Monday, October 18, 2010

Pinot Noir Fermentation and First Chardonnay Harvest

Bits of frozen carbon dioxide sit atop the Pinot Noir, waiting to be punched in to cool the mass. Each 7 pounds will cool a ton of grapes by 1 degree F.

Taking the temperature of the cooling mass of crushed grapes

Of course frozen CO2 is a marvelous way to cool our lunch drinks

Moving a ton of grapes in the lovely Fall afternoon while Matt films for a documentary

Stephen punching down the fermenting Pinot Noir

Different size bottles on our plank. Our mnemonic for remembering the names of these winebottles: "Seeing her breasts might just make some boys nervous" (Split:Half:Bottle:Magnum:Jeroboam:Methuselah:Salmanazar:Balthazar:Nebudchadnezzar)

John unhooks the netting so that the pickers (and not the birds) can get at the grapes

Here's where we crushed our Chardonnay, at our neighbor's winery

John does a bit of punching-down of the Chardonnay grapes-- grapes that have already been crushed but, with water and yeast added, have the potential to make some grappa for us

Wet shoes by our Crush Pad

At the entrance of our cave, with Sparky the forklift posing

Six bins of fermenting Pinot Noir illuminated in the dark country night

We built a stone fire-pit above the Crush Pad, where we hosted a barbecue party for a few friends after a long day of winemaking

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