Category Archives: OENOLOGICAL ODYSSEY

Follow my fall into wine making here. With no training, I craft horrible wines to better understand the process that confects grapes into alcohol.

VIDAL.VINEYARD.VISIT

Posted on November 1, 2011 by waywardwine

Check your messages, your grapes might have evaporated. The night before heading to New York State’s Fingerlakes, my cell phone informs me that Fallbright grape growers sent back my seven gallons of cabernet sauvignon. The fruit was junk. Sure the … Continue reading →

Posted in CABERNET CRISES: MY FOURTH WINE, OENOLOGICAL ODYSSEY | Tagged alcohol, fall foliage, Finger Lakes, fuzzy caterpillar, Geneva, Grape, grape must, home wine, home winemaking, Keuka Lake, New York, Seneca Lake, Vidal Blanc, wine | 2 Comments

RIPENING.RED

Posted on September 14, 2011 by waywardwine

The clacking hooves of the four horsemen of the apocalypse are upon me. I’ve screwed up. I just ordered 75 pounds of cabernet sauvignon grapes. That sounds normal (for me). But this ain’t balmy Napa. No, I bought cab. from … Continue reading →

Posted in CABERNET CRISES: MY FOURTH WINE, Cabernet Sauvignon | Tagged Apocalypse, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, cold hardiness zone, Fall Bright Winemakers Shoppe, Finger Lake, Finger Lake vintages, Grape, hot twins, Keuka Lake, Ripeness in viticulture, wine, Wine tasting descriptors | Leave a comment

VIGNOLES.VS.VIGNOLES

Posted on September 7, 2011 by waywardwine

So I made this white wine last year. It turned out flawed, hazy, and unexpectedly fizzy. The last third of each bottle is a yeasty murk and somewhat undrinkable. Corks shot from bottles until I caged them. Luckily, I like … Continue reading →

Posted in Keuka Lake, New York, VIGNOLES VENTURING, White, WINERIES WANDERED | Tagged bottle, Finger Lake Wine, Food, Fulkerson Winery, home winemaking, Keuka Lake, vignoles, wine, Wine tasting descriptors, Yates Cellars | Leave a comment

VIGNOLES.REVISITED

Posted on May 30, 2011 by waywardwine

“Although hastily done, guiding my vignoles from the Finger Lakes to finish required the daily attentions of an obsessed parent…Now dad goes on vacation, trusting he has done enough and that his kid won’t wreck the carpet again.” So hopeful. … Continue reading →

Posted in OENOLOGICAL ODYSSEY, VIGNOLES VENTURING | Tagged alcohol, bottle, Finger Lakes, Keuka Lake, New York, racking, residual sugar, riesling, Sparkling wine, Sweetness of wine, vignoles, wine, Wine tasting descriptors, yeast | 4 Comments

CORKING.ABOUT

Posted on February 28, 2011 by waywardwine

Midnight nears. I have not packed for our trip. My wine rests in thirty bottles but they need closure, literally and figuratively. Because I saved bottles, this vignoles venture will not see me experimenting with screw-caps. Although, I really really … Continue reading →