A four-panel collage honoring trailblazing women who have shaped the global wine world across centuries: Top left: Madeline Triffon, the first American woman to become a Master Sommelier (1987), smiling warmly in a cozy indoor setting. She has short dark hair, wears a black top, small hoop earrings, and holds a glass of white wine while seated at a wooden table with a candle and notebook nearby. Center: Historical oil painting of Madame Clicquot (Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, Veuve Clicquot), the legendary 19th-century French champagne pioneer and businesswoman. She is depicted in a classic Romantic-era portrait wearing a white lace bonnet and shawl over a dark dress, with soft lighting highlighting her composed, dignified expression and translucent fabric. Right of Center: Pascaline Lepeltier MS, the first woman awarded the prestigious “Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – Classe Sommellerie” (Best Craftsman of France in Sommellerie), shown in a modern professional portrait. She holds a large wine glass of red wine to her lips, wearing dark-framed glasses, dark hair pulled back, and a sleek black blazer, smiling confidently against a neutral gray background. Bottom left: Sarah Morphew Stephen, the first woman to become a Master of Wine (1970), captured in a relaxed setting. The older woman with short white hair is seated and wearing a blue ribbed sweater, pearl necklace and earrings, and smiling gently in natural daylight with greenery visible through a window behind her. The composition celebrates the historical and contemporary contributions of women to winemaking, business, criticism, education, and sommellerie excellence.

Notable First Women in Wine History 🍷

From a young widow who reshaped the Champagne industry & the first female winemaker in California’s Napa Valley, these six pioneers paved the way for women to pursue careers in wine.

wineenthusiast.com/culture/wine...

#WHM #vintner #WomensHistoryMonth

The winter landscape is again snow-covered and far below freezing, but this certainly catches the essence of a warm summer day! #grapes #green #vinyard #summer #vines #winery #vintner #trellis

A white and red packet of Lalvin Bourgovin RC212 wine yeast and a black and white packet of Go-Ferm Protect Evolution lay on a black stone counter.

Cleaned and sanitized wine making lab equipment lay on sheets of white paper towel, on a black stone counter top. Among them a blue and white PH meter, a graduated cylinder holding a hygrometer, and a curved glass wine thief.

2025 Pinot Cont..

Let's get the party started.

Temp: 70°
Sugar content: 24.1° Brix
PH: 3.42

Add yeast starter:
5g Lalvin Bourgovin RC212
6g Go-Ferm Protect Evolution
85ml warm water

I want this wine to be low intervention so I am not adding any sulfites.

#winesky #winemking #vintner

Beaujolais 2025 Harvest Plunges to 28 Hectoliters per Hectare, Sparking Fears of Regional Wine Shortage Producers grapple with back-to-back poor vintages, unsold stock, and mounting financial strain as demand outpaces supply

Beaujolais 2025 Harvest Plunges to 28 Hectoliters per Hectare, Sparking Fears of Regional Wine Shortage #Beaujolais #WineHarvest #Vintner #WineShortage #Agriculture

Top down view of an open white plastic bucket sitting on a concrete floor. The bucket is filled 3/4 full with dark purple frozen wine grapes.

A large glass jar, filled with dark purple grape must, sits on a black stone countertop. A clear plastic airlock protrudes from the center of the lid in the jar's large mouth.

2025 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Cont..

Grape must arrived mostly frozen. Allowed to "cold soak" for 7 days. This will extract more compounds from the grapes and ultimately help make the wine unique and interesting.

Racked to glass and raised temp for fermentation.

#winesky #winemking #vintner

A tall row of trellesed grape vines with vibrant green leaves and mature, dark purple, grapes hanging near the bottom stretches to the horizon. Image credit: Wine Grapes Direct

2025 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

The weather has cooled here in North America and,with the exception of some late late season varieties, all the grapes have been harvested.

Time to make wine!

winegrapesdirect.com/shop/p/2025-...

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Lino Type

#BlueSkyArtShow, #lines, #vintage book, #winery, #vintner, #EastCoastKin, #photography, #publishing, #printing

Shiny green glass wine bottles fill the foreground of the image. Each bottle filled halfway up the neck with inky dark wine. Assorted wine making equipment is visible in the background.

A case of wine on it's side centers the image. Cardboard inserts form a 12X12 grid pattern. Each square occupied by light a colored circle, where the ends of the newly corked wine bottles are visible.

2023 Lodi Zin

First vintage in the bottle!

I don't really think I can call it my vintage, I did not grow the grapes. Sounds cool tho.

Tasted and the wine has changed a lot in 6 months. Much lighter now. Lost some "big" wine character. Almost pinot-esque now.

#wine #winesky #winemaking #vintner

In California, a Nikkei vintner finds his heritage and purpose The discovery of a distant relative's wine legacy in California led winemaker Eiji Daniel Akaboshi to look at his vocation in a new light.

