31 is the New 21?
A Rite of Passage for a Wino
August
Ahh yes it's that time of the year again where many harvest interns are just starting out in hopes of learning something new, and hopefully, some of you are! While others have unpleasantly discovered that every day is starting to look a little more and more like Groundhog day! But not to fret! there will be plenty of punch downs and pump overs to help out with.
When one interviews for a harvest internship, be sure to ask plenty of questions, to make sure you pick the right winery in the end and to ensure you get the best learning experience possible. You only get so many harvests in one lifetime! If only I was 21 again, but I'm not! It's a marathon of epic proportions, cheers to our survival winos!
Bottling
A sure way to tire yourself out before harvest is to work a bottling line for a week...or to challenge yourself? However you look at it, this wine needs to get into bottle somehow.
Half of what harvest is, is cleaning and sanitizing! It's vital to start off on a clean slate or better put, to start with clean tanks and 'barrels (cleaned by steaming)' so that we can hopefully avoid problem ferments. We don't want any pesky little microorganisms contaminating our wine!
Lots of racking work to do on barrels today.
Out with the old
Racking/transferring this wine off of its fine lees 'sediment' and putting it into another tank/oak barrels.
Since we are almost down to the bottom of the tank, we can open the door and look closely at what wine we have left so that we don't suck up any of the lees.
There it is! Just a little bit of lees left on the bottom of the tank, we don't want to include this in our clear wine. This stuff looks like melted butter =)
In with the new!
Chardonnay for the 2017 harvest has already started arriving and is ready to be pressed whole cluster. Some of DeLoach's Chardonnay will go on to ferment in tanks, and our Estate and vineyard designate Chardonnays will go on to ferment in 59 gallon oak barrels.
After about a day of the juice soaking with the skins the juice is bleed off (Saignée) to be put in a separate tank and or barrel to make rosé
Topping off this tank with a bit more Pinot Noir juice
Ahh yes it's that time of the year again where many harvest interns are just starting out in hopes of learning something new, and hopefully, some of you are! While others have unpleasantly discovered that every day is starting to look a little more and more like Groundhog day! But not to fret! there will be plenty of punch downs and pump overs to help out with.
When one interviews for a harvest internship, be sure to ask plenty of questions, to make sure you pick the right winery in the end and to ensure you get the best learning experience possible. You only get so many harvests in one lifetime! If only I was 21 again, but I'm not! It's a marathon of epic proportions, cheers to our survival winos!
Bottling
A sure way to tire yourself out before harvest is to work a bottling line for a week...or to challenge yourself? However you look at it, this wine needs to get into bottle somehow.
 |
| As the stacks of pallets tower over the staff, customers walk by and grin with glee! Let there be more boxes of wine! |
Half of what harvest is, is cleaning and sanitizing! It's vital to start off on a clean slate or better put, to start with clean tanks and 'barrels (cleaned by steaming)' so that we can hopefully avoid problem ferments. We don't want any pesky little microorganisms contaminating our wine!
 |
| Getting the many tanks ready for harvest. |
 |
| If you want to join harvest, make sure you are not scared of heights! |
Out with the old
Racking/transferring this wine off of its fine lees 'sediment' and putting it into another tank/oak barrels.
Since we are almost down to the bottom of the tank, we can open the door and look closely at what wine we have left so that we don't suck up any of the lees.
There it is! Just a little bit of lees left on the bottom of the tank, we don't want to include this in our clear wine. This stuff looks like melted butter =)
In with the new!
Chardonnay for the 2017 harvest has already started arriving and is ready to be pressed whole cluster. Some of DeLoach's Chardonnay will go on to ferment in tanks, and our Estate and vineyard designate Chardonnays will go on to ferment in 59 gallon oak barrels.
Sometimes I'm let out of the cellar to go on an adventure to another winery =D this one being Baletto! Sample run it is, Baletto holds some of Deloach's wine and this is a sample of the new Chardonnay juice that was just racked.
The first grapes 'Estate Pinot Noir' is here and is being blessed =)
Sorting through some Pinot Noir early in the morning to ensure the grapes stay cold.
Some of this Estate Pinot will be used for our Estate Rose Wine.
After about a day of the juice soaking with the skins the juice is bleed off (Saignée) to be put in a separate tank and or barrel to make rosé
Topping off this tank with a bit more Pinot Noir juice
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