what i learned today

[countrygirl]

#1- st. francois winery is 3 hour from me.
#2- 11 yr. olds get bored after picking grapes for 30 min.
#3- picking grapes is FUN!
#4- a 10 gal. tote fits about 25-30 lbs. grapes
#5- don't start a wine from grapes without the right equipment (LOL at myself
#6- exhaustion sets in after processing 75# grapes in a variety of manners, none of which worked properly,
#7- my husband must love me when, after packing out a bucket of stems and grape skins, he says, "you probably need to invest in one of them grape things if you're gonna make a habit of this"...
#8- life is good

 

[JasonH]

I would be bored too if I still had 10 years until I could enjoy the fruits of my labor!

 

[pwrose]

Talk about anticipation, fortunatly my son likes to go and pick berries and stuff because he eats half of what he picks but the other half I get without having to do the work. LOL oh and he helps with the wine making and tasting as well, although he is still a young teen he only tests.

 

[countrygirl]

lol, jason, i hadn't thought about that...
got another one...
#9- 23 brix is sticky

 

[myakkagldwngr]

Those 11yr olds might not think much of it right at this moment, but it will be a very special memory years down the road.
When they sit back and tell the G-K's about how they helped mom make wine.
Tradition,,, you've got one started that might go on forever.
And yeah, I understand the exhaustion thing. When I got the chance to u-pick strawberries I thought the bottom of the sink would never come fast enough. 5am to get there early, picking them babies, then processing.
Are we crazy or what?

 

[myakkagldwngr]

Oh, by the way... If it's not to secret,, what did you have to pay for your grapes.
Down here I've heard prices for muscadines from $1.00 a pound to as much as $2.00.

 

[Sirs]

I remember going to pick in my first vineyard, I was like a kid in a candy store I kept going ohhhhh look at them over there then run to pick those, I wore myself out doing that. LOL but it was sooo fun.

 

[countrygirl]

it was like picking candy. the bunches were so beautiful. i went to bed early as i could last night, so i'll look at my pics today and put some on.
st. francois vineyard sells grapes for 50 cents a pound u pick and 60 cents a pound they pick. an older couple befriend us and showed us the tool u use to pick grapes with. you're supposed to "team up", one on each side of the trellis, but when my team member went back to the car, i helped a couple of other people. it was so cool, the vineyard talk....one married couple just chatted, u could tell this was their "quality time", another much older gentleman was telling how his team member for the day had to back out due to an eye dr. appt. it didn't take long for those in the immediate area to know i was brand new at this, had driven a long way to do it, and that hubby was a farmer, etc, etc. it was great and i do hope to do it again next year...but only if i have a PRESS!!

 

[mmadmikes1]

What I learned today: there are 2 ways to argue with a woman and niether work

 

[xanxer82]

What I learned today: there are 2 ways to argue with a woman and niether work

Argue with a woman and there are two outcomes
1: She wins
2: You lose

 

[pwrose]

Argue with a woman and there are two outcomes
1: She wins
2: You lose

Need to edit this to read correctly

Argue with a woman and there are two outcomes

Argue with a woman and there are always only two outcomes

 

[Wiz]

COUNTRYGIRL, down here in Costa Rica I have twin grandkids that are 7 years of age. They have the greatest time of helping me with the fruit. They loved to squish up 10 kilos of blackberries and 2 kilos of raisins for my last batch today. Of course I had to pay them 500 colones or $1 each for doing the job.

 

[countrygirl]

COUNTRYGIRL, down here in Costa Rica I have twin grandkids that are 7 years of age. They have the greatest time of helping me with the fruit. They loved to squish up 10 kilos of blackberries and 2 kilos of raisins for my last batch today. Of course I had to pay them 500 colones or $1 each for doing the job.

i guess even us grown-ups like to get paid. they told us as we were getting ready to pick the grapes, that there was a plastic bunch of grapes hidden in the vineyard we were cutting, and the finder would get a 50 dollar prize! we got a picture of the lady who won and emailed it to the vineyard owner.

 

[winemaker_3352]

it was like picking candy. the bunches were so beautiful. i went to bed early as i could last night, so i'll look at my pics today and put some on.
st. francois vineyard sells grapes for 50 cents a pound u pick and 60 cents a pound they pick. an older couple befriend us and showed us the tool u use to pick grapes with. you're supposed to "team up", one on each side of the trellis, but when my team member went back to the car, i helped a couple of other people. it was so cool, the vineyard talk....one married couple just chatted, u could tell this was their "quality time", another much older gentleman was telling how his team member for the day had to back out due to an eye dr. appt. it didn't take long for those in the immediate area to know i was brand new at this, had driven a long way to do it, and that hubby was a farmer, etc, etc. it was great and i do hope to do it again next year...but only if i have a PRESS!!

It's amazing how friendly the folks down there at the St. Francois Winery were. You show up down there - not knowing anybody - and they greeted you as if they knew you your whole life. I will definitely be going back there!!

 

[countrygirl]

It's amazing how friendly the folks down there at the St. Francois Winery were. You show up down there - not knowing anybody - and they greeted you as if they knew you your whole life. I will definitely be going back there!!

totally agree jon!
when i told leslie i was interested in growing grapes in a large scale (not as large as them, lol), she said ed was always glad to be a mentor and also had a nursery business. she and i discussed advantages/disadvantages of norton (vine, not their dog, rofl) and i will probably come back to them when ready for more vines after the ones i plant this spring. i'm really loving the chardonnel, and it is considered good to grow in w. ky, also.
btw, my chardonnel is kicking butt this morning, it's got like a dozen volcanoes going on the surface of the foam

 

[countrygirl]

#10 wine from fresh grapes takes longer to clear??

been in secondary almost 48 hours and still looks yellowish/milky?
not asking for any miracles, just would like to see a sediment line...

 

[winemaker_3352]

Do you see any on the bottom of the carboy?

I had about half and inch to an inch of sediment on the bottom - and it was the same color as you are describing.

It took about another day or two and there was an obvious color line in the carboy - went from the yellow/milky color to more of a golden color - it is a good looking color.

 

[countrygirl]

Do you see any on the bottom of the carboy?

I had about half and inch to an inch of sediment on the bottom - and it was the same color as you are describing.

It took about another day or two and there was an obvious color line in the carboy - went from the yellow/milky color to more of a golden color - it is a good looking color.

ok, i can tell a difference now, barely...i have a 3 gallon carboy and 2 one gallon jugs. the sediment is more white in the smaller jugs. not as easily discernable in the 3 gallon. any specific time frame to rack on the next round? one month?

 

[winemaker_3352]

When fermentation is done - take SG readings - when they are the same 3 days in a row - rack.

I just watched it - when the bubbles seemed to stop - i started checking the SG.

 

[countrygirl]

When fermentation is done - take SG readings - when they are the same 3 days in a row - rack.

I just watched it - when the bubbles seemed to stop - i started checking the SG.

good plan jon...they are still bubbling just a little bit...
feels weird not having something in the primary, lol