Yum.......Wine......Our Wine

Here's where we are in the whole wine making process. We picked the grapes, we destemed the grapes, we killed the wild yeast, we added tame yeast, we mushed must (grapes with skins) for 10 days, we racked the must into the glass containers. There it stayed in our winery (aka ground floor closet) for three weeks and a day.

Thus, it is time to rack again (move the filtered wine to another container). In order to see if it is worth it, I open the little glass container first. Because for the past three weeks, the yeast is sitting there. The yeast has been eating sugar, making alcohol and pooping out carbon dioxide. And we have a vapor lock on the top of the container because the juice reacting with the oxygen in the air is not good for the wine making process. The vapor lock allows CO2 to get out and air to not get in.

Thus, I have not been able to smell the wine or taste the wine. For all I know, it could have been sitting there making vinegar as we speak. So I cautiously take the vapor lock off the 3 gallon carboy. I put my nose to the neck. Hmm, it smells good. I pour myself a glass. Hey alright, not bad for only a month old. Tangy (too tangy), berry, and a hint of tannins. If I am desparate I can pour myself a full glass right now. I've had lots worse from wineries that say their wine is done. Ours is not done. So it can only get better.

No vinegar, so we move on. We take the inital 5 gallon glass container and put the auto-siphoning tube about 3/4 of the way into the bottle. This is so we can avoid sucking up the lees. The lees are the dead yeast that lay on the bottom of the container. You can see them in the photo. They are the lighter color in the container on the right. Pinkee color. The beautiful red juice moves from that 5 gallon container to another container just like it, sans lees. But this time there is no room for air. The juice is filled all the way to the top. The vapor lock is put back on and more sitting continues. Next it will sit in the winery for 2 1/2 more months. And I haven't figured out exactly why as far as chemistry goes, but one book says 2 months, the other says 3. So in the middle it is. 2 1/2 months will be around in the midst of the holiday season. Perfect. I think I'll celebrate with a glass of wine.

The 2008 Gascon malbec is one of my favorites. When you take a first sip of this wine, you don't have to brace yourself. It's smooth. It's berry. It's fruity with a hint of tangy. Just like I like my malbec. I can only hope our wine tastes that yummy.

Remember imbibe and enjoy!