My Garagiste Winemaking Experience

I expected my second batch of grapes this evening - the 100kg Cabernet Sauvignon which is destined for my 50L barrel. Sadly the must oxidised, but it could be a blessing in disguise, since I'm getting "better grapes" from another farm on Saturday.

It gives me a break too since I don't have to start the whole process all over again so soon.

On a different topic, explaining my title...

What most of you don't know, is that I work with Penny the Community Manager of Letterdash. We used to be in the same department, but since November last year I moved to another one.

Penny relocated to Gauteng over the weekend. We said our good-byes on Friday, but I was so stressed, that it never really sank in that she won't be here from today onwards. No friend to join me for my morning latté at Ecco! No friend to have a gossip with on the smoking balcony, no friend that is always smiling, excited, positive, upbeat, happy...

So when I had my first cigarette on the balcony this morning, alone, I suddenly realised, "Penny's not here!". Then it sunk in.

Luckily Penny is only a phone call away and whether I call her on my cell here in Cape Town or there in Gauteng, it costs the same. And I'm sure, Penny is, as always, keeping an eagle eye out on her community and will probably read this too.

WE MISS YOU, PENNY!

xxx

While doing research on Malolactic fermentation, I came across this tasting colour wheel. They're selling it for $12, but who needs it!? Interesting, nonetheless...

The bane of my wine-life would be people that are in the "inner circle" and pretend to know-it-all.

"Oh, I taste strawberries!"

"No, it's more like clay brick."

"Clay brick? No! It's fruity, lovely, I can't taste ANY earthy tastes in here!!"

WTF? If Sue tastes clay bricks, then let it be! If Jim tastes strawberries, so be it!

In closing, completely off the track, I'm bringing Woollies into the picture:

Woolworths are very much advocating to be green, organic, planet-friendly, RECYCLE, whatever you wanna call it. And I do love to shop there occasionally. But have any of you noticed how non-green and how environmentally UNfriendly their packaging is?

They have an avo in a hard green plastic container, wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in cling wrap. They have mince in a hard black plastic container, wrapped in cling wrap. They have boxes and boxes of ready-made meals wrapped in hard plastic, then covered with full-colour printed glossy cardboard. How environmentally friendly is THAT? And when it comes to advocating recycling... ever seen a bottle of Coke that you'd get a deposit back at Woollies? Comments welcome!

On Tuesday, which was Day 10, I added bacteria in order to promote the Malolactic fermentation process.

"Basically, malolactic fermentation is a secondary fermentation. It is the process of taking the harsher malic acid in a wine and converting it to a softer lactic acid. Malic acid is the tart acid found in a Granny Smith apple, while lactic acid is the more subtle acid found in milk, butter, cheese and yogurt (and it is the diacetyl derivative of the lactic acid, that shows up as "buttery" in a Chardonnay that has undergone malolactic fermentation). By converting malic acid to lactic acid via Lactobacillus bacteria, you end up with a wine that is more approachable and less abrasive on the palate.", quoted from here.

Here is a nice introduction to malolactic fermentation in wine.

And the bacteria I added (in total it was about half a teaspoon for the 100 liters):

Mmm, OK, that is a picture of the sachet the bacteria came in... perhaps I should take one of the bacteria itself. Next time!

You will notice on the sachet it says "after alcoholic fermentation". That process is done in my wine. How do I know? The Balling reading was on zero last time I took it, meaning all the sugar turned into alcohol; and the air trap doesn't bubble any more, meaning no CO2 escaping during fermentation. Some people add the bacteria a day or two after the yeast (during fermentation). However, one thing you learn in winemaking: follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully!

It's hot here at night, lonely, black and quiet
On a hot summer night
Don't be afraid of the world we made
On a hot summer night

Hot in the city, hot in the city tonight, tonight
Hot in the city, hot in the city tonight, tonight

Can anyone guess from which song these lyrics are? Well, a very good description on what happened yesterday, last night, and today.

That's not good for my wine! How I wish I had one of those cool wine cellars you walk into on a scorching summer's day in Stellenbosch. Die Bergkelder comes to mind.

So the best I can do is to drape a wet blanket around my barrel. Let's hope the Pinotage is slightly happier and sleeping better than I did last night!

After filling the barrel to the brim, I had about 20 liters of spare juice left in the fridge. After the explosion and the loss of wine, I had to top it up with about 10 liters of the spare juice.

Now I have only 10 liters of spare juice left which will be used for the weekly top-up of the barrel. Angel's Share, they call it. Wine evaporates during the fermentation and the barrel needs to be topped-up on a regular basis.

Last night I filtered the spare juice and put it back in the fridge.

I also took a Balling reading. The reading is now on zero as you can see by this photo. In the next photo I lift the meter out of the juice to show you the reading measures.