Shier Winery

I'm excited to announce that Shier Winery (Mid Esopus Beverage Company LLC) has signed an Alternating Proprietorship Agreement with All-Wise LLC. All-Wise is opening a meadery in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NYC.  All-Wise is run by Dylan Sprouse, the youngest Master Brewer in the United States. Please check out All-Wise at www.allwisemeadery.com

As another beautiful fall descends on Upstate New York, Riesling wine season begins anew.  I loaded the WinePod and pitched the yeast at a near-perfect 62 degrees F.  Over the next few weeks, the new wine will be born as the juice undergoes its primary fermentation.  Like 2014, I'm making a smaller production this year as I continue to refine the process.  The WinePod, with its antifreeze jacket lined stainless steel tank and temperature controller, does a great job of preventing the temperature running up during the initial yeast feeding frenzy.  I'm able to achieve a cooling in the larger 80 gallon Flex Tanks by using temperature controlled space heaters with built-in fans.  Only finished taste comparisons will tell if I am achieving the same results in both tanks.      

I moved fourteen of the FlexTank 2013 vintage Riesling to cold storage for a few weeks.  These fourteen carboys contain wine fermented and cleared for six months in the FlexTank 80 gallon Dexter Tank.  It has not cleared like the batch from the WinePod, which I had transferred to Better Bottle carboys after three weeks.  I might attribute darker hue to extra oxygen permeation through the FlexTank, but the color in the fourteen carboys is not much darker than the WinePod originated carboys.  I added bentonite to all the 2013 carboys and the WinePod (non-FlexTank batch) cleared on one racking.  I also tried adding a little Polyclar to a few of the FlexTank carboys, which lightened them, but did not aid much in clearing.  I am hoping the winter cold will do the trick. Taking a look at the 2014 carboys, the color is much lighter than any of the 2013 vintage.  This is owing to less oxygen in th...

After two weeks, fermentation is proceeding slowly.  I racked the wine, and then measured and drank a glass.  At 12 degrees Brix, it tasted more sweet than a typical mimosa.    The temperature in the tank was 63 degrees F.  That's about perfect for a very slow Riesling fermentation.  

The WinePod is once again in service.  I added Riesling juice to the tank and pitched the D47 yeast with a starting SG of 1.090 at 60 degrees F.  Judging by color alone, the starting juice is less oxidized than production in recent years.  Could this mean the best batch of bottles yet?  To be continued...

It is official now.  "Shier" is a registered U.S. trademark.  I received this certificate in the mail along with a notice about scam artists who mine the USPTO registration database and send fake invoices to anyone who registers a trademark. The scammer letters say "you owe us x amount for registering your mark internationally."  The x amount is typically $2500, which they ask you to wire directly to a Czech or Russian bank.  There were 5 scam letters arriving at the same time as the certificate.

With winter finally easing, and spring approaching, I have a few tasks at the winery.  I placed 50 gallons of wine on a pallet and exposed it to the outside cold for four weeks.  The result was some dramatic clearing with a good amount of tartaric acid precipitating out.  I bottled half of the wine over the weekend, which came to a little more than 10 cases.  The rest should be bottled next weekend.  I also rotated the remaining fifteen (15) carboys from the 2012 Riesling out to the cold for two weeks at a time, and they seem to be holding clarity and crystal precipitate while stored at 55-60 degrees F in the cellar.  I should bottle these before the weather really heats up.   I tasted the 2012 Riesling from several different carboys.  It has a bit of oxidation in the pallet (a hint of malic acid). I've been worried about the level of oxygen pretty m...