Moving out, Selling off

We’re moving out of state.

I have not done much with the vineyard and this site for many years.

I am selling my remaining wine equipment. It’s all been kept in my basement, packed in boxes for years.

I have the items linked and shown below (and more).

Pickup in the Pasadena area.

PRICING:
unused items: ~75% of current retail;
used items: generally less than 70% new retail;
I’m willing to entertain offers.

Please inquire at suandmw@gmaiul.com

Bird netting: https://offerup.co/ubVyuhRafzb

SurroundWP kaolin clay: https://offerup.co/ppqchDQafzb

pH meter: https://offerup.co/0cIr6HPafzb

Refractometer: https://offerup.co/ehzEWeOafzb

Fungicidie: https://offerup.co/yRdJd1Mafzb

R-11 surfactant: https://offerup.co/ENhHRsMafzb

4-gallon backpack sprayer: https://offerup.co/7nYn7zLafzb

Irrigation tubing: https://offerup.co/KCG00DKafzb

Oak inserts: https://offerup.co/J174KSJafzb

Inert gas: https://offerup.co/DPbkYhJafzb

Hydrometer: https://offerup.co/Y7G6cGIafzb

Wine thief: https://offerup.co/44KWEOGafzb

Automatic filler tap: https://offerup.co/bm0q8jHafzb

Wine sulphiter: https://offerup.co/44KWEOGafzb

Italian wine corker: https://offerup.co/diNs4prjfzb

Mini Jet Wine filter: https://offerup.co/mQwGzOEafzb

20-gallon fermenters: https://offerup.co/z8QbXfEafzb

44 gallon wine fermenters: https://offerup.co/Qp6GGuDafzb

Glass jugs:
1/2-gallon: https://offerup.co/ZCGdgRBafzb

Carboys:
5-gallon: https://offerup.co/qheDOrAafzb

6.5-gallon: https://offerup.co/jqhQgaBafzb

9-gallon: https://offerup.co/q39Au0zafzb

Misc. carboy accessories: carriers, drainers, plugs, bung, airlocks. Not everything is pictured.
(in general, I price unused stuff at around75% new current retail; used stuff is 50%-70% depending on item – OBO)

5 18-gallon plastic bins of empty wine bottles:

Once an addict…..

Mission San Gabriel grounds keeper Jose Padron. Sharing some of the wine he’s made from the vines at the mission while sitting with me under the Mother Vine. Photo:Walt Fogler-Mancini, Pasadena Star-News.

Somethings you cannot escape. Whether it’s a matter of inherent tendencies and proclivities, or “catching the bug”, very seldom is one able to completely and permanently forswear a passion.

So is the case with me and wine and wine making.

For the past few years, I’ve been propagating some cuttings from the Mother Vine at the Mission San Gabriel. I became involved in the effort after visiting the mission in December of 2011.

The plan was to install a historically accurate demonstration vineyard.

We consulted several sources and Mitchell Hearns-Bishop of the L.A. County Arboretum was a great help.

Easter

To the despair of my parents, I am not religious – in any sense of the word. Nevertheless, I do recognize the symbolism of religious ceremonies, observances, rituals and calendars. Take, for instance, Easter.

After the vermin endemic to suburban Los Angeles and beloved by the deluded hug-a-pest-but-grow-a-garden-instead-of-a-lawn hippies, destroyed 70% of my crop last year, I was ready to give up. Then, we had two deaths in the family (more or less expected, but still difficult to get through). So, I’d not been to the vineyard since I pulled the netting.

Broke down and did it

5 cubic foot chest freezer.

My kids, when they want something, are very clever in presenting selling points that are likely to appeal to me: “A new computer will help me do better in school.” Or: “Playing football will help me lose weight“.

It’s important to keep learning, so I learned form them: “Honey, if we get a chest freezer – Home Depot has a good deal on one right now – we can use it to store all the stuff that doesn’t fit in the fridge.” And: “We’ll be able to save by buying bulk items and keep them in the chest freezer.” I was careful to add: “Except for a few weeks a year when I need to drop acids in a wine“.

So… you want to plant a home vineyard…

What’s in your vineyard supply bin?

I’ve made some recommendations in the past about making the most out of a tight space when one wants to put in a home vineyard.

But, if the reader is lucky enough to own some land and has a hankering for the vigneron lifestyle, a producing vineyard is just three years away.

“Proof-Of-Concept” sparkler

“Proof-of-Concept” base wine.

I want to make sparklers with the traditional champagne method, but without the additional cost of champagne bottles, crown caps, baskets, etc.  Making sparkling wines is not that difficult, and I think I can do it with with 750 ml flip-top bottles.

And that is the concept: A complete Champenoise process can be done successfully with a carboy and flip-top bottles.

The goal is to create sediment-free, tasty wine with carbonation. The challenge is doing it in one bottle and without the above-mentioned additional supplies.

Smells like a miracle (or something….)

The miracle of “native” fermentation.

In order to feed my wine making addiction (after the #%@*!ing raccoons destroyed 70% of my crop), I brought in some fruit from Santa Clara Valley this past weekend. In addition to my new love, Fiano, I bought 100 lbs of Sangiovese.

I have some grafts in my vine nursery awaiting planting, but I wanted to experiment with the variety. The fruit I bought is a small-berried “piccolo” clone. While the “grosso” and “piccolo” classification is not exactly accepted nomenclature, the small berry variant tends to be preferred, by virtue of the pulp-to-skin ratio notion.

Some online cellar tools

Found this on winebusiness.com today:

Winemaking Calculators (from vinoenology.com):

• Fermentation – Specific Gravity & Brix conversions, Yeast & Nutrients addition, Unit Conversion table
• Chaptalization & Water dilution – Sugar content adjustment & Water addition
• SO₂ addition – Liquid SO₂ solution & Potassium metabisulfite addition, Molecular SO₂ table, SO₂ reduction
• Acid addition – Tartaric, Malic & Citric acid addition, Deacidification
• Fining & Oak addition – Copper addition, Clarification & Oak addition
• Fortification – Alcohol addition
• Wine Blending & Cost calculator – Blending & Wine cost calculation
• Online Conversions – Volume, Temperature, Pressure, Mass, Area and Distance

These are handy calculators to keep around for large and small productions.

A slow goodbye

I’ve put a lot of energy into my vineyard. I’m not even mentioning the money.

The vineyard has kept me sane. It has been my escape, my solice. Going up that hill and getting dirty and sweaty has helped me keep a mental distance from all sorts of negative things.

D’oh! Lysozyme…

So, my 2011 Suisun Valley Montepulciano has not gone through malolactic fermentation despite two separate inoculations and the addition of Leukofood.

The cellar temperature has been above 70°F for some time and the pH is 3.4 (and change), so temperature and pH are not the reasons why the wine did not go through MLF.