Timing

timing is everything

Life, is timing.  A wise friend told me this once and it has always stuck there in my mind, whenever things do or don't go right… well, it has to be the timing.  It's the same for wine; time is a vital, crucial element, key in winemaking.  The time you pick your fruit, the time it spends in barrel, the times you pay attention to it and the times you don't, and the time it spends in bottle are all very important.  

Remember that wine, as life, is a living thing, an organism or multitude of organisms combining to create something that is ever-evolving.  Then, think of it as a sort of kaleidoscope.   When looking through one of these you must slowly turn it to watch the beautiful shapes change and move about but if you shake it all the pieces fall apart and the design is gone.  Wine is similar, being a delicate, living thing, it has to be cared for and certain things must happen at critical times.

Right now I am focused on bottling.  It has nothing to do with freeing up barrels for this years coming harvest.  Winemaking decisions should never be based on an economical outcome, rather the wines benefit.  I've got the wine at what I would call it's sweet spot (not literally), and it has evolved to the point where I feel the barrel can give no more and it must now enter a new phase of its life.   

So as this wine enters a new phase, I'll watch the other vintages, taste them and rack if needed and top, top, top, then start planning this years harvest once again.  

What are your winemaking philosophies? How do you feel about timing?

Down time? Nah...

For my patient readers… I bet you wonder what I have been up to since harvest ended in early December.  Well, honestly I did do that whole ‘holidays’ thing, but right after that was over I am right back in the game!  Topping barrels, moving them around (or should I say organizing), and spending lots of money.  Writing checks is a big part of being a winemaker.  I have been writing checks for three years now and have all these amazing barrels of wine to taste through… wow, what fun!

I recently wrote checks for my bottles.  That was a nice one.  As some know my bottles are big, heavy and going to be screenprinted with 22k gold for the label.  I know, spare no expense!  Well, I believe that my wine should be housed in an equal vessel compared to what is on the inside of the bottle.  Do you agree?

Next up is the cork order.  I am trying to think of some clever print to put on the cork itself.  A treat if you will for the consumer.  Yes, more than just my phone number… who wants that anyways?

So, still working, still having fun, and still very, very excited.

Ang