet again, but it looks like thus far the only blends without any "no" votes are the 90/10 Cote-Rotie style and a Super Tuscan. I don't understand the hate for Mourvedre here...especially since I've never found it to be particularly earthy or dirt-like.

Thanks for putting the poll up! I can't say that I have had the Mourvedre so I am going on what others are reporting taste wise. I really don't mind whatever we decide. I just don't like dirty, leather tasting wine....

so I leave it up to the experienced winos! Maybe this weekend I will get to town and buy some wine with Mourvedre in it.... any suggestions?

mommadeb1 wrote:Thanks for putting the poll up! I can't say that I have had the Mourvedre so I am going on what others are reporting taste wise. I really don't mind whatever we decide. I just don't like dirty, leather tasting wine....

so I leave it up to the experienced winos! Maybe this weekend I will get to town and buy some wine with Mourvedre in it.... any suggestions?

If you've got access to any Twisted Oak, try the #!@$@# Red. My latest CT note says "Deep reddish purple colour. Fruit forward nose with a little astringency and something greenish and a little spicy. Some plum after not swirling it for a while. Rich mouthfeel, long finish. Flavours are a bit green and the rest is fruit. Maybe something slightly spicy, but I can't place it."

Trentadue made a single varietal Mourvedre from Alexander Valley. My CT note for the 2006 says "It's definitely peaked, maybe slightly past its prime. Huge floral and blueberry nose immediately, and then on swirling it gets a touch of heat and red fruits. It's got a nice acidity, still lively on the palate. I think maybe this is a good display of minerality. Tannins are round and soft, but still leave a dryness behind. Not terribly complex, but I think this will get better with a bit of air still."

One of my favourite new-world style wines is Twisted Oak Parcel 17. Full of blueberry and fruit, probably with a touch of earth, but I haven't tasted it since the winery in Feb. It's 50% Mourvedre or so.

If you have any, I believe the Woot Adequate Gift Wine had some Mourvedre in it. Although the winemaker for that calls it Mataro, and it also goes by Monastrell.

Happy adventuring!

klezman wrote:You're right, I did miss one! Too much of a pain to edit the poll yet again, but it looks like thus far the only blends without any "no" votes are the 90/10 Cote-Rotie style and a Super Tuscan. I don't understand the hate for Mourvedre here...especially since I've never found it to be particularly earthy or dirt-like.

To me, it's more in comparison with other, more fruity varietals that mouvedre taste a bit earthy. It's not overly earthy.

klezman wrote:If you've got access to any Twisted Oak, try the #!@$@# Red. My latest CT note says "Deep reddish purple colour. Fruit forward nose with a little astringency and something greenish and a little spicy. Some plum after not swirling it for a while. Rich mouthfeel, long finish. Flavours are a bit green and the rest is fruit. Maybe something slightly spicy, but I can't place it."

Trentadue made a single varietal Mourvedre from Alexander Valley. My CT note for the 2006 says "It's definitely peaked, maybe slightly past its prime. Huge floral and blueberry nose immediately, and then on swirling it gets a touch of heat and red fruits. It's got a nice acidity, still lively on the palate. I think maybe this is a good display of minerality. Tannins are round and soft, but still leave a dryness behind. Not terribly complex, but I think this will get better with a bit of air still."

One of my favourite new-world style wines is Twisted Oak Parcel 17. Full of blueberry and fruit, probably with a touch of earth, but I haven't tasted it since the winery in Feb. It's 50% Mourvedre or so.

If you have any, I believe the Woot Adequate Gift Wine had some Mourvedre in it. Although the winemaker for that calls it Mataro, and it also goes by Monastrell.

Happy adventuring!

Thanks! I missed out on some of the Twisted oak offerings.... I have enjoyed all the Twisteds I have tried... I will have to go to the wine mega store this weekend and see what they have....

klezman wrote:You're right, I did miss one! Too much of a pain to edit the poll yet again, but it looks like thus far the only blends without any "no" votes are the 90/10 Cote-Rotie style and a Super Tuscan. I don't understand the hate for Mourvedre here...especially since I've never found it to be particularly earthy or dirt-like.

That's not a problem for me, but somehow the "bacon-y" taste does it, which is surprising since I love bacon.

I just know I don't care for the M in GSM.


