Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

This is the third Cabernet Springs Farm has made from local grapes.  The first Cab Sav we crushed on the day my wife and I got married in 2010.  We now refer to it as the “Wedding Wine’.  We always seem to be making wine on or around our anniversary now, which is not a bad thing at all.  I skipped making wine in 2011 & 2013 due to other farm projects.  In 2012 we made 5 gallons of some beautiful stuff.  I can’t wait to do a vertical tasting of all three. 

2014 was a great year for grapes in Virginia.  It was a mild summer with cool nights and not a lot of rain.  The only thing I noticed in my own vineyard is the Japanese beetles were fierce in numbers.  I feel pretty lucky to get grapes this year as grapes are in big demand these days in VA.

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Notes:

10.11.14	Procured 6 (very full) lugs from local vineyard.  Set up the “crush pad” and prepared for the crush and destem.  Sanitized all equipment and then a quick BRIX check of 23 from refractometer.  After the crush the addition of SO2 is added to kill off any wild yeasts or bacteria.   Let it sit for 24 hours.
10.12.14	Tested must for specific gravity and acid: SG 1.087 Expected Alcohol about 12% Barrel Temp 66* T.A. resulted in the addition of an acid blend Added Pectin Enzyme Expected yield < 10 gallons Created yeast starter and pitched Pasteur yeast
10.13.14	Strong fermentation, punched down twice a day
10.17.14	SG 1.010 temp 66*
10.20.14	SG 1.000 Added malolactic bacteria
10.25.14	SG 0.995 Pressed
10.28.14	Racked off lees
11.23.14	Racked, tart taste, added French oak chips to 9 gallons
12.25.14	Sampled how the oak is coming along, needs a bit more time to mellow. Good bouquet
1.4.14	Racked off oak, it is tasting like it might be a big wine, it has a great bouquet, it’s just starting to round out a little but it is still quite sharp and tight.

Solarization

This past summer we started working on expanding the vineyard.  As part of preparation for this expansion we marked off roughly where the rows would be placed and covered up each row with a tarp to solarize the soil.  This process can help to control not only weeds, but also fungus, nematodes and certain bacteria by heating the soil during the hottest months over the summer.   Additional benefits during the breakdown of the organic material will provide nutrients to include nitrogen, calcium, folic acid, magnesium and potassium to the soil structure.

Watering rows before plastic placement

We got started in late July. The first step after site selection and row placement is to soak each row heavy with water. Then, we rolled the dark plastic tarp out and stapled firmly to the ground.  It wasn’t until after the first soft frost that we then removed the plastic.

I sent a soil sample to Virginia Tech and the results came back good.  All that was needed was the addition of lime.

Sprayed around rows to keep grass back.

Tilled in lime and break up of soil to set up over the winter.

Final result in October

The next steps early this spring before the baby vines arrive is to add a nice layer of compost to the soil and install wooden posts for preliminary trellis prep.