tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79799436067325662752024-02-06T20:56:27.355-06:0013th Floor VineyardsCrush to Bottle in Houston!M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-14739552124047751432009-11-26T19:35:00.004-06:002009-11-26T19:38:04.703-06:00Happy Turkey Day 2009I have uploaded the rest of the photos from the Crush, Pressing, and Racking.Cheers! MTHE REST!M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-52774751561195204572009-11-12T19:39:00.003-06:002009-11-15T23:19:20.117-06:00In the Barrel!!Ok, I forgot to keep posting during the fermentation - so a quick catch-up.Brix was 24.9 on day 1 - after crush. It took about 9 days to get just below 0 brix. I was able to punch down the cap on my grapes a couple of times in that period. I spent a good deal of time at the winery between crush and press, learning the ropes and lending a hand where I could. It was really fun watching the other M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-60638754793357709832009-10-28T23:43:00.003-05:002009-10-28T23:45:36.916-05:00Crush 2009 photosHey ya'll check out these pics from the Crush! Video coming soon.MCRUSH2009M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-85468080559180982822009-10-28T21:17:00.006-05:002009-10-28T21:36:55.355-05:00CRUSH 2009!So it was 24 hours ago that some of my closet friends and family arrived at Vintners Own in Houston to sort grapes. I was worried about the grapes because of the rain that decided to show up 1 week prior to harvest, but all in all it wasn't too bad (the vineyard should have done a better job dropping fruit). We had 8 people on the sorting table, the more eyes and hands the better, and everyone M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-55692408731808586382009-10-15T23:50:00.007-05:002009-10-16T00:16:27.967-05:00Almost time for CrushWell It's been awhile since I last posted - had to go back to my day job and earn a living. Well as my last post said 14 days it has obviously been longer than that. The current news is that it will be the end of October. The grapes are hanging a bit longer this year and a heavy rain this week will slow things down. It shouldn't hurt the thicker skinned Cab, but I'm a bit nervous about fungus M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-24066995010426385192009-09-29T19:44:00.002-05:002009-09-29T19:54:58.289-05:0014 days and counting...Well it looks like about 14 days to go before the grapes arrive in Houston. I'm gettin' excited and nervous - this is a damn big and expensive undertaking! The paperwork alone is more than I thought. I've got my event shirt designs into the printer and will have them for the Crush party - white on black - looks good. I'm going to make company shirts a little further down the road - M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-5527829067498342502009-09-25T16:21:00.002-05:002009-09-25T16:31:00.748-05:00The Grapes - they are a commin'So I have been told the grapes are 2-3 weeks from harvest! Brix (sugar measure) is running between 22.5 and 24 right now. Once harvested they will be overnighted by truck at 40^F to Vintners Own in Houston. Then crush time. I'm also working on having some shirts made for the crush party - I'll have some left over - let me know if you want one.Salud, MM. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-81738358846644444882009-09-20T22:36:00.006-05:002009-09-20T23:14:36.029-05:00Out and About - wine notesWell I thought I would start blogging about the wines I that drink with friends, on the road, and at home. So here we go... Last night at Reef, one the best seafood joints in town, we started the night off with Willakenzie Pinot Gris 2007. This was a very nice semi-dry wine with a great bite (Zing) at the finish. This wine was smooth in the mouth and juicy, great fruit flavors. We paired this M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-3833805198495080342009-09-15T23:43:00.002-05:002009-09-15T23:53:45.749-05:00FunnyTo my friends who enjoy a glass of wine... And those who don't. As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, In beer there is freedom, In water there is bacteria. In a number of carefully controlled trials, Scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-78393738259240053542009-09-15T00:17:00.004-05:002009-09-15T23:55:44.839-05:00The GrapesThought I would fill ya'll in on where the grapes are coming from. My first barrel will be Cabernet Sauvignon from the heart of Napa Valley. The grapes are coming from the Kelham vineyards 3 miles south of St. Helena. They will be harvested in the coming weeks, probably around the 10th of October. They ship overnight at 40 degrees, arriving at the winery the next day. Then the fun begins!!Salud, MM. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-1047498829207612192009-09-13T00:36:00.006-05:002009-09-15T23:57:29.899-05:00What's in a name?So why 13th Floor Vineyards? To be completely honest the name doesn't have deep personal meaning, but the pieces fit together well and they make folks wonder and ask why?For anyone familiar with the movie "23" you'll get this... 13 is reoccurring in my life. Born on the 13th, moved to Houston when I was 13, my full name has 26 letters (13x2), M is the 13th letter in the alphabet, getting married M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-32320602333304421632009-09-12T01:52:00.003-05:002009-09-12T01:54:14.788-05:00Under constructionok - so this blog will be under constant contruction for the next few months as I figure this stuff out. leave me comments on what you want to see, change/add, link etc. I can use all the feedback.cheers, mattM. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-43110097499692956702009-09-12T01:21:00.002-05:002009-09-12T01:47:31.933-05:00Why wine why now?So I thought I would give ya'll some background on why I'm doing this wine thing. Well I started drinking wine about 10 years ago with my dad. He was working for a guy that had a very large cellar and spent a good amount of time in Napa every year. Needless to say I was introduced to some of the most prized, overpriced, and delicious wines available. At about 23 I started my own adventures into M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7979943606732566275.post-57585094608297741202009-09-10T23:00:00.004-05:002009-09-10T23:10:22.957-05:00First POST!Well here I am finally doing the blogger thing. I'm launching this blog to introduce the friends I have and the friends I have yet to meet to my wine brand, 13th Floor Vineyards. I launched the brand, with my finance's blessing, on July 13, 2009. I'm making the wine in Houston at a custom crush facility in the Heights area. It is a full service winery and I am involved in every process from M. R. Helpingstinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05415195203507217111noreply@blogger.com1