I can't remember, but I don't think you had a 90/9/1 blend of Syrah/Mouvedre/Viognier on the list. Perhaps it was just that the Mouvedre percent was too big?

MarkDaSpark wrote:That's not a problem for me, but somehow the "bacon-y" taste does it, which is surprising since I love bacon.

I just know I don't care for the M in GSM.


I can't remember, but I don't think you had a 90/9/1 blend of Syrah/Mouvedre/Viognier on the list. Perhaps it was just that the Mouvedre percent was too big?

I think of Syrah as having a bacon-y flavour to it...at least the good warmer climate version of it (in comparison to the white pepper awesomeness of cool climate Syrah). Mmmm...bacon.

I don't recall seeing this blend you mentioned...although sanity mentioned getting an extra couple of boxes of fruit so we could fine-tune the blend at crush time in increments of < 5%.

I find Mouvedre has a bit of bacon flavor, some "good" earth (not overt must or dirt). I enjoy the pepperyness of good warm-climate Syrah, too.

It just goes to show rpm's 8 word mantra holds true, since everyone is so different - pull lots of corks, remember what you taste.

We can order extra fruit, in full box increments.
If we order 22 boxes, then a possible blend is
19 boxes Syrah
2 boxes Mouvedre
1 box Viognier
or
20 boxes Syrah
2 boxes Viognier
or
20 boxes S
1 box M
1 box V

sanity wrote:I find Mouvedre has a bit of bacon flavor, some "good" earth (not overt must or dirt). I enjoy the pepperyness of good warm-climate Syrah, too.

It just goes to show rpm's 8 word mantra holds true, since everyone is so different - pull lots of corks, remember what you taste.

We can order extra fruit, in full box increments.
If we order 22 boxes, then a possible blend is
19 boxes Syrah
2 boxes Mouvedre
1 box Viognier
or
20 boxes Syrah
2 boxes Viognier
or
20 boxes S
1 box M
1 box V

Decisions, decisions....

How about 19S 2V 1M ?

Imagine4vr wrote:How about 19S 2V 1M ?

I was going to say 18/2/2 If we crush and blend it all immediately, then we get 82% Syrah, and 9% each Mourvedre and Viognier. I'm not sure if it's an option to do the primary fermentation and then blending trials after that. If so, that would be pretty sweet.

Any of the predominantly Syrah blends, with M and V of similar proportions is fine with me.

Alas, everything must be co-fermented; unless of course we wanted to pay lotsa extra bucks to ferment the juices separately. I don't think Charlie has the space anyway.

klezman wrote:I was going to say 18/2/2 If we crush and blend it all immediately, then we get 82% Syrah, and 9% each Mourvedre and Viognier. I'm not sure if it's an option to do the primary fermentation and then blending trials after that. If so, that would be pretty sweet.

I like this one too.

sanity wrote:Any of the predominantly Syrah blends, with M and V of similar proportions is fine with me.

Alas, everything must be co-fermented; unless of course we wanted to pay lotsa extra bucks to ferment the juices separately. I don't think Charlie has the space anyway.

Don't know about the Mourvèdre, but I believe SV blends typically co-ferment the Syrah and Viognier.

My vote: 17S/3M/2V. Second place is 18S/2M/2V.

Sanity, PM for you.

klezman wrote:I was going to say 18/2/2

Works for me.

CAGrl wrote:Sanity, PM for you.

Sorry, it's not there. If you replied to a PM post I've already deleted, I guess it doesn't appear. Post again please.

I've updated the first post in this thread to denote payments received. A reminder that monies are due by September 1 so I may pay Grape Expectations.

There is a tie between a Super Tuscan and a Syrah/V blend, with many of you also posting here you are OK with a S/M/V blend. Anyone else want to vote that has not yet voted?

sanity wrote:Sorry, it's not there. If you replied to a PM post I've already deleted, I guess it doesn't appear. Post again please.

Reposted.

sanity wrote:There is a tie between a Super Tuscan and a Syrah/V blend, with many of you also posting here you are OK with a S/M/V blend. Anyone else want to vote that has not yet voted?

OK, given the tie situation, perhaps we leave it as either:

a) 18/2/2 (although I'd happily go to 17/3/2) not-quite-Cote-Rotie blend
b) Super-tuscan Sangiovese-based blend

with the final decision coming once we get a bit more info about the later stages of fruit ripening, quality, and timing? When does the final decision need to be made?

