Bud Break … This is a great time of year!
March 21st, 2012
Bud break, I think we are a couple weeks early this year, it’s been such a mild winter here in Northern California. I’ll be knocking off the buds which are not in the right places on the canes. Preventive spraying is not far off, depending on the amount of rain in the next couple months. The wheels will start to spin quickly now that bud break has begun!!
March 13th, 2012
How many vines do you have to make 1000 pounds of grapes?
Asketh - mikaren2
I’m really not sure. I have 80 vines and I ended up with 700 - 800 lbs … I think.
Do you press and then start a Malolactic Fermentation?
Asketh - mikaren2
Hi sorry for the late response, yes as soon as the press is finished, the yeast is tossed and the M.F. starts within a couple days.
February 10th, 2012
The way I rack. This is from December, I’ll be doing another round later today. Clears the wine. The sediment settles, you then siphon the clean juice from the top and discard the sludge or lees that settle to the bottom of the carboy. Do this about 4 time over the course of three or four months, and hopefully you have some pretty clean wine.
That time of year again. Almost done with the pruning, only about 20 vines to go. I usually do a once through, kind of fast and dirty on the first go around. Then I’ll clean the vines up nice and proper with the shears and loppers.
Before you know it they’ll be budding and once that happens it’s a race to keep up with the spraying, thinning and watering. But it’s a fun race!!
I’ll be bottling last years in another month or so. When I rack the wine with the siphon hose, I’ll get a mouth full and the spiciness is really coming through this year.
October 31st, 2011
October 2011 .. Pressing the ‘Must.’ Kids runnin’ around, dogs barking. It’s always fun getting to this point.
The fermented juice, skins and stems into the press, the loose juice runs out. Then add the plunger, press, and there you have it!
Racking is next, probably four times and adding some oak .. Then into bottles in March.
October 12th, 2011
And there you have it. 2011 wine press is finished. 55 gallons. Next step racking and oaking.
Pressed Must … ended up with about 5 of these, which will end up in the compost pile.
Pressing the ‘Must.’ All of the skins, seeds and stems will stay in the basket press, while allowing the juice to run free. Then into carboys with an air lock.
These are two fun weekends, the crush then the following weekend the press. Weather was perfect, very mild. Last year it was so hot, the fermentation process was very quick.
