|
        
|
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. 09/1/03
|
We
live for it, and we live for it to be
over…
The bringing in of the grapes! There is something wonderful
about walking in the vineyard in the early morning. The
smell of the fruit, the sight of beautiful grapes hanging on
the vine, the soil under foot, and the knowledge that all is
well in this small corner of God's world. It makes one proud
to be a wine grower. Much work is ahead to harvest the
grapes ahead of the day's heat. The work is fast, and back
breaking. A glass of cold water will beat out the glass of
wine during the harvest, but only then…
This was a year of
very fine fruit. The quantity was not as great - but more
than last year, but the quality was the best. The
grapes were harvested at sunlight, and then taken to the
winery. At the winery, they were unloaded, weighted, and ran
through the stemmer-crusher. This is the reconditioned old
unit that my son Charlie did for me, while a student at
Purdue and working in a millwright shop as a student
engineer. It has now been named "Big Chuck". In just
20 minutes, the first ton was finished. The stems flew out
one end of the unit, and the crushed grapes shot out the
hose into the stainless steel tank that was a cool 55
degrees. The temp was allowed to raise some to allow the
color to be extracted from the skins. For several days, the
grapes worked with the special wine yeast that was added in
a marriage of love. The color of the juice turned a rich
deep red.
At just the right
time, the juice was drawn off the skins. The free run first,
as it makes the best of the wine. Then the solids were
placed in the basket press and pressed. The juice flowed out
like a river from the round basket, between the wooden
slats. Then all the juice was placed into the cooler to
finish secondary fermentation. The wine was on its
way…
Now, thank
you… for allowing me to enjoy again the harvest and
crush of this year…And would you have a glass with me
my friend ???
|