In California, a #Nikkei #vintner finds his heritage and purpose | #thejapantimes zurl.co/FarO9

Side view of a white plastic bucket wrapped in silver insulating bubble wrap. The lid is partially pushed away from the top of the bucket by a thick layer of dark purple gape skins and stems, swollen with C02 from the fermentation process.

A large 7 gallon glass fermentation vessel fills the middle two thirds of the image. The vessel is filled with a mixture of dark purple grape juice and grape skins. The skins take up the top three quarters of the vessel and are shot through with C02 bubbles from the fermentation. A rainbird temperature controller lies next to the vessel, with a thin black wire running over the top and into the jar. The controller reads 74.9.

Now we are cooking.

Wild ferment going strong. The cap overtopped the bucket so transferred to a larger fermentation vessel.

Temp is maybe a bit high at 75°, but I want to let this go "au natural" to fully experience what a wild fermentation will produce.

#wine #winesky #winemaking #vintner

A blue and white hand held Apera brand PH meter rests upright in a small glass jar. The probe end is immersed in dark purple grape juice. The glowing blue digital display reads 3.87.

2024 Merlot Cont.

There are a few key components to a healthy wine fermentation. Including: yeast, sugar (brix), temperature, and acidity. A common measure of acidity is it's inverse, PH. Ideal PH for wine yeast is in the 3.3-3.6 range.

Initial PH:
3.87

A bit high.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

A clear cylinder filled with dark purple wine centers the picture. The top of a hydrometer is visible, floating in the liquid. The wine level on the instrument reads 25.

2024 Merlot Cont.

While the grapes "cold soak", I took some numbers.

Sugar content of the grape juice, as indicated in Brix.

Initial sugar content:
25 Brix

This corresponds to a potential abv of 15%.

Brix is simply the percentage of dissolved sugar in the juice.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Top down view of a white plastic bucket. A lavender sticker on the top says 2024 Merlot Grape Must (6 gal)

Top down view of an open white plastic bucket, 3/4 filled with a dark purple mixture of grape juice and grape skins. An upturned white plastic lid and large flat head screwdriver lie next to the bucket on a plain concrete floor.

Merlot grapes arrived!

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Next wine.

A Cali Merlot!

The grapes were grown in the Ruby Hill Region within the Livermore Valley AVA. Elevation, temperatures, and soil drainage combine for ideal growing conditions for high-quality grapes.

More about the AVA:
capstonecalifornia.com/study-guides...

#wine #vintner #winemaking

A vintner stands behind a long counter talking to seated wine tasters about her wine and the process. It's fairly crowded, and there are wine glasses and bread and butter stretched across the countertop.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekJforJobs

Vintner/sommelier 🍷

#EastCoastKin #Photography #Wine #Vintner #WineTasting

Sangiovese:

I may name this wine "neglect", as it was unattended for a few weeks. :) Tasted and, wow, it took the oak!

Nose: Deep wet wood.

Palate: a surprising sweet note over a fiery base, struck through with a fine line of acidity.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

bsky.app/profile/chri...

A one gallon glass jar, filled with a hazy gold colored wine, centers the image. The jar is surrounded by others, some golden, some only purple. Large manilla colored tags hang from the necks of the jars, listing details about each batch.

Pinot Gris starting to clear.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

A clear glass graduated cylinder filled with pale gold wine centers the image. The top of a hydrometer is visible, floating in the liquid. The wine level on the instrument reads 0.5.

Large glass jars filled with wine dominate the image. Two with red wine and three with white. The white wine is a cloudy pale gold color. The red a dark, inky purple. A rubber stopper with airlock are fitted in the narrow neck of each jar. Each jar is tagged with the year, grape variety, and a ID unique to the batch.

0.5 brix!

With the sugars nearly gone, it was time to rack into new glass carboys.

Because the juice is already pressed off the skins, wine yield per pound is much higher with a white than a red. Approximately 5 gal per 50 lbs. Compared to 3 gal per 50 lbs for red.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Oregon Wine Tasting - St Josefs Winery St. Josef’s Vineyards & Winery ~ one of the original Oregon wine pioneers is located in the Willamette Valley south of Portland, near Wilsonville, Oregon.

The story of the grapes (3 of 3).

Josef's vineyard, takes vineyard stewardship seriously. They are a certified Low Input Viticulture & Enology (or LIVE) vineyard. Only 1% of NW vineyards have achieved this level of sustainability.

Credit:
stjosefswinery.com

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Map of the US southwest, overlaid with a driving route. The route starts in Phoenix, AZ, runs through Sedona, Vegas and Lake Tahoe.

Going on a road trip!

In March, I'll be traveling through the United States desert southwest. Starting in Phoenix and ending in Reno. With stops in Sedona, Vegas, and Lake Tahoe.

Any good winery recommendations to visit?

#wine #winery #vintner

The story of the grapes (2 of 3).

