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The Year 2001 Vintage

Gordy checks to see if the grapes are ready.

Well, On September 3, Gordy decided that the crop for the year 2001 was ready for harvest. We lost a lot to critters this year. The two end vines that had been heavy with grapes were practically stripped bare--and lots of seeds on the ground. I was surprised that the critters spit out the seeds! Part of the problem was that Tasha wasn't around to scare them off. I tried using pinwheels with reflective surfaces but it did not scare anyone away. I think the main culprits are racoons, possums, skunks and rats. So, next year I am going to have to find a method of critter control that works at night.

We had only 53 pounds this year but we went ahead with the crush. Our friend, Steve, helped and actually turned the crank. The formula says that 11 - 12 pounds of grapes yield about 1 gallon of wine. So I figured we would have close to five gallons. The brix was 21.2 with a potential alcohol of 12%.

On September 9, we picked up 200 pounds of Fiddletown Zinfandel from Mike, works at the Fair Oaks Hardware store but is also a home vintner. We were spoiled because he had an electric crusher/destemmer! We had some of his wine--it was great--and helped crush our grapes, his grapes and others who were also picking up grapes that day. A load of sauvignon blanc came in and we got to taste the grapes before they were crushed--they were sweeter than candy! Mike has a cold room to envy. It is built into his garage and has loads of storage held at a cool temperature. I keep trying to get Gordy to dig a bomb shelter in the back yard and actually convert it to a wine cellar. Given the current events, it may not be a bad idea. Where else would you want to be in case of an attack but in the wine cellar?

However, the big score at Mike's was that they had boxes of wine bottles that had been triple washed! Imagine, all I have to do is to remove the labels on some and sterilize them--the old wrists are happy!!!!

We have bottled half of 2000's wine. Fuller's first all Fuller vintage--another Fiddler's Pride because it was aged in the fiddler's barrel. The other half of 2000 is still in the barrel because the more you use a barrel, the longer it takes to impart the oak flavor. Eventually, the barrel loses its ability to impart sufficient flavor to the wine--this is when it may be sold to a distillery to use for whiskey.

Making your own wine sounds fun and romantic. However, I have discovered that at least 90% of the time you are washing something--barrels, carboys (the big glass jugs), bottles, equipment and hands, floors, etc. Preparing a new barrel for filling takes about a half an hour of agitating it with a cleaning solution to remove the harshest tastes. Boy was my "E Pluribus Wrist" (what Gordy calls carpal tunnel syndrome as the injury d'jour) acting up after I was finished. As you can see above, G caught me in the act!

Each step in the wine making process starts with a taste of the product to see how it is progressing. The year 2000 vintage progressed well. Our Fuller's own bottling is pretty good. We have about 17 1/2 gallons from the Fiddletown Zinfandel so Gordy and I have purchased a new 10 gallon barrel. This one will be a banjo player. I will have to come up with a good name for the label. So, this year's crush is in the living room, settling out. Pretty soon we will need to bottle the rest of 2000 and barrel 2001.

Every January, the process begins anew with Gordy pruning the field. I will have to say he is ever anxious to get those pruning shears out and lops off everything in sight. Sometimes I have to throw myself in between him and some plant he wants to off--just to save the plant. However, I do have to admit he does a good job on the grapes. There is a technique to it in order to get them to grow the way you want and to produce a lot of grapes. This year, I was also able to make 6 grape vine wreaths from the trimmings. I have hung one on the front door and was able to give a way most of the rest. I am taking orders for next year if anyone is interested!

In May, the grapes bloom. If you have never seen grapes in bloom, don't worry, they are hard to spot. They only have six little threads with what looks like an anther on top. Here is what our grapes look like when they are in "bloom".

These are juvenile grapes. They will slowly grow and plump.

We crush the grapes that we buy (all zinfandel) and add our own grapes from the freezer. A while back, I bought a crusher press from an estate sale. It dates from the 1860's and is almost perfect. The disadvantage is that I have to manually remove the stems from the must.

After the grapes are crushed, I perform the "wedding ceremony" and join the must with the yeast. Again in 2001, I used Pasteur Champagne yeast. A number of article I have read says that it is superior to others for any type of wine.

For the next week, I am up to my elbows in wine. Twice a day, I have to punch down the cap. This is the only time during the wine making process that you actually want oxygen. You literally take your bare arms and push the must down so that it gets stirred up and oxygen gets to where the yeast can use it to transform the grape juice into wine. Not a very neat process but a very necessary one.

After the fermentation process slows down, it is time to press and transfer the new wine into glass carboys to let it continue the process. Our old press is very manual, so you can see Gordy and I get a work out just processing the grapes!

We transfer the wine to the barrels after the lees (residue) filters out. It is amazing how much solid matter is in still in the new wine! I threw some of the lees in the compost pile--I bet the worms had a big party!

Bottling the wine gives us another workout--especially Gordy since our corker is a hand machine! I stamp the corks with a coyote and moon image and soak them in a sterilizing solution for a couple of hours. We siphon the wine into the bottles and then Gordy operates the corker--you have to squish the cork which is bigger than the bottle neck and then plunge it into the bottle. Hence the reason for soaking the cork. The process ends with me sealing the corked bottle with wax and adhearing the label. And of course washing up the barrel and equipment--you can't get away from washing!

This is a picture of our wine storage area. This picture has the 99 vintage in the glass carboys in front and 1998's wine was in the barrel. Yes, our wine lives in our living room. It is about the only place we can keep it and have some control over the temperature. Oh well, at least the living room gets used!

Each year is different because there are so many variables in the process. Each year is like waiting for Christmas to see how the wine turns out. Wine making is a real adventure that you don't have to leave home to enjoy!

Here's Gordy pressing the wine.

And here's Cheri just a pickin' stems and grinnin'!