Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and discussion

Al Osterheld

Yes, with valleys and swales and winds, the level of smoke can vary a lot. In 2008, we made a Pinot Noir from a vineyard in Anderson Valley and the degree of smoke taint pretty clearly varied between different parts of the vineyard (although it was noticeable in the wine from all the blocks).

-Al

Al Osterheld

Tragic image of the Simple Machine winery, I think that was a sheet metal skinned building.

-Al

Al Osterheld

From what I've read, there are something like 37 active fires in Oregon, most of them do not yet have known causes. But the majority of fires started outside of thunderstorms have human causes, in the end.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Glad to hear the news about the change in winds and humidity, need all the help nature can give. Sadly too late for many, though. Didn't know about grass seed harvesting. On the ranch, we would burn some of the marshy areas that dried out late in the summer, then irrigate to get some grass the cows ...

Al Osterheld

Wow, what a horrible tragedy, hope the weather turns more favorable and that all you and your families stay safe.

-Al

Al Osterheld

It's been similar all around the greater SF Bay Area, although I think the degree varies a bit. Only saving grace (here) is that the air quality at ground level hasn't been bad. It's at least 20 degrees cooler than it would have been (temperature at my workplace actually continued to drop for 90 min...

Al Osterheld

Hope the winds die down, those are very dangerous. Do you smell smoke? Looks like it's mostly up high.

-Al

Al Osterheld

From what I could tell from the satellite fire maps, the fire just completely stalled there. Don't know how many firefighters were on the ground, because they were mainly in more inhabited areas like Boulder Creek, Ben Lomand, Bonny Doon.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I'm very sorry to hear, Kevin. At least that line of redwoods kept the fire from moving closer to winery and vineyards in the SCM.

Jim, hope you end up with no reason to develop more expertise.

Tragic year and the traditional fire season is still ahead of us.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Ash generally means nearby fire, which I think is the worst type of smoke.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I'm very sorry to hear the sad news, Greg. Take care of yourself and your family.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Water distribution has always been one of the criticisms of the Moccamaster. I don't think the engineer designed for blooming before brewing.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Probably got that at Total Wine? They carry tons of de Venoge, haven't tried one (dual suspicions for TW selection and the fancy bottles).

-Al

Al Osterheld

Sounds like a classic Mount Eden Chardonnay. Yes, they continue to age well even when they seem ready. The color can be distressing, as you mentioned.

-Al

Al Osterheld

The Ceritas PMR Chardonnay is made in a bit leaner style than Mount Eden. Love both producers.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I'm pretty sure a test ferment will show the smoke if it's present. It's not particularly quantitative, of course, but lots of aspects of wine making are not. Others can chime in, but I don't recall anyone who had it suddenly show up later. There were a lot of people who tried various things to remo...

Al Osterheld

There are many substances in wine that are potential allergens, some from additives, some from even "clean" process for making wines.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I'm very sorry for your losses and those of your neighbors and wish all luck with the recovery. Looks like you're a little way northwest of Bonny Doon, that whole area was very hard hit as you described.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Where is your farm located, which neighborhood?

-Al

Al Osterheld

I actually enjoy tasting them on release (they were carried by a shop I used to frequent that had themed tastings every day they were open). Love the aromatics.

I think the long shut down period may help keep the prices reasonable.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Love the producer and the wine, I find the aromatics pretty when they are very young, then goes through long period when they are shut down, as mentioned. I tried one a couple of years ago and it was too early.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Last time I was in western Montana (summer 2018) there a haze that was partly from fires in California. I read that some of the CA smoke is in Kansas.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Wood polish does sound like VA/EA. It doesn't blow off, although may be stronger in the first whiff. Not sure why mega purple would give hangovers or headaches, I also suspect it's something else. To be honest, I don't think I've had a lot of wines where mega purple was used. For higher end wines, t...

Al Osterheld

Air quality here in the far east bay has been quite good the past two days. It was rather bad on Monday, although a lot of the smoke was higher up in the atmosphere vs ground level. There weren't any clouds, but it was roughly as light as the later stages of twilight before sunrise (not enough light...

Al Osterheld

I imagine fire insurance rates in parts of California will be in flux. Note that this particular area hadn't had a major fire in decades.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I was worried about McHenry when I saw the level of fire in the area in the early days. Good news for Kevin and Rhys that the fire didn't continue to expand in that direction. Bradley Brown, owner/winemaker at Big Basin winery lost his house, but the vineyard and winery survived (northwest of Boulde...

