Tzabaco Rancho Vineyards
SO YOU WANT TO MAKE WINE
- where do you start?
Selecting the Variety
Click Here for our Varietal List! We have a great selection of white grapes that includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc (2 clones) and Viognier (2 clones). Our red grapes include Cabernet (4 clones), Merlot, Malbec (the best Malbec clone), and Petit verdot (a great French clone) for Bordeaux blends as well as Zinfandel (40 year old vines) and Petite sirah (great Zin blender). Past homewinemakers have made wonderful blends from many of these varieties - your only limitation is your imagination!
Assembling the Tools
You will need some basic tools to get started and they will be found at your local wine/beer making shop. We have a great shop up in Sonoma County called The Beverage People but, if you are coming on a Sunday, they will be closed! Since we crush all our grapes and press our white varietals for you, you do not need those two pieces of equipment (although a press will need to be purchased or rented to press the red varietals). At a minimum, you will need rubbermaid brutes to ferment in, glass or stainless steel demijohns or kegs to store the wine in, and food grade plastic hoses to transfer wine by siphon. A list of winemaking supplies at the Beverage People is HERE.
It's Harvest - Watching Ripening
We use an exceptionally nice software called iContact to securely manage our email list. These emails are the way that I connect with you about our extensive sugar sampling that occurs pre-harvest. I also update you with current and forecasted weather to let you know how that might affect harvesting decisions. Please add your contact information HERE!
Pre-Visit Planning
Just some details to read about before you come about Healdsburg that you might like to know before you drive up here. Also some notes about what the temperature might be, what to wear and where to eat!
Directions to the Vineyard
We have included driving directions to the vineyard in another page!
Making the Wine
Resources
A selection of some of the most helpful books that I have found at HERE!
A listing of interesting online resources including classes, homewinemaking websites, blogs and magazines are HERE!
Fun Facts
I've added some interesting calculations that help you figure out how many lbs you need for your project HERE!
COMMON ADDITIVES
SO2 - Sulfur Dioxide
Pristine grapes require little SO2 (30-40 ppm) but SOME is always required to reduce the indigenous population of native microflora and is added IMMEDIATELY. Grapes in poor condition (NOT a good place to start) do require a larger addition. I happily use Efferbaktol powder with easily allows me to adjust the SO2. ADDED IMMEDIATELY AFTER CRUSHING.
WATER
This is a difficult issue. The current trend of long hang times to facilitate the best flavors possible does, sometimes, result in high Brix juices. Our target Brix range is 24.5 - 26.5 (target alcohol 13.5 -14.5%) but mother nature sometimes provides too much heat just as the grapes are ready to harvest. Adding a measured amount of water if your Brix is higher than 27.5 might be necessary. IMPORTANT!! DO NOT MAKE ANY WATER ADDITIONS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CRUSHING AND MIXING SEVERAL TIMES. SPLIT THE ADDITION IN HALF AND ONLY ADD THE FIRST PORTION - WAIT ANOTHER 24 HOURS AND TEST AGAIN!!!
ENZYMES
Enzymes are used to help release color and flavor compounds held in the skins. These compounds are solubilized into the new wine through the action of heat and increasing alcohol. Because we are dealing with very small quantities of fruit that do not produce the excessive heat produced in wineries that require jacketed and cooled tanks we help the extraction process along with a product that breaks the cell walls. Lallzyme EX has proven to be extremely beneficial. CAN BE ADDED IMMEDIATELY OR WHEN GRAPES ARRIVE HOME BUT WITHIN 8 HOURS OF CRUSHING - NOTHING IS GAINED BY WAITING!
NUTRIENTS
Must (crushed grapes) have a wide range of available bionutrients - knowing the must nutrient profile of the vineyard is essential. We ALWAYS ad a complex nitrogen containing product at the beginning of fermentation (our current favorite is Fermaid-K but there are other products available) and supplement at the middle of fermentation with DAP (diammonium phosphate). CAN BE ADDED IMMEDIATELY OR WHEN GRAPES ARRIVE HOME BUT WITHIN 8 HOURS OF CRUSHING - NOTHING IS GAINED BY WAITING!
