The start of "Our First year of vinification"

A late frost and an inordinately large number of hungry wild boar had together decimated our normally abundant vines.

Day One – The Cinsault Rosé

With a cheerful and willing group of pickers the day got off to a good start and soon the grapes started to arrive at the cave.
The rosé is processed differently to the red, all the grape goes straight into the press and only the juice is put into the fermentation tank. All went well and the pickers crowded round enthusiastically to see the first drops of juice extracted. We soon found that of the six phases only three worked (there are six phases to each program, each phase increases the pressure at which the grapes are pressed). We finally finished the one and only press for that day seven hours after it had begun (it should have taken one) and then we had to clean everything, press, pipes, pumps and all the harvesting equipment. It was gone ten in the evening when we finished.

Day Two – The Syrah Red

Our Syrah grapes (or Shiraz as it’s also known in Australia) had faired better than the Cinsault with the frosts but still succumbed to the voracious appetite of the wild boar. As this was to be our red wine, all the harvested grapes were put into a de-stalker, the stalks fall out of the end of the machine and the grapes fall down into a crusher that looks a bit like a mechanical wrangle but with teeth. From the crusher they progress on downward into the hopper of the harvest pump and from there are pumped along an enormous pipe into the fermenting tank. It takes two strong men to lift this pipe, it’s 14 metres long and 120mm in diameter with huge stainless steel connectors at each end.
After we’d finished picking and everyone had had refreshments and received their pay (in the shape of wine) we started the lengthy process of cleaning up. Again, everything must be spotless before we can retire to the comfort of a hot bath and bed. You just wouldn’t believe how grape gets everywhere and how sticky it is. A strong pressure washer is required to clean out the equipment and pipes. We have to dismantled the de-stalker to get at the inside. The motor end is swung open and the cage and central Archimedes screw made up of metal fingers that push the bunches of grapes against the cage thus separating one from the other are removed.

Day Three – The Cabernet Sauvignon Cartagène

This year the Cabernet Sauvignon was particularly badly hit by the frost as it is the most exposed of all the vineyards so we decided to use it for the Cartagène as well as Le Jacquet, which is a very old variety of the region. In case you’re wondering Cartagène is an aperitif made with grape juice and alcohol and is unique to this area. It’s quite a bit stronger than wine. The day started quietly, the sun was out and the sky was blue and we picked our way through the vineyard. In the afternoon we removed our shoes and trampled the grapes in the old fashioned way. Then we poured the trampled grapes into the press and extracted about 120 litres of juice, which was then cooled to 4ºc and left for 24 hours. After which we racked it so that we would finish with the cleanest juice possible. Then we added the alcohol and ended up with about 110 litres of finished product.

The Good News

The good news is that as this is our first year at vinification we don’t have tons and tons of grape to look after. What we have got is of good quality and of a manageable size for us beginners. We will end up with a small quantity of beautiful wine that has had more care lavished on it than any wine in the history of winemaking, probably.