WiredJC Wine Making

[glx]

Interesting.  I don't know that I'd duke 'em 60 beans to attend though will be interesting to see how this turns out.

My money's on Crushpad.

Rousanne, eh?  Odd choice.  It's a notoriously difficult varietal to work both in the vineyard and in the winery.

I used to love Crushpad when they were located in SF.  Them competing with "City Winery" is kind of a joke now, because they shut down their SF operations and moved to Napa - basically, they totally up and sold out.

[bdlaw]

Interesting.  I don't know that I'd duke 'em 60 beans to attend though will be interesting to see how this turns out.

My money's on Crushpad.

Rousanne, eh?  Odd choice.  It's a notoriously difficult varietal to work both in the vineyard and in the winery.

[CeeDub]

Tasting, anyone?

[bdlaw]

Well....

Ten months or so later...

This is actually drinkable.  Popped about half an hour ago, into a carafe.  Still a bit thin, a bit acidic... but there's the beginnings of something pretty good here.  Gaining balance and a bit of weight.  Showing a lot of the zinfandel, with coloring and perfume a bit from the merlot.  The finish is beginning to persist and you can almost take away some chalk here.

In retrospect, I would've liked to have tasted the base wines separately before making the final blend % but as this thread shows, I was pretty lazy.  

Will try again in about six months or so.

Thanks again to TheBadGuy for putting this together.

[TheBadGuyWins]

cool shot of the powerhouse on the label, bd!

[bdlaw]

It's done! Some glamor shots.  Powerhouse photo courtesy Wednesday, crappy Photoshop work and label courtesy me.

[TheBadGuyWins]

This Sunday, August 2nd at 2:30pm.

They tell me they should have a bottling station open for us by 3:00, I figure we can get settled in and down some vino while we wait. Is everybody still okay with transportation?

[bdlaw]

I'ma make my very own!

[url]http://www.onlinelabels.com/bottles.htm[/url]

"Powerhaus Petrus^TM"

[TheBadGuyWins]

Bottling will be on Sunday August 2nd at 2:00pm (4pm was already booked).

For info on the labels, go to their website [url=http://www.makewinewithus.com]www.makewinewithus.com[/url]. 2 labels are included, its $25 for each additional label. We can give them the info on what type of labels we want and what we would like written on them 2 weeks prior to bottling.

[shahaggy]

next time this comes around I would be interested too

[PuddinPop]

Please include me (just another wino).

[TheBadGuyWins]

It's time.

Bottling runs from June 10th-August 9th. We should lock in a date/time now while they still have plenty of openings for our group. Available times are as follows:

Wednesday-Thursday at 2:00pm, 4:00pm and 8:00pm
Saturday-Sunday at 3:00pm, 4:00pm and 5:00pm

So far, Saturday June 27th is booked. They are closed July 3rd, 4th and 5th. I'm going to start up the pm chain again so we can get the momentum going on making a decision.

As a reminder, the facility's new address is:

21 Currie Ave.
Wallington, NJ 07057

[RB]

They moved to, what, Belleville I think?

Thanks for bumping this, guys- my summers are usually slower than other times of the year so I can *finally* put in a little manual labor on this.  Pretty much can be flexible to when you guys want to go. 

question- is it sitting in oak or stainless?  Longer it sits.... blah blah blah.

Cheers!

Used oak barrels.

JCI: They moved to Wallington. My opinion - this was a good idea. When we first started we went there to pick the style of wine, then another time to crush grapes, then to put it into the barrels, etc. Each time we would bring bread, cheese, other things and drank our faces off. You can BYO and also you pretty much have access to an unlimited supply of wine there. High alcohol wine. This was all perfect when they were located on Newark Ave., right west of Little India... UNFORTUNATELY they moved to Wallington. Since then we haven't been to the location. I/we had plans to go every so often to sample the wine from the barrel or just hang out, but it's just not as convenient since they've moved.

So in summary it is a great idea but I wish it was still in JC to take advantage of it. Still, I can't wait to finally get my homemade wine.

[bdlaw]

They moved to, what, Belleville I think?

Thanks for bumping this, guys- my summers are usually slower than other times of the year so I can *finally* put in a little manual labor on this.  Pretty much can be flexible to when you guys want to go. 

question- is it sitting in oak or stainless?  Longer it sits.... blah blah blah.