Al Osterheld

The SBC Vintners Association would like to have a larger budget. When they raise dues, the number of wineries in the Association drops. One point of view is that they are voting with their feet. OTOH, there is a genuine potential for a free rider effect. So, they would like to have a method to make ...

Al Osterheld

If you're just a regular wine lover guy but not an experienced winemaker or someone with equipment to make detailed measurements (other than Brix) of the grapes, could you in any sense discern that grapes at harvest time have, or have not, been affected by smoke taint? Can you smell and/or taste it...

Al Osterheld

Sorry to hear about the smoke, Stewart. Hope it works out.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Yes, would be a bit less than a gram of carbs. If she wants to have two normal sized glasses and hold it under a gram, I can see the interest in labeling. But, it's 3 or 4 calories and if she doubled the carbs from the wine, I doubt it makes much difference in the diet (would still be at low total c...

Al Osterheld

Ah, missed the point that you would work with him. That makes it much more feasible and he would have great experience from working at Argyle.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I think some of the varieties and growing areas will do fine with the current heat spike. I think the smoke is the bigger problem, although also varies a lot by local area. In 2008, it varied even within a single vineyard. Other thing to remember is that it's a very big state. People tend to label v...

Al Osterheld

Starting up a sparkling wine production seems like a lot of work at least if you keep it in house.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I have enjoyed the sparkling wines I've had from Soter, Argyle, Analemma. Not sure, but I think the fruit for the Analemma comes from the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge.

-Al

Al Osterheld

There was an active thread earlier on a somewhat different variant of the BID proposal. Some of the details have changed, but many of the questions and concerns are the same. https://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=167653 From your recent post: but there's also the issue that many w...

Al Osterheld

Yes, looks like most of it stayed off-shore. We did get some slightly higher winds at one point (gusts to 15 mph), but also better than anticipated.

-Al

Al Osterheld

There is concern about wind today when the next potential storm blows in. May be more lightning, but also concern about wind (although nothing like a few years ago, gusts up to 20 mph in my area).

-Al

Al Osterheld

And it comes with its own tiara.

Al Osterheld

You can buy thermal carafes in various sizes, some of them more attractive than Technivorm's. Brew and transfer. Personally, I wouldn't leave the carafe on the hot plate at all.

Otherwise, it's pretty much intended to be push the button and wait a bit, no special directions needed.

-Al

Al Osterheld

It's true that some people are less sensitive and/or just view smoke taint as a nicely oaked wine. But, it's pretty risky to knowingly treat your customers that way. There were some wineries that thought they had fixed things. It appears that it may not be a problem that can be fixed, because it jus...

Al Osterheld

Kevin, I’ve been thinking about you and the Rhys team up at Alpine road. Stay safe. Thanks Larry! This is tough to be sure. Most importantly, everyone is safe and sound. Our crew at Horseshoe has moved to my house so out of harms way. Given the latest VIIRS information, I am cautiously optimistic t...

Al Osterheld

The Dolan fire in Big Sur is now up to 14,000 acres. I didn't realize, but they arrested a person suspected of starting the fire.

-Al

Al Osterheld

How low does she want her daily carb total to be?

-Al

Al Osterheld

Below it, you can see one of the last photos from a camera in Bonny Doon.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Thanks for the good wishes for folks affected I'm not close the the Santa Cruz Mountains fire, but I am a bit north of another large fire called the SCU Lightning Complex. But I think it's unlikely we will be evacuated, I'm in the middle of the flatland where there is less fuel (other than houses) a...

Al Osterheld

It appears that most of what has been burning in the Santa Cruz Mountains is underbrush, scrub trees, and buildings. The former two accumulate when there hasn't been a fire for decades. As has been mentioned in other years, i's a challenge of living in a wooded area, can't do controlled burns but ve...

Al Osterheld

We need the snapchat filters to add cat ears and pig snouts to photos from offlines.

If you don't want that, you must be a Luddite.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Pretty sure the word is excessibe.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Following up on the cult of red wines comment, I've been at informally organized off-lines where a few people quickly race to the bigger and better known reds, which causes everyone else to get a pour before the bottles are gone. So, we ended up drinking La Chapelle or Chave with the salad, and soon...

Al Osterheld

I have an acquaintance who calls himself a Champagne slut. This led to an awkward moment when he approvingly told a woman at a tasting "I see you're a Champagne slut, too".

-Al

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