For the record, I am equally happy with the two choices above.

Just spoke with Charlie, and we need our varietal decision by the 10th of September. He is discouraging us from purchasing 2 cases of extra fruit, saying the barrel won't hold it, it will hold 20 or 21. We may get the percentage we want, but no place to put the extra juice.

So how about 18S, 2V, 1M or 18S, 2V (this is my choice).

sanity wrote:Just spoke with Charlie, and we need our varietal decision by the 10th of September. He is discouraging us from purchasing 2 cases of extra fruit, saying the barrel won't hold it, it will hold 20 or 21. We may get the percentage we want, but no place to put the extra juice.

So how about 18S, 2V, 1M or 18S, 2V (this is my choice).

My vote would be 18s,2v but,

I will go with what everyone else wants..

sanity wrote:So how about 18S, 2V, 1M or 18S, 2V (this is my choice).

Mine, too.

i also abstain... don't know enough of the sub varietals to make a decision... would like something that'll tame the syrah a degree or two...

sanity wrote:Just spoke with Charlie, and we need our varietal decision by the 10th of September. He is discouraging us from purchasing 2 cases of extra fruit, saying the barrel won't hold it, it will hold 20 or 21. We may get the percentage we want, but no place to put the extra juice.

So how about 18S, 2V, 1M or 18S, 2V (this is my choice).

18S, 2V is my main vote, but wonder about 18S, 1M, 1V?

Mr. MoreRed might not be bad at that point.

Since we tend to like to do (and do well) the "common blend with a twist" I really think we should throw in a touch of the mourvedre in there - Syrah-Viognier is becoming increasingly common, so let's shake it up a little.

So, I say 18/2/1 or 17/2/2 (S/V/M)

cheron98 wrote:Since we tend to like to do (and do well) the "common blend with a twist" I really think we should throw in a touch of the mourvedre in there - Syrah-Viognier is becoming increasingly common, so let's shake it up a little.

So, I say 18/2/1 or 17/2/2 (S/V/M)

Couldn't have said it better, and my pref would be towards the 17/2/2, which is 81% Syrah, 9.5% each Viognier and Mourvedre.

That's not to say that when El Jefe releases Sir-Ron-Yeah I won't be picking up a few, though

klezman wrote:Couldn't have said it better, and my pref would be towards the 17/2/2, which is 81% Syrah, 9.5% each Viognier and Mourvedre.

That's not to say that when El Jefe releases Sir-Ron-Yeah I won't be picking up a few, though

Double-ditto what Cat & Klez have said.

I finally got around to catching up on the past week of posting (spending a week in MI kind of disconnects me from the interwebs...), have made my choices in the Doodle vote, but I also think I would prefer one of the two above.

I'm not a huge fan of Mourvedre either, though also don't have enough experience to truly decide. But I like when we make blends that are outside the norm, so the Syrah with a mix of Mourvedre & Viognier sounds great to me.
I think I'd lean more towards the 17/2/2 as well, but if there are enough (or even one) major objection then I'd be just as fine with 18s/2v/1m.

cheron98 wrote:Since we tend to like to do (and do well) the "common blend with a twist" I really think we should throw in a touch of the mourvedre in there - Syrah-Viognier is becoming increasingly common, so let's shake it up a little.

So, I say 18/2/1 or 17/2/2 (S/V/M)

I like the thought here. I'll change my vote to 18S/2V/1M.
But I'm still fully prepared to go along with the majority.

How are dates looking again? Looks like I might be going up weekend of Oct. 1st after all.

tenuki wrote:How are dates looking again? Looks like I might be going up weekend of Oct. 1st after all.

Charlie cannot promise fruit availability then; he can promise around October 22nd. So far, imagine4vr and you are the only ones coming out during October. I think everyone else is booked.

cheron98 wrote:Since we tend to like to do (and do well) the "common blend with a twist" I really think we should throw in a touch of the mourvedre in there - Syrah-Viognier is becoming increasingly common, so let's shake it up a little.

So, I say 18/2/1 or 17/2/2 (S/V/M)

I agree that we need the 3 different... as far as the percentages....either of the above is fine with me.... are you def doing crush on the 22 of Oct.?