A lot has happened over the last couple weeks since my last report on Hidden Acres. First, we picked about 140 pounds of the ripest red fruit on August 28th. This amount is a fraction of what this vineyard would produce if it was in better health and wasn’t preyed upon by critters. We hope to solve both of those problems over time but for this year we’re going to take what we can get.

The fruit we picked came mostly from the southern rows of the vineyard. Pictured at the right is one of the better looking clusters. The weather that day was very hot so we moved as quickly as possible to get both the grapes and ourselves out of the waning summer heat.

We transported the grapes to Glen and Madeline’s house where we crushed and destemmed it and hit the must with SO2 (about 40 ppm). This would kill off any bacteria brought in from the vineyard and inhibit the start of a natural fermentation. The following day the fermentation was started with the addition of yeast and yeast nutrients.

Here are a few more shots from the day we harvested. Although we’re not picking any of the white grapes this year, here is what one of the white clusters looked like. We think this is Chenin Blanc.

 

The fermentation ended several days after it started. It was now time to press the wine.

 

As you can see, the color of the wine is deep red/purple. Since the flavors were more tart than we would have liked (indicating the grapes may not have been ripe enough), we’re waiting for the next pick until the grapes are a little passed ripe. As of yesterday, the remaining red grapes are about 24° Brix. The sugar has been rising slowly and the weather has been cooling slightly so we may not pick again until next weekend.