Updated 1/27/2011
Barrel is fully sold

Racking in February, see this post.

Bottling May 14 @ 10 am. I'll start a new thread closer to bottling time.

It's time again to make wine!

We had so much fun during the crush, the press, the bottling and the awards dinner (where we won a Bronze Medal for our blend, out of 34 competitors in our category, Zin blends)!

CyberPub Cellars Pub Blend #2

Cost: $2400 barrel = 240 bottles = 20 cases = $120 per case, plus cost of label.

Blend
Barbera, PS, Cabernet Sauvignon

Please hit the comments below with your input!

Attendees
sanity and mr sanity 1 case
imagine4vr 1/2 case
mewalk707 1 case
tequila mom
tenuki 1 case
MarkDaSpark 1 case
9 of sanity's fun friends 1 case

Sponsors
local business 7 cases
polarbear22 1 case
CJ 1 case
CAT 1 case
d-dog and bam and tiger7610? 1 case
taaliza 1 case
HAK 1 case
JOATMON 1/2 case
klezman piggybacking with no-cal group
sukeiasa 1 case

Grape Expectations Website

Pics of Crush and Bottling

Thread for the Crush

sanity wrote:I would like to do a Barbera blend, with PS,
or Sangiovese, and/or Cab. A Piemonte(se) - like blend, maybe?

I second this idea, of the Barbera blend (with PS).
Sangio, as would Cab I suppose, would also make good additions. Sangio moreso, I think.

sanity wrote:It's time again to make wine!

Yes to either of the dates and I'm all for a Barbera blend -

Bleh, I'm going 23-25th or 26th. I've already shown I have no problem going to Vegas back to back weekends, but taking two Mondays off and letting the bosses know my habits ... ;)

Having a case per person and the business means we'd only have 10 people, what's the minimum the business wants?

I'm in for a case, I actually like mine unlabeled, but I'll probably chip in for them and just not put them on unless needed.

Barbera blend would be interesting, I'd be a little afraid of sangio without some outside input, as I'm not sure how it affects the body and really not a fan of light bodied reds.

tenuki wrote:Bleh, I'm going 23-25th or 26th. I've already shown I have no problem going to Vegas back to back weekends, but taking two Mondays off and letting the bosses know my habits ... ;)

Having a case per person and the business means we'd only have 10 people, what's the minimum the business wants?

I'm in for a case, I actually like mine unlabeled, but I'll probably chip in for them and just not put them on unless needed.

Barbera blend would be interesting, I'd be a little afraid of sangio without some outside input, as I'm not sure how it affects the body and really not a fan of light bodied reds.

Sorry, I know you mentioned the dates you were already booked here; I'm only available the 2 weekends I posted. Spoke with Charlie today re harvest; he said ideal time to crush looks like it would be earlier-mid October. Besides, neither trip is for gambling, right? You could see JT or do winemaking anywhere, so they're not really "Vegas" trips!

My first choice is a Barbera, 65% - 70%, PS 25% - 30%, Cab 0% -10%.

Waiting to hear re the business' minimum.

I'm in. Either weekend works fine.

Sanity, would you mind holding that 1/2 case till October?

sanity wrote:Sorry, I know you mentioned the dates you were already booked here; I'm only available the 2 weekends I posted. Spoke with Charlie today re harvest; he said ideal time to crush looks like it would be earlier-mid October. Besides, neither trip is for gambling, right? You could see JT or do winemaking anywhere, so they're not really "Vegas" trips!

My first choice is a Barbera, 65% - 70%, PS 25% - 30%, Cab 0% -10%.

Waiting to hear re the business minimum.

Sounds good on the blend. Put me down for a case.

mewalk707 wrote:I'm in. Either weekend works fine.

Sanity, would you mind holding that 1/2 case till October?

Great! Yes, I'll hold the wine till then.

Now able to edit posts - go figure, after I post that I can't edit or update.

For those of you traveling, will it be more costly for airfare/lodging on a holiday weekend, and is that a trade-off for not having to take an extra day off work?

sanity wrote:Now able to edit posts - go figure, after I post that I can't edit or update.

For those of you traveling, will it be more costly for airfare/lodging on a holiday weekend, and is that a trade-off for not having to take an extra day off work?

Hmm, there's a slot tournament that'd give me cheap room from from 14th-17th, but then I'd be less likely to stay for the actual crush on the 18th, could hang out all weekend though.

sanity wrote:Now able to edit posts - go figure, after I post that I can't edit or update.

For those of you traveling, will it be more costly for airfare/lodging on a holiday weekend, and is that a trade-off for not having to take an extra day off work?

Cost wise it is much cheaper to stay the weekend of the 15-18th - especially that Sunday night the rate is over $100 more for the holiday weekend. So I switch my vote to the 15-18.

