Notes From the
Vintner |
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. 7/01/07 |
Why keep your records up to date? ? ? Well there are many good reasons. First, you need to get into the habit of keeping records in a good file system like a notebook. It is so easy to jot down a few notes during crush, pressing, and racking and then logging them later. But you must be sure to log them down. And in doing so, be sure to write down the calculations that you did to arrive at your entries. Do not rely on memory to know what you did, as it tends to take vacations after 50 years of service. You need to log what you did when you make the finest wine or the worst wine that was ever tasted.
I suggest a double entry system. First you have a spiral ring notebook that is used in your wine room. In this book you log everything you do as you do it. Don't worry if you spill a glass of wine on it, or the pages get all messy. It is the book that you keep track of all operations in the wine room. Then you have a second book that you carefully log information in, so that it can be studied months later. This second book can be your computer—this is the system that I use. The master file is on the computer and is saved often and stored away from the winery.
Another reason to keep good records is to share with friends the way you make wine. You can tell them many helpful tips for their winemaking.
Your record keeping will allow you to record things that are helpful to you in vinting the finest wine around. Things like temperature during formation, the quality of the fruit when received, and the amount of time the wine was stored before you racked: just many small things to help you improve your wine.
Oh Yes, and the best reason to keep records up to date for me was a call last week from the “Federal Inspector” telling me she would be here for an inspection of records, bottling, labels, and storage. I am happy to say that I am still in business…so lets have a few glasses of wine to celebrate.
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