St. Josef's vineyards are located in the northern end of the Williamette Valley, around 30 miles south of the Columbia river. The vineyard was hand planted in 1978 and contains some of the oldest vines in the AVA.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Pinot Gris @ 1/3 sugar break!

Brix 13.5°

Over a third of the fermentable sugar in the juice has been metabolized so it is time to give the yeast a little bump.

Add:
6g Fermaid-O

Temperature remains in the ideal zone.

Temp 61°🌡️

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

A verdant green vineyard, with a brown dirt track sweeping across the front, fills the foreground of the image. A small figure in blue jeans and a dark blue coat stands on the dirt track in front of the vineyard. Rolling hills, interspersed with clumps of green trees, and a few more brown ribbons of road, fill the middle ground. A misty bright white sky takes up the top third of the photograph.

The story of the grapes (1 of 3).

AVA: Willamette Valley, OR
Vineyard: St. Josef's
Originally planted: 1978 by Josef Fleischmann

The Willamette Valley is a 3.4M acre AVA. Situated 60 miles inland from the pacific ocean, in the state of Oregon, on the US west coast.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

The sweet spot.

Fermentation progressing in an ideal temperature range now.

- Temp 61°🌡️

Will continue daily stirring and monitor for any off smells. Next checkpoint will be the 1/3 sugar break, the point at which 1/3 of the sugar has been metabolized by the yeast.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Getting dialed in.

Brought the temp down a few degrees. Will continue to cool. Preference is to be closer to sixty.

Nice steady bubbling from the airlock. Approx. 30 per minute.

- Temp 64°🌡️

Giving the juice vigorous stir, once per day to give the yeast some air.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Large 6.5 gallon glass jar, filled 3/4 with pinot gris grape juice. A RainBird temperature controller lies in front of the jar. The controller's temperature probe, connected by a long black wire, is submerged in the wine. The controller display reads 67.7. A black stick on type temperature strip on the outside of the jar reads 68.

A good start.

Fermentation kicked off without a hitch overnight. Evidenced by a layer of froth covering the top of the juice. Temp is a little too high at the moment. A long slow ferment is desired for Pinot Gris, to preserve the grape's subtle character.

- Temp 68°🌡️

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Large 6.5 gallon glass jar, filled 3/4 with Pinot Gris grape juice. A black plastic encloses the wide mouth top. A clear plastic airlock, half filled with distilled water, sticks up from the middle of the lid.

Three small, flattish plastic packages are arranged on a table, in a half hazard line from the top to bottom of the image. In order, from top to bottom, the white and black labels on the packages read Go-Ferm Protect Evolution, Opti-White, and DV10 Wine Yeast.

Time to start the show!

Racked to glass fermentation vessel and raised temp. Took measurements of the actual sugar content (Brix) and acidity (PH). Pitched DV10 yeast (combined with Go-ferm and Opti-white to ensure a healthy start).

- Temp 69° 🌡️
- PH 2.92
- Brix 22.5

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

A 5 gallon white plastic bucket sits on a small square, wood, wheeled platform. A label on the side reads "Pinot Gris Williamette 2022" along with a lot number, weight, and nutrition facts table.

Top down view of a 5 gallon white plastic bucket. The lid is off. A solid cylinder of frozen white grape juice fills 3/4 of the bucket. A crescent of thawed juice is visible ringing one side.

Juice delivery!

Pinot Gris juice arrived, mostly frozen. This is not a grape "must", of course, since white wine grapes are typically pressed immediately after crushing to limit contact time with the skins.

- Thawed at 45° 🌡️ 3 days
- Added .6g potassium metabisulfite

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Dark purple pinot grigio grape clusters hang on the vine, among bright green leaves.

Rows of verdant green grape vines fill the bottom third of the image. An idyllic winery can be seen bordering the far side of the vineyard. A ribbon of evergreen and deciduous trees run through the middle of the image, surrounding the winery and topping the hill behind. The top half of the image is a pale blue sky, broken up by white to medium grey clouds.

Next wine.

Ordered today: 2022 Williamette Valley Pinot Gris.

Ava - Willamette Valley, Oregon
Labs - Brix: 21.9 , pH: 3.10 , TA: TBD
Harvested October 12th, 2022

The Williamette Valley, best known for Pinot Noir, also produces excellent Pinot Gris.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner

Glass carboy (large jar) filled with dark purple wine. A paper card stock tag hangs from a thin metal wire wrapped around the neck of the carboy. 2024 Livermore Sangiovese is hand written on the tag, in purple marker.

Now we wait.

Second racking. Transferred wine off the lees to another glass carboy.

Add:
1 oz medium oak cubes
VP40 malolactic bacteria

It could take from 2 weeks to 3 months to complete malolactic fermentation. The goal of MLF is a less acidic, rounder wine.

#winesky #winemaking #vintner