Cheers!

[jc_insomniac]

So what do you guys think about this place? How was the experience, and the quality? I'm thinking of getting a small group of girlfriends together for this. And where exactly is this dang place? Everytime I drive on 1&9 by that giant carpet place under the skyway, I look over to my right to see if there are any signs.

[RB]

I don't have much of an indication of what my June to August calendar is looking like right now, so I will say that I could be flexible with most any date if we need to reserve one soon.

Event below, plus bottling dates. We should start coordinating the best dates for bottling, it requires at least most of us to show up because of the amount of work......and wine to be consumed

____________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, March 22, 2009 from  1:00-4:00pm is our next Barrel Tasting.  Come in to taste your wine to see how it is developing. Stop by the tasting table for a taste of Chilean Wines, these grapes will be arriving within a month and will be available for only 1 week.   
 
It's not too early to schedule your bottling time if you haven't already done so!  Bottling begins June 10th and ends August 9th.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Cheers,
Diann & John

[TheBadGuyWins]

Event below, plus bottling dates. We should start coordinating the best dates for bottling, it requires at least most of us to show up because of the amount of work......and wine to be consumed

____________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, March 22, 2009 from  1:00-4:00pm is our next Barrel Tasting.  Come in to taste your wine to see how it is developing. Stop by the tasting table for a taste of Chilean Wines, these grapes will be arriving within a month and will be available for only 1 week.   
 
It's not too early to schedule your bottling time if you haven't already done so!  Bottling begins June 10th and ends August 9th.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Cheers,
Diann & John

[TheBadGuyWins]

Anybody interested in going to this:

Saturday, January 24th 11am-3pm.  Arrive anytime during these hours and join in the process, remember this is a working session so dress warm, wear waterproof shoes, and plan to have a great, educational time.
 
Notes: You will not be racking your own barrel because of the way the barrels are set up, also,because this is a work session there are no tables set up for eating.  No reservations are required and plan to spend as much or as little time as you like.
Always check our website for upcoming events and any changes to dates and times: [url=http://www.makewinewithus.com]www.makewinewithus.com[/url].

[RB]

Wallington, eh? Not too far I guess, but still not as convenient as Newark Ave. 

[Neeners]

NoOoOoooooOOOoOOO1!!one!!!1

[TheBadGuyWins]

Upcoming events:

Winemakers Racking Weekend
 
 Saturday-Sunday, January 10 & 11, 2009 
11:00am-3:00pm   
 
Stop by anytime during these hours at the Wallington location and participate in this necessary, but not required on your part step in the winemaking process.  This is a hands-on educational experience, don't forget to wear waterproof shoes and work clothes!  No appointment necessary.
 

Barrel Tasting
 
Sunday, February 15, 2009
1:00-4:00pm
 
For those of you who don't know what a barrel tasting is, it's an opportunity to taste wine right out of the barrel!  If you are making wine with us you will be tasting your wine to see how it is developing.  If you are not making wine with us yet, this is a perfect time to join in on the process which means you will be bottling your wine this summer!  No reservations required.  Wallington location.

Yes, the JC facility has moved      Our barrel is in their new location:

21 Curie Ave.
Wallington, NJ 07057
201-876-WINE (9463)

[MCA]

Some cellphone pics from the grape crush:

Grapes go in


The crusher/de-stemmer in action


Into the vat

[TheBadGuyWins]

We will be crushing the grapes on Wednesday the 24th (sorry, I messed up the dates and mentioned previously that it was the 25th). We'll be meeting promptly at 8pm next week at the facility. If anyone else needs transport, let me know!

P.S... dress comfortably! Not that crushing the grapes will be a messy process, but you don't want to stain your sunday suit if you get splashed by juices, here me?

NEXT WEEK:

The next event will be the FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY 10/01 AT 8:00 pm. After that, our wine will sit for a while, so take advantage of the fun now

[jcpeace]

tuesday's bite...i teach that nite
wed 25...i have to show my face at an opening....

weekends better

hmmmm. that Wed opening is a must, huh? Dammit. what time is it at?

it runs 6-8. perhaps i can get outta there on the early side.

[TheBadGuyWins]

tuesday's bite...i teach that nite
wed 25...i have to show my face at an opening....

weekends better

hmmmm. that Wed opening is a must, huh? Dammit. what time is it at?