Florida Jim is Now In The Business.

Jim Cowan, known to many as Florida Jim, has just gone live on the internet to announce the future release of his first wine, a 2007 Syrah from Cowan Cellars. Jim long ago established his personna asone of good taste, good humor and human warmth. I look forward enormously to tasting his first wine. Jim's internet site can be found at http://www.cowancellars.com

To Jim, my warmest wishes for a combination of success and satsifaction.

Best
Rogov

Jim Cowan, known to many as Florida Jim, has just gone live on the internet to announce the future release of his first wine, a 2007 Syrah from Cowan Cellars. Jim long ago established his personna asone of good taste, good humor and human warmth. I look forward enormously to tasting his first wine. Cowan Cellar's internet site can be found at http://cowancellars.com/cowancellars.com/Home.html

To Jim, my warmest wishes for a combination of success and satsifaction.

Best
Rogov

Well, thank you Daniel.
BTW, you can tell this is my first time as the e-mail address given on the website doesn't work. I had no idea website building was so hard.
So if anyone would like to contact me about the wines, please just drop me a PM here until we get the bugs out.
Its always something.
Best, Jim

Jim,
Is this a Florida, NC or other State wine? Do you have a disruptor?

[David M. Bueker]

I'm on the list! I'm on the list!

Ed - it's California wine (all 20 cases of it).

Thanks David, will you post TN's ?

Jim, Hi....

When is the wine scheduled for release? Can you share with us winemaker's notes (grapes, winemaking methods, time in oak, type of oak, etc,etc...?

Best
Rogov

Jim, Hi....

When is the wine scheduled for release? Can you share with us winemaker's notes (grapes, winemaking methods, time in oak, type of oak, etc,etc...?

Best
Rogov

Daniel,
Sometime after January, 2009. I'll make the call when I think it is ready to be released.

The grapes are all sourced from the Dry Stack Vineyard, in the Bennett Valley AVA of Sonoma County, CA. The wine was made at Vinify Wine Services in Santa Rosa, CA. I am the only person making any of the decisions and I did almost all of the work.
The grapes are clone 877 syrah and were destemmed and cold soaked for three days. Fermentation took seven days and was never allowed to exceed 78 degrees F. There were no punch downs or pump overs, rather, I did what I refer to as pull-ups three times a day - essentially, running ones hands down the side of the bin and pulling the grapes at the bottom to the surface. My intent was to leave as many berries as possible, whole, for as long as they would last that way.
A small basket press was used and the pressure was minimal in the press. Most of the wine was free run.
The wine went into a five year old Francois Freres barrel that had never seen red wine before and spent a total of nine months in barrel.
ML was completed in barrel over about two months.
Final analysis just prior to bottling; 3.49 ph, 30 ppm free sulpher, .65 g/100 ml titratable acidity, .042 g/100 ml volitile acidity, 13.9% abv. The wine was racked twice before being bottled under natural cork.
First tastes after bottling show an especially aromatic wine with considerable acidity and a profile very much like a barrel sample. My evaluation - promising.
One month later there is discernable rounding on the palate and integration in the mouth. Smooth tannins, bright flavors and, again, considerable aromatics mostly in the lavender, pepper, purple fruit spectrum. My evaluation - for my tastes, exceptional.
IMO, the wine needs more time in bottle prior to release but I am pleased with its purity, aromas and structure, and utterly delighted with the absence of any wood influence in the nose or on the palate and the lack of any sugary-sweet quality to the fruit. This is a food wine, not a cocktail wine, and, perhaps best of all, my wife likes it.
I anticipate that it will be long lived under proper cellar conditions and will put a case away for the future.
Best, Jim

Jim, Hi....

Thanks for the detailed post. Among other things you wrote:

I anticipate that it will be long lived under proper cellar conditions and will put a case away for the future.

I do hope one of those bottles will be opened despite its youth when I visit Florida in the coming mid-winter.

Best
Rogov

Jim, Hi....

Thanks for the detailed post. Among other things you wrote:

I anticipate that it will be long lived under proper cellar conditions and will put a case away for the future.

I do hope one of those bottles will be opened despite its youth when I visit Florida in the coming mid-winter.

Best
Rogov

With pleasure.
Best, Jim

Jim,
How do you compare your wine to the recent releases of Dry Stack Vineyards syrahs? I have found those to be absolutely stunning. Good luck with your venture. I hope you have some wine to sell me.
Best,
Jonathan

Jim,
How do you compare your wine to the recent releases of Dry Stack Vineyards syrahs? I have found those to be absolutely stunning. Good luck with your venture. I hope you have some wine to sell me.
Best,
Jonathan

Jonathan,
My wine never sees new wood; that will make it different both aromatically and in the mouth.
Nonetheless, the cool climate nature of the area and the vineyard signature are evident.
I prefer my wine but then, I made it for me.
Best, Jim

January is an excellent time to ship wine to Oklahoma, since it's cold then.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the interesting details. Did I understand correctly that you used a barrel previously used for white wines?

Best of luck !

Lior.

Did I understand correctly that you used a barrel previously used for white wines?

Yes.
Less chance of brett.
Best, Jim

Did I understand correctly that you used a barrel previously used for white wines?

Yes.
Less chance of brett.

Hey, what's wrong with Brett in Syrah? You gonna give me all your Chave Hermitage, Jim?

Mark "BrettBoy" Lipton

[Jenise]

[quote="Florida Jim"] I must have some too! And I will bring good luck: I bought pinots from Adam Lee's (Siduri) first barrel, and look how well that turned out!

Daniel,
Sometime after January, 2009. I'll make the call when I think it is ready to be released.

The grapes are all sourced from the Dry Stack Vineyard, in the Bennett Valley AVA of Sonoma County, CA. The wine was made at Vinify Wine Services in Santa Rosa, CA. I am the only person making any of the decisions and I did almost all of the work.
The grapes are clone 877 syrah and were destemmed and cold soaked for three days. Fermentation took seven days and was never allowed to exceed 78 degrees F. There were no punch downs or pump overs, rather, I did what I refer to as pull-ups three times a day - essentially, running ones hands down the side of the bin and pulling the grapes at the bottom to the surface. My intent was to leave as many berries as possible, whole, for as long as they would last that way.
A small basket press was used and the pressure was minimal in the press. Most of the wine was free run.
The wine went into a five year old Francois Freres barrel that had never seen red wine before and spent a total of nine months in barrel.

truncated

Jim, Reading between the lines, I figure you are saying "this "ain't" no durn Oz shiraz!

Jim, Reading between the lines, I figure you are saying "this "ain't" no durn Oz shiraz!

Bob,
Right you are.
We were looking for a food wine with good acidity and aromatics. That's exactly what we got.
Best, Jim

Good luck with this venture Jim.