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Notes From the Vintner
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Welcome
to our column. We hope that you will return to learn interesting
notes on wine, and related subjects. Wine is a great gift from God
to be used for the enjoyment of man. It is a food, and should be
treated as such. It is meant to lift up the body and lighten the
soul. 2/01/08
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Today is the first day of Lent,
and with the ever-abundant amount of wine in the world, I have decided that
I am going to do something about that problem...For the next 40 days, I
will increase my wine consumption by a glass a day. I know that this doesn't
sound like much, but if we all did this it would help...and many of us would
be easier to live with! Now do I have any help with this cause???
The vineyard is calling, and
the clock is ticking…so where are you with the vines? Have you pruned
them yet? Is the brush carried out of the vineyard? Now I am not going
to be pointing any fingers...yet, for I still have work to do. We have
put in new end posts in and we have changed the trellis style. The new
plants will arrive soon, yet we still have ground preparation to do. So
as I set here and type this on a rainy dreary day, I can say that the
light at the end of the tunnel is but a pinhead of brightness. But do
not give up, as all things WILL come to pass.
You also need to test your
wines aging ability. It is important for you to know how your wine ages,
and how it changes as it ages. To do this, you need to bottle six bottles
of your wine at the same time and mark them with grape, al, acid, brix,
and any other information you might be interested in knowing. Be sure
to date the wines--when they were made and when they were bottled. Now
to start the test, you take a note and mark six pages… one to six.
Then do the same with the bottles of wine. Then date the page and open
bottle one and note what you think. (You night wish to ask someone else
to taste and comment on the wine) If you do this, have them write the
comments. MAKE SURE that neither of you tell until both of you have finished
writing your comments! If you talk while tasting one person may color
the comments of the other. Every six months you can repeat this process.
At the end of three years, you will have a good understanding of how your
wines age.
Give it a try. Now for a glass…
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