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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. 10/1/03
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Small
Details…Great
Fellowship,
the watch words of this time of year. Rejoice and be glad
for the wine has been made, and it is time for the wine
maker to enjoy fellowship. First with his God who has
supplied the wine maker with fruit, knowledge, and ability
to vint the wine. Then secondly, fellowship and just pride
in his ability to make the wine. And the lastly to
all who are enjoyers of the product of the efforts. So
to sum this all up, it is time to enjoy wine, friends and
good times. The work is not all over, but we all have made
great progress in the making of the 2003
wines….
It is easy to get
wrapped up in the spirit and "spirits" of the end of the
crush. All the hard work is behind you, so don't screw up
and miss the small details. This is the down full of many
wine makers. You have to remember that your wine is like
your child, and needs to be cared for daily. Maybe not in a
hands on way, but at least in mind and thought. It is easy
to put off the first racking, and allow the wine to rest on
the dead yeast cells, and other things that have fallen out
of the wine. Be sure to rack the new wines so that nothing
will affect the flavor and body of the wine. Another small
detail is to keep the air lock full of clean water. If you
have the wine in a cooler of some type, the water will soon
be evaporate out of the lock. This will put your wine at
risk with the contact of air, and can create a major problem
- even losing the wine and gaining a container of salad
vinegar. Remember that light, air, and heat are the major
enemies of wine. And remember too, all the hard work you
have put into the wine as of date. You do not want this to
be waisted effort.
Now back to the
Fellowship…So
find someone special and share a glass. Do you prefer a red,
or white? Or maybe one of each ! ! ! To
Us . . .
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