Y2K CHENIN BLANC HARVEST

_____It's the time that we've all been waiting for! All the equipment is ready to go - new tanks, a new crusher / destemmer, new pumps & a lot of snack food in the fridge. (If you are very curious, take our equipment tour.) _____Since we bought a more powerful crusher / destemmer, we had our local blacksmith, Al, construct a better, bigger hopper for the grapes to fall into. You can see Adam and Al positioning the hopper in the frame. As a result of all this newfangled efficiency, we might not have as many "pizza nights" this year. That's when we know we're going to work past 6:00 P.M. and we order a couple pies from a great place down in Plymouth.

THE FUN AND YUMMY - RIPE FOR THE PICKING!

Let's follow the "Fun & Yummy White" through the 2000 harvest. This wine will be ready to bottle the first week of December, and it will be available to purchase in time for Christmas. LEFT: Prior to picking, a random sample of Chenin Blanc is taken to determine its percent sugar (brix). RIGHT: The view inside a refractometer - the device that measures sugar content. Looks like 25%...

WORKING HARD!

The crew picks the vineyard by hand beginning at sunrise -- the grapes are best picked before they warm up with the sun's heat -- plus it's easier on us to work when it's cooler!

INTO THE WINERY

LEFT: A bin of Chenin Blanc grapes gets weighed (about half a ton) and then dumped into the hopper. To retain more flavor, the grapes are crushed as soon as possible after they are picked. RIGHT: Jim pitchin' the stems as they're thrown from our crusher / destemmer. The pulp, skin & seeds are separated by a series of augers and a rotating cage inside the c/d. The broken-up grapes get pumped into the bladder press. Click here to read what happens next!