Tenuki, you could always stay with someone Sun night and fly home Monday - you know you would not want to leave

I'm interested in principle - would need to get things sorted out with work and travel and such, though.

15th-18th works for me.

I won't be able to make the crush with work suddenly being all-consuming (my 30th bash probably won't happen until Feb or March), but I would like to be in for a case.

I like Barbera/PS/Cab blend. That sounds good to me.

For people who shipped a case to NY last time, how was was shipping?

klezman, JOATMON, I look forward to meeting you!

tiger7610, none of the shares shipped to NY, but the shares that went to Florida cost about $35 iirc.

I'll confirm with Charlie for the 18th; the 11th will be more crowded with the locals doing their crush.

I like the idea of adding some Cab to the Barbera/PS.

A barrels is 24 crates of fruit. We must use full crates for each part of the blend.
How about:
Barbera 16-17 crates
PS 5-6 crates
Cab 2 crates

sanity wrote:Barbera 16-17 crates
PS 5-6 crates
Cab 2 crates

16/5/3?

That's roughly: 67/21/12%

Hmm, that's a lot of PS. 17/4/3? (71/17/12%)

I am also interested in sponsoring again. Count me in for one case.

CT Wineaux - I am willing to split if any of you are interested. PM if you are interested.

tiger7610 wrote:For people who shipped a case to NY last time, how was was shipping?

Very simple: we put the case of wine into a shipping box, taped it up, and checked it as an additional piece of luggage. Of course, that only works if you're able to be there.

Tiger, If you're interested in going in for part of a case, let us know.

cheron98 wrote:16/5/3?

That's roughly: 67/21/12%

Hmm, that's a lot of PS. 17/4/3? (71/17/12%)

Originally, I was thinking of 17/5/2 (71/21/8). I'd like the PS to be at least 20%, more prominent than the cab. (I originally was thinking closer to 30%!).

btw, I put you in the interested column?
sorry you can't make it out; keep the bottling in mind!

Dial back the PS and I'm in for a case. I'd up the CS and lower the PS. Use the PS as a structural element, but use the CS as a flavoring element.

Do thay have any PV? That's a kick-ass structural grape.

Here's the latest from Charlie at Grape Expectations:

It's Time To Make Wine

Hey everybody the 2010 grape harvest is RAPIDLY approaching and we are busy signing up new and old Grape Expectations wine makers. Time is running out for the 2010 fall harvest and we encourage everyone to organize your barrel groups ASAP. There is still more room for signups, but time is closing in. Don't miss out on a guaranteed fun filled, unforgettable wine making experience.

Because of an extremely mild northern California growing season, this year's harvest will be the most consistent in decades. All varietals are worth exploring because of predictable sugar and acidity levels. Because of these unique growing conditions, Grape Expectations is now offering PINOT NOIR from Russian River, Mendocino and Amador. We know a lot of you have wanted PINOT in the past but we never had the confidence in any harvest until now.

Please don't hesitate to give me a call regarding barrel signups. (SEPTEMBER is the month !!!!!!) IT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YA.

Many thanks for your continued support and loyalty.

Charlie Peters

(CWO) Chief Wine Officer

Grape Expectations
“In Vino Veritas”
___________________

Now is the time to commit to participating by attending and/or purchasing shares of the barrel.
I must make the payment in full, in cash. He does not accept CC's. I will pm each of you with Paypal info and mailing info if you prefer to send a check.

Now is also the time to agree on a blend.
17 Barbera
4 PS
3 CS
or
16, 5, 3

sanity wrote:Originally, I was thinking of 17/5/2 (71/21/8). I'd like the PS to be at least 20%, more prominent than the cab. (I originally was thinking closer to 30%!).

btw, I put you in the interested column?
sorry you can't make it out; keep the bottling in mind!

I'm just a little afraid at that high level of PS that it might just overwhelm the subtler flavors of the Barbera.

You can put me in the sponsor column, definitely in for a case - Wendy and I are going to split it.

She also is unable to make it out for crush, but we're both going to let people know that come mid-May, we're gonna be heading to Vegas

sanity wrote:Now is also the time to agree on a blend.
17 Barbera
4 PS
3 CS

That's my vote.

cheron98 wrote:I'm just a little afraid at that high level of PS that it might just overwhelm the subtler flavors of the Barbera.

You can put me in the sponsor column, definitely in for a case - Wendy and I are going to split it.

She also is unable to make it out for crush, but we're both going to let people know that come mid-May, we're gonna be heading to Vegas

I think the cab might offset that; the cabs that others made that we tasted at the dinner were on the softer side. So the 17/4/3?

sanity wrote:Now is the time to commit to participating by attending and/or purchasing shares of the barrel.
I must make the payment in full, in cash. He does not accept CC's. I will pm each of you with Paypal info and mailing info if you prefer to send a check.

