usedto
Lunatic Member
Since you seemed to like my thread about the planting of an almond orchard and all that it entails, I thought I'd do another.....making wine. In this one, however, I have more than a bystander's interest. This is a project of mine that I have planning for some time, and it appears to be coming together this year. I will be an active participant to say the least.
A little history, first.
My Great Grandfather, Peter Joens, was born in Holstein, Germany in 1855. He was raised on a farm there, and came to the United States in 1875, where he settled in Dubuque, Iowa. He worked as a farm hand until he could purchase his own property. In 1902, he and his family decided to move out West, and settled in Lodi, Ca. He sold his property in Iowa and bought 156 acres on the Mokelumne River, which he farmed. He was also one of the founders of Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lodi. In 1913, he started deeding parcels of his property to his 10 children - 3 boys and 7 girls. Throughout the years, most of the parcels were sold off, but my grandmother kept hers. When she passed in 1992 at the ripe old age of 102, her three sons, including my father, inherited her 18 acre piece. Dad passed in 1995, and Mom kept it with both of my uncles, who in turn passed. She had acquired 1/3 from a cousin through a property swap, and after she passed two years ago, the cousin who owned the other third sold it to us - me and my three siblings. Here's an aerial photo of the property. I have outlined the apprx. property lines in red:
For those of you curious about the exact location, go to Google maps and look for the intersection of Hwy. 12 and Cherry Lane in Lodi, Ca. The property is landlocked, but it's easily spotted by that abrupt curve in the river. The property is northwest of the intersection.
Two years ago, after we acquired the whole piece, I went and met the people who have been farming the property for the past God knows how many years (My grandmother's home ranch was about 40 miles away - too far to reasonably farm). After talking with them, I asked if they would let me "skim" some grapes and have some custom wine made. They were more than happy to assist. I had it all set up last year, bought the grapes from the farmer, but my winemaker let me down, and they ended up raisins. This year, however, I have a new company more than happy to help out. I haven't asked the farmer or the winemaker if I can use their names yet, so I won't. I'm sure they won't mind when I ask.
Before I go any further, I know NOTHING about growing grapes or making wine, so I'm relying on people who do to help me with my project. I'll give information as I get it, and hope it's reliable. I'm sure it is. Asking about making wine is like asking about which speakers sound the best.
The grapes are Zinfandel, about 15 years old. Zins picked early generally are used for making White Zinfandel wine, more of a rose' wine. Leave them on the vine longer, more mature, more sugar, ferment them a little different, and you get a red wine. That's what they're going for - red. The rest of the field is being mechanically harvested on Sunday, and will be going to one of the major wineries in the area for White. They are saving the two South rows for me, which will be hand picked and turned into Red. I'm going to process about 1 ton, which should generate about 60 cases.
So there you have the groundwork. I will take what photos I can and try to show you the process from field to glass, and everything in between. I don't know how long a post can be, so I'll end this one and start another.
A little history, first.
My Great Grandfather, Peter Joens, was born in Holstein, Germany in 1855. He was raised on a farm there, and came to the United States in 1875, where he settled in Dubuque, Iowa. He worked as a farm hand until he could purchase his own property. In 1902, he and his family decided to move out West, and settled in Lodi, Ca. He sold his property in Iowa and bought 156 acres on the Mokelumne River, which he farmed. He was also one of the founders of Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lodi. In 1913, he started deeding parcels of his property to his 10 children - 3 boys and 7 girls. Throughout the years, most of the parcels were sold off, but my grandmother kept hers. When she passed in 1992 at the ripe old age of 102, her three sons, including my father, inherited her 18 acre piece. Dad passed in 1995, and Mom kept it with both of my uncles, who in turn passed. She had acquired 1/3 from a cousin through a property swap, and after she passed two years ago, the cousin who owned the other third sold it to us - me and my three siblings. Here's an aerial photo of the property. I have outlined the apprx. property lines in red:
For those of you curious about the exact location, go to Google maps and look for the intersection of Hwy. 12 and Cherry Lane in Lodi, Ca. The property is landlocked, but it's easily spotted by that abrupt curve in the river. The property is northwest of the intersection.
Two years ago, after we acquired the whole piece, I went and met the people who have been farming the property for the past God knows how many years (My grandmother's home ranch was about 40 miles away - too far to reasonably farm). After talking with them, I asked if they would let me "skim" some grapes and have some custom wine made. They were more than happy to assist. I had it all set up last year, bought the grapes from the farmer, but my winemaker let me down, and they ended up raisins. This year, however, I have a new company more than happy to help out. I haven't asked the farmer or the winemaker if I can use their names yet, so I won't. I'm sure they won't mind when I ask.
Before I go any further, I know NOTHING about growing grapes or making wine, so I'm relying on people who do to help me with my project. I'll give information as I get it, and hope it's reliable. I'm sure it is. Asking about making wine is like asking about which speakers sound the best.
The grapes are Zinfandel, about 15 years old. Zins picked early generally are used for making White Zinfandel wine, more of a rose' wine. Leave them on the vine longer, more mature, more sugar, ferment them a little different, and you get a red wine. That's what they're going for - red. The rest of the field is being mechanically harvested on Sunday, and will be going to one of the major wineries in the area for White. They are saving the two South rows for me, which will be hand picked and turned into Red. I'm going to process about 1 ton, which should generate about 60 cases.
So there you have the groundwork. I will take what photos I can and try to show you the process from field to glass, and everything in between. I don't know how long a post can be, so I'll end this one and start another.
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