Batisada

S

Steve Edmunds

Steve Edmunds
On the 208th birthday of Marie Laveau, erstwhile Queen of Voudon, I performed ablutions in the manner of 30% tartaric/water solution to coat the inner surface of the 477 gallon concrete beast in which I will ferment and raise a Syrah/Grenache wine from the beautifully farmed grapes of Unti Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, beginning this Saturday. It may be worth noting that I am picking these grapes a week or more in advance of the winemaking team at Unti, with the thought in mind that I can make nicer wine that way.

To celebrate the baptism of this noble beast, I opened a 1988 St. Gervais from Domaine St. Anne, a wine producer I've always admired, and when I discovered that most of their wines were vinified entirely in concrete I began to think of trying that same approach.

This bottle is lovely. Still the pretty purple-magenta fruit, the facepowdery perfume, the tenderness in the mouth. The way it both quenches and provokes thirst... it must be voodoo; I've seen your feet walk by themselves....
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
BatisadaOn the 208th birthday of Marie Laveau, erstwhile Queen of Voudon, I performed ablutions in the manner of 30% tartaric/water solution to coat the inner surface of the 477 gallon concrete beast in which I will ferment and raise a Syrah/Grenache wine from the beautifully farmed grapes of Unti Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, beginning this Saturday. It may be worth noting that I am picking these grapes a week or more in advance of the winemaking team at Unti, with the thought in mind that I can make nicer wine that way.

To celebrate the baptism of this noble beast, I opened a 1988 St. Gervais from Domaine St. Anne, a wine producer I've always admired, and when I discovered that most of their wines were vinified entirely in concrete I began to think of trying that same approach.

This bottle is lovely. Still the pretty purple-magenta fruit, the facepowdery perfume, the tenderness in the mouth. The way it both quenches and provokes thirst... it must be voodoo; I've seen your feet walk by themselves....
Click to expand...

Simply lovely. My best wishes...
 
Go get 'em, Steve! I can't wait to sample the result. Who knows? You might even get this wine on the list at SD.

Mark Lipton
 
That's the whole idea, my friend; the breathability would be compromised by the epoxy. One of the elegant things, to me, about the tartaric solution is that the protective element is a constituent of grape juice.
 
Unti's a great place, and the vineyards are top-notch.
I always enjoyed visiting and tasting there.
About the only downside was the risk of catching Mick in a talkative mood.... that would really eat up the hours!

Re: the concrete tank.... an egg?

Cheers,
 
Hi, Bruce; no, custom designed 477 gallon sylinder, will hold most of three tons, with a little topping wine left over. Filled it a couple hours ago!
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:
Hi, Bruce; no, custom designed 477 gallon sylinder, will hold most of three tons, with a little topping wine left over. Filled it a couple hours ago!
Click to expand...

Sounds fantastic.
Hope that some of this will be set aside for the Japan market.
Speaking of which, since you do sell your wines here and many of them as vyd designates, a small note of caution (learned the hard way, since I used to import Unti's wines)...
"unti" in Japanese means "shit" as in "feces".
Actually, since its a word mostly used by little kids or when talking to little kids (adults use the related "unko"), a more proper translation would probably be "poo poo" or "doo doo" or something similar.

Not the end of the world, but be prepared for lots of giggles if you pour ESJ Unti Vineyard Grenache for any Japanese folks.

Cheers,
 
Thanks, Bruce; you made my day!
Kay: Portland Cement is the binding agent in concrete, but concrete and Portland Cement aren't the same thing. The other ingredients are sand, rock, and filtered water. Think of this wine as Rocks and Gravel in rocks and gravel.
Or, to paraphrase an old blues song: takes some rocks and gravel, baby! to make a solid Rhone, make a solid Rhone...
Appropriately enough, I'm making this wine at Rock Wall Wine Company, on the shores of San Francisco Bay, in the old Alameda Naval Air Station.
 
originally posted by Steve Edmunds:

I'm making this wine at Rock Wall Wine Company, on the shores of San Francisco Bay, in the old Alameda Naval Air Station.
Click to expand...
If you would hum a few bars I think I would remember that tune. Classic, my favorite melody after Round About Midnight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top