Now is also the time to agree on a blend.
17 Barbera
4 PS
3 CS
or
16, 5, 3

If you still haven't sold this out, bahwm and I will take a case, but I know we can't make it for crush, because we're already committed to playing hooky on Friday of Columbus Day weekend to get to a wine release party/harvest dinner in Healdsburg. We'll see about other momentous events in the life of the wine, but we should probably be able to find a way to get there for the bottling again, if nothing else. Haven't heard from Tiger yet about her participation, but assuming we get there for the bottling, we could act as couriers for hers, if she's in.

ddeuddeg wrote:If you still haven't sold this out, bahwm and I will take a case, but I know we can't make it for crush, because we're already committed to playing hooky on Friday of Columbus Day weekend to get to a wine release party/harvest dinner in Healdsburg. We'll see about other momentous events in the life of the wine, but we should probably be able to find a way to get there for the bottling again, if nothing else. Haven't heard from Tiger yet about her participation, but assuming we get there for the bottling, we could act as couriers for hers, if she's in.

You will be missed!

Discussion sure got into full swing over the weekend while I wasn't paying attention...
I of course love the idea of a Barbera/PS blend, since those are two of my favorite varietals.
As for the case...any other NYCrew want some? As much as I'd love to get a full case (and will probably be dismayed when I taste it and didn't), I probably shouldn't get a full case. But for now, put me down for a case. I'll toss out some emails tonight to see if anyone wants to split.

As for the vote. Hmm, I suppose the 17/4/3 is probably best. 21% PS just might end up being slightly too much for the 71% Barbera to handle, so making it 71/17/12 is probably a bit more balanced.
Too bad we can't find a way to try something similar to a 71/21/8 blend first.

Also does anyone know why our first blend had such a high ABV and is there anything we can do to try to prevent it from being that high this time?

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Also does anyone know why our first blend had such a high ABV and is there anything we can do to try to prevent it from being that high this time?

Because it started out at 27.5 Brix.

Convince them to pick the grapes a little sooner? Probably not gonna happen.

Stop the fermentation sooner? This would result in a sweeter wine, with the RS being higher and all.

Put it through a de-alc process? Don't think they do that there...

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Also does anyone know why our first blend had such a high ABV and is there anything we can do to try to prevent it from being that high this time?

cheron98 wrote:Because it started out at 27.5 Brix.

Convince them to pick the grapes a little sooner? Probably not gonna happen.

Stop the fermentation sooner? This would result in a sweeter wine, with the RS being higher and all.

Put it through a de-alc process? Don't think they do that there...

The fruit sat in cold storage for awhile, too; last year's harvest was a bit earlier so there was more time between harvest and crush than there will be this year.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:
I of course love the idea of a Barbera/PS blend, since those are two of my favorite varietals.
As for the case...any other NYCrew want some? As much as I'd love to get a full case (and will probably be dismayed when I taste it and didn't), I probably shouldn't get a full case. But for now, put me down for a case. I'll toss out some emails tonight to see if anyone wants to split.

What about splitting with tenuki?

sanity wrote:What about splitting with tenuki?

Hmm, I thought I already said I was in for a case. I don't mind splitting though, or with mewalk and klezman I think we'll have enough bottles to go around.

tenuki wrote:Hmm, I thought I already said I was in for a case. I don't mind splitting though, or with mewalk and klezman I think we'll have enough bottles to go around.

So sorry; you did; I just paid attention to the part about you coming out back to back weekends, lol. I'll post you for a case, y'all can work out the details.

sanity wrote:You will be missed!

But do you have us in for a case?

I'm in. I'd be a happier Cj if it was 17/3/4, but I'm not going to quibble. Esp. when I can't come out for the crushing.

Hmm. I sorta kinda said something about attending the crush, but it was pretty non-committal.

I'd like to be in for a half-case, but it sounds like tenuki has already allocated his, er, allocation.

I doubt I can attend the crush. Attending future events in the life of this wine will have to be decided on a case by case (ahem!) basis.

JOATMON wrote:Hmm. I sorta kinda said something about attending the crush, but it was pretty non-committal.

I'd like to be in for a half-case, but it sounds like tenuki has already allocated his, er, allocation.

I doubt I can attend the crush. Attending future events in the life of this wine will have to be decided on a case by case (ahem!) basis.

Not really, mewalk's in as well, so we should have bottles to go around.

tenuki wrote:Not really, mewalk's in as well, so we should have bottles to go around.

I've been thinking about it and would ideally go in for a half case, I think. So I can pair with JOATMON or tenuki or whomever. If there are 3 cases for 4 people, then I'm up for some other method of splitting. I'm flexible.

ddeuddeg wrote:But do you have us in for a case?

Yes, I had put you on the list before I posted.