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- "Grandma's Garagiste" Cabernet & Petite Sirah blend 2017
"Grandma's Garagiste" Cabernet & Petite Sirah blend 2017
"Grandma's Garagiste" Cabernet & Petite Sirah blend 2017
50% cabernet sauvignon, 50% petite sirah
This wine took shape because of a lot of really nice people who helped me out.
My friend Brad put me in touch with Megan Bell, who had no idea who I was at the time, and now I have the honor of sharing winery space with her. She put me in touch with David Ogilvie in Clarksburg, his family runs Wilson Vineyards, growing and harvesting hundreds of acres of grapes every year. David took the time to show me the grapes he had for sale and later to bring a team in to harvest my measly 1.5 tons of grapes by hand from three separate blocks. I was facing the prospect of having to destem everything by hand (after throwing out my back); so thanks to David for connecting me to the folks at the Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, a custom crush facility that destemmed it for me for the price of a couple of beers.
We picked a ½ ton of cabernet sauvignon, ½ ton merlot, and ½ ton petite sirah. These were all fermented in food grade garbage cans in Lou’s garage.
After the wine was finished, we snuck the barrels (under cover of darkness) into my storage unit with a uHaul trailer, a winch, and my friend Nicole to help. I cannot stress enough the kookiness of the storage unit. It has a slight slope to it and getting the barrels in was a labor of love and a feat of physics.
Despite all the odds, we mostly survived. The wines had essentially fermented dry by the winter, but when the merlot kicked up again in March and the barrel failed, I had to transfer the merlot into kegs for topping wine. So then there were two barrels. Needless to say, I am probably not getting my storage deposit back.
If you ever get the chance to go to Clarksburg, I highly recommend it. Clarksburg reminds me a lot of Louisiana. Merritt Island is an inland, man-made island, surrounded by canals and cut out of the alluvial soil of the Sacramento delta to allow farmers to grow in what would otherwise be mush.
two neutral oak barrels, 46 cases produced, pH 3.29, RS 0.3g/L, TA 7.3 g/L, ALC 14.13%
Purchase any 12 bottles mix and match, for a 5% off case discount. Use code CASE12 at checkout.
50% cabernet sauvignon, 50% petite sirah
This wine took shape because of a lot of really nice people who helped me out.
My friend Brad put me in touch with Megan Bell, who had no idea who I was at the time, and now I have the honor of sharing winery space with her. She put me in touch with David Ogilvie in Clarksburg, his family runs Wilson Vineyards, growing and harvesting hundreds of acres of grapes every year. David took the time to show me the grapes he had for sale and later to bring a team in to harvest my measly 1.5 tons of grapes by hand from three separate blocks. I was facing the prospect of having to destem everything by hand (after throwing out my back); so thanks to David for connecting me to the folks at the Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, a custom crush facility that destemmed it for me for the price of a couple of beers.
We picked a ½ ton of cabernet sauvignon, ½ ton merlot, and ½ ton petite sirah. These were all fermented in food grade garbage cans in Lou’s garage.
After the wine was finished, we snuck the barrels (under cover of darkness) into my storage unit with a uHaul trailer, a winch, and my friend Nicole to help. I cannot stress enough the kookiness of the storage unit. It has a slight slope to it and getting the barrels in was a labor of love and a feat of physics.
Despite all the odds, we mostly survived. The wines had essentially fermented dry by the winter, but when the merlot kicked up again in March and the barrel failed, I had to transfer the merlot into kegs for topping wine. So then there were two barrels. Needless to say, I am probably not getting my storage deposit back.
If you ever get the chance to go to Clarksburg, I highly recommend it. Clarksburg reminds me a lot of Louisiana. Merritt Island is an inland, man-made island, surrounded by canals and cut out of the alluvial soil of the Sacramento delta to allow farmers to grow in what would otherwise be mush.
two neutral oak barrels, 46 cases produced, pH 3.29, RS 0.3g/L, TA 7.3 g/L, ALC 14.13%
Purchase any 12 bottles mix and match, for a 5% off case discount. Use code CASE12 at checkout.