Well, another week has passed. Things are looking great in the vineyard. Veraison is well under way almost all blocks. The only variety that is not showing color change yet is the Petit Verdot, but this variety is stubborn and takes a bit more time. In addition to changing color the fruit begins to soften during veraison. This is what the Merlot looks like right now.
The birds have been buzzing around the vineyard. As a result of bird pressure we put nets on the vines to help protect our fruit. Below you can see some pictures of nets going on the vines. Once the nets have been applied we have to tie the nets at the bottom. The nets help reduce bird pressure, but do not eliminate it. Birds are just some of the critters that are interested in our tasty grapes! Here are some photos of the guys netting Pinot Noir.
This time of year winemakers begin making necessary preparations for harvest. I have been spending some time reviewing the types of yeast that I will use in our ferments this year. Yeast are fungi. Without yeast, wine would not be. Yeast consume the sugar that was stored in the grapes and convert it into three main by-products: alcohol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Yeast are involved and/or responsible for many things that we consume; Bread, Beer, Wine, Spirits, etc. (Pretty much all of the good stuff in life.)
However, like many things in winemaking there are choices to be made. What kind of yeast do you want to use? What temperature do you ferment at? How long do you stay on the yeast after fermentation? What quantity of yeast do you add to the juice? What type of nutrients do you provide for the yeast? Etc…
There are many “commercial” types of yeast that winemakers can choose from. Commercial yeasts come in a dried form exactly like what is used for baking. Commercial yeast are yeast that were identified in nature as being suitable for winemaking and were isolated down to a single cell and then propagated.
A winemaker can chose to allow “natural” yeasts to ferment the wine. All yeast are natural, but when we say natural yeast we mean the yeast that come in with the grapes. As I mentioned earlier yeast are every where in our environment. Well, cheers to yeast and all things fermented!
- Juan.
1 comment:
This is what I think: Nothing but Nets
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