Everything is progressing well. The Sauvignon Blanc ferment came to halt which allowed me to rack it into clean demijohns and it is now aging and settling.
The Pinot is still bubbling away but now under airlock. The header boards mean that the juice at the top isn’t representative of the entire batch in terms of sugar levels. Once each day I take out the header boards and give the barrel a good stir.
The Shiraz, Muscat and Tempranillo are about two thirds through the fermentation process and are out of the their chiller units and finishing off at the ambient temperature. Only the Merlot is under refrigeration. The electricity bill will be phenomenal .
The Chambourcin in our own vineyard is in the low 20s (Brix). I’d like to get it up to 24 if possible. This week is cloudy but hopefully not a lot of rain. Could be another week or two before harvest.
The Tannat which we are buying is in a similar position to the Chambourcin.
An interesting observation was the effect of hot days on pH. The Pinot was harvested following a 40 plus day. The pH was 4.1. The other reds were harvested later after a week of rain and cloud and the pH was 3.6. Had it been our Pinot instead of an hours drive away I would have waited and harvested at a more optimal time. Anyway there is nothing that Tartaric can’t fix.
I’ve been able to taste some samples of the whites as they were being racked and they show a lot of potential. Good nose, a little bite but that should settle out.
The Pinot is still bubbling away but now under airlock. The header boards mean that the juice at the top isn’t representative of the entire batch in terms of sugar levels. Once each day I take out the header boards and give the barrel a good stir.
The Shiraz, Muscat and Tempranillo are about two thirds through the fermentation process and are out of the their chiller units and finishing off at the ambient temperature. Only the Merlot is under refrigeration. The electricity bill will be phenomenal .
The Chambourcin in our own vineyard is in the low 20s (Brix). I’d like to get it up to 24 if possible. This week is cloudy but hopefully not a lot of rain. Could be another week or two before harvest.
The Tannat which we are buying is in a similar position to the Chambourcin.
An interesting observation was the effect of hot days on pH. The Pinot was harvested following a 40 plus day. The pH was 4.1. The other reds were harvested later after a week of rain and cloud and the pH was 3.6. Had it been our Pinot instead of an hours drive away I would have waited and harvested at a more optimal time. Anyway there is nothing that Tartaric can’t fix.
I’ve been able to taste some samples of the whites as they were being racked and they show a lot of potential. Good nose, a little bite but that should settle out.
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| From left to right 1) pH Tester, 2) Small digital scales for measuring from 0.01 grams to 20 grams, 3) Digital scales for up to 5KG. |
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