Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Winemaking 2011 begins...

This week is going to be a very busy one as far as winemaking goes!  Grapes and juice are arriving!

It has been an odd year as far as acquiring juice & grapes for winemaking this year.  The harvest has been delayed, and a lot of fruit is unavailable due to rots and other issues making the fruit of poor quality.  At first, I ordered Petit Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon, both from Amador.  However, the Petit Sirah available to us didn't survive this odd weather year in California.  So, now I am getting Grenache from Paso Robles, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Amador.  After weeks of delays, it is finally on the truck driving to North Carolina.  Last year, we actually picked up our grapes the first weekend of October. This year it is going to be November 5th.  That's one of the many quirks of winemaking, is the harvest ups and downs.

As far as whites this year, I've got some California Sauvignon Blanc juice coming in on a separate shipment, and it should be here tomorrow evening.

Now I need to get everything ready to do go in my basement winery!