Finally, here come the Reds

Hurray! We're halfway there. Now, that most of the whites have come in and have been pressed off. We're starting to see the reds. These are the totes of Merlot we crushed last week. Anyone who thinks they are going to retire and own a winery (are you crazy?) better make sure they hire some strong, young, fit people to work for them. Winemaking is a physical job. The advantage for reds is the crush day is shorter. We sort, crush and destem. There's no press action that day. That means there's less equipment to clean. Yeah! But wait, here's the catch: You think to yourself that it's going to be easier, but actually, you trade off for another job. That job is "punch down." Every day, we punch down the reds once or twice a day. For the Merlot, we've been punching down once a day. The first day is a killer. Thank God Colin aka "the muscle" got first round. If I didn't mention it before, Colin, the nephew and young college grad is doing most of the heavy lifting around here. It's fitting since he's the one in his early 20s and has all the energy. Punching down involves using this apparatus that is like a stainless steel pogo stick, except there's a flat disk at the end. You put this on top of the cap which can be a few feet thick of the wine berries floating on top of the juice. Being a petite person, I have my challenges. But it's nothing that a step ladder couldn't fix. So, imagine little me holding this apparatus over the cap and pushing down with all my might. I'm sure it's kinda funny when you're the one watching. I say, "really, I'm pushing down with everything I've got!" So, I bounce up and down until I get the momentum to breakthrough this thick cap. I could probably stand on it. Snow shoes would be more effective. The first punch down is always the hardest. Once you breakthrough the cap, it gets easier to punch down the rest. You want to push down all the berries, grapeskins down so it mixes with the rest of the juice. You end up with a frothy, aromatic mix. It's quite a workout on your arms and shoulders. K & I say a little cheer and throw the yeast and mix it in. We punch down for 5-7 days taking temperature readings and measuring the brix. I carefully record everything on note cards taped to the side of the totes. I take note of the brix levels going down as the sugar gets converted into alcohol. Once, you're down to 10 brix or less, it's time to press off and rack into the tank. Today, we pressed off this wonderful juice and racked into the tank. It's a good thing too because we need to make room for the estate grown Cabernet Franc we picked over the weekend. That's another story.....

Cheers,
CellarGirl