Harvest 2012 Begins!
Tomorrow morning we start picking our first blocks of Pinot Noir! Our clones 115, 777 & Pommard 05 on one rootstock will be coming in. All taste great and are going into the blends that we do sub-14% alcohol. I'll post photos of the pick this weekend!
Leading up to this week, we were doing a lot of cleaning (take everything out of the cellar, clean everything, and put it back in is the norm), and berry sampling and testing. (Thanks to David for his help this harvest!) Below is a photo of clone 777 & 115 berries and a few of our tabletop machines to test pH and acid which as as important when determining ripeness as sugar, flavor and seed and stem maturity.
Because we include whole clusters in our fermentation bins, the condition of the stems and seeds is more important to us than most. We don't want bright green, super tannic seeds or stems, but seeds that are brown and crunchy, with less tannin. The stems should also be lignified (dictionary definition: to convert into wood; cause to become woody).
We're really excited to have soon-to-be fermenting bins in the back!
Leading up to this week, we were doing a lot of cleaning (take everything out of the cellar, clean everything, and put it back in is the norm), and berry sampling and testing. (Thanks to David for his help this harvest!) Below is a photo of clone 777 & 115 berries and a few of our tabletop machines to test pH and acid which as as important when determining ripeness as sugar, flavor and seed and stem maturity.
Because we include whole clusters in our fermentation bins, the condition of the stems and seeds is more important to us than most. We don't want bright green, super tannic seeds or stems, but seeds that are brown and crunchy, with less tannin. The stems should also be lignified (dictionary definition: to convert into wood; cause to become woody).
We're really excited to have soon-to-be fermenting bins in the back!
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