Perfect amount of sweetness added to the Vermentino and Tempranillo harvest
The Vermentino and Tempranillo harvest was a little sooner than anticipated due to high temperatured weather. The brix of both varietals were just where Bryan wanted them to be with a balanced PH. Our day began at 5:00am with all the essentials; headlamps, clippers, baskets, family and friends. The sky contributed its own beauty with the moon and bright stars. Little did we know, once the fruit was picked and ready to be crushed that our brand new machine would yet again give us problems. Although frustrations quickly rose, we decided to sanitize the good ole crusher we used for years past as a home winemaker and get to crushing – lets call it “the right of passage” from old to new! The fruit was just beautiful and full of juicy sweetness making the crushing process a perfectly sticky situation. The Tempranillo was crushed and placed into the tank to begin the fermentation process, while the Vermentino was crushed and pressed and placed into a stainless tank to begin fermentation. The aromas of the sweetness in the winery are so pleasing and make your mouth water in anticipation of what this juice will transition into as a wine.
The outside temperature reached 109 degrees making for a very hot afternoon. What better way to end a successful day of harvest than floating in the pool reminiscing on the ups, downs, laughter, wine and memories made throughout the day.
Stepping back from all the activity and watching Bryan embrace being a winemaker, taking ownership and infusing pride and perfection into every process is a beautiful gift.
Its become a tradition to sit our precious grand baby in the grapes to add the perfect amount of sweetness. He loves picking up the bunches of grapes and getting all sticky. Something tells me he may one day share in his Paw Paws passion.
We will soon be onto the next harvest of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Salud!
