With a Little Help from my Friends - June 9, 2023
Wednesday morning started at 5:30 AM. Well, almost. I missed the 8 calls from the delivery man between 5:30 AM and 6:30 AM. He was bringing another 100 gallons of Pinot Grigio must, 50 gallons of Merlot must for top off wine, and a pallet with 50 cases of bottles and a bag of corks. When I returned his call at 7:30 he seemed angry but said he would be back after his last delivery. This was not the same man or the same truck that ran over the mailboxes at the end of the driveway.
After running my two dogs to the groomers, a friend who is new to winemaking came over and helped me rack. We pumped 10 barrels of wine, cleaned each barrel, and we tasted everything. We were just finishing up when the delivery truck pulled in with my order.
Later in the day, as happens quite often, I needed someone to hold the hose. A friend who lives close enough for emergency calls from the winery came and helped me pump the new must into fermentation containers. If you ever get one of these phone calls from me, it will start with, “Hey, do you have a few minutes to come and hold a hose?” Also, know that I only make these calls when the situation is precarious or I just can’t reach the pump and hold the hose at the same time.
When pitching yeast for fermentation it’s important to wait for the must to warm to 60 degrees so that the yeast will survive. The truck is refrigerated and because of this, I waited until Thursday for the temperature to rise in both containers.
Thursday morning a friend and I checked the Pinot Grigio for clarity then cleaned and filled stainless steel sixtels for the kegerator. While the hose was outside, we washed the fox scat off Yuri who had rolled while we were working.
For the new wines, the yeast nutrient was added to hot water to dissolve. When this mixture cooled to a lukewarm temperature, I added the yeast. This is a very satisfying step in the winemaking process. There is something both soothing and exciting about waking up the yeast and nurturing it so that it thrives in its new environment.
Once rehydrated the two different yeasts were pitched into the Merlot fermenter and the Pinot Grigio fermenter. Now the garage smells like fermenting wine and to me is a very enticing place to spend time.
We accomplished a lot and stayed on schedule for my afternoon visit with a dear friend who is visiting PA this week. After my visit, I bathed Yuri again because he rolled in fox scat a second time.
All in all, it was a good week full of friends, wine work, wine dogs, and scat.
Thank you my friends, I could not do this without you!
Sharon
