Les vendanges sont fini. Here’s the result on display.
The grape bunches ready to be stripped; the green and unripe grapes and stalks to be thrown onto the compost heap; the voluptuous, juicy blue grapes bursting with expectation (or is that me?) ready to be crushed in the cocotte and poured into the fermenting vat.
Two Gallons – not a great result, but fine considering the youth of the vine. Next year no doubt will produce a more consistent crop. And next year. And next year - - - -
The bottle of red-wine is for the crusher.
That’s me too.
Deserved, as picking and crushing actually took 4 hours and gave me a blister on the index finger.
The mix of grapes from two Triomphe d’Alsace vines achieved a Brix reading of 18, with some grapes reaching 20, but weather conditions and ripeness dictated 25 Aug. as the day of picking. I added a minimum of sugar (ca 120g) in an attempt to obtain between 11 and 12% alcohol. Let’s hope for 8-10 bottles!
The Cascade vine will have to wait another two weeks and I shall have to consider how to blend the two varietals, as there only are 35 bunches on the vine.However, the grapes are considerably larger than the Triomphe d’Alsace.
The grape bunches ready to be stripped; the green and unripe grapes and stalks to be thrown onto the compost heap; the voluptuous, juicy blue grapes bursting with expectation (or is that me?) ready to be crushed in the cocotte and poured into the fermenting vat.
Two Gallons – not a great result, but fine considering the youth of the vine. Next year no doubt will produce a more consistent crop. And next year. And next year - - - -
The bottle of red-wine is for the crusher.
That’s me too.
Deserved, as picking and crushing actually took 4 hours and gave me a blister on the index finger.
The mix of grapes from two Triomphe d’Alsace vines achieved a Brix reading of 18, with some grapes reaching 20, but weather conditions and ripeness dictated 25 Aug. as the day of picking. I added a minimum of sugar (ca 120g) in an attempt to obtain between 11 and 12% alcohol. Let’s hope for 8-10 bottles!
The Cascade vine will have to wait another two weeks and I shall have to consider how to blend the two varietals, as there only are 35 bunches on the vine.However, the grapes are considerably larger than the Triomphe d’Alsace.
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