David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery Winemaker's Diary

Weeks 48 - 49
December 7, 2003 to December 20, 2003 


Tuesday December 9, 2003
 
The fermentation on the Bernier barrels is continuing as planned. We do still hear a good deal of noise in the barrels and the fruit flies have been swarming around the bung holes which is is good sign. I have checked a few barrels and have received conflicting results on the alcohol readings. I am still not sure a significant change has occurred. I will do further tests later this week. There is one thing good about this experience: The winery has been kept at 71 degrees, so I have been able to where my tank top all day long. As some of you may have noticed, our office is always over 70 degrees, most likely because of the 4 computers working all the time. 

Thursday December 18, 2003

Susie who was 16 on the 14th of December will take her driving test tomorrow. I feel confident she will pass. Then I will have to start worrying about her driving alone. 

The fermentation on the Bernier barrels has gone well. We just got a test of the sugar left in two barrels and I am encouraged. One barrel was at 0.19% and the other barrel was at 0.14% residual sugar. We are getting close to dryness and the fermentation still is active. I have decided to keep the building at 71 degrees until we start blending on January 6th. That should give all the barrels a chance to finish. I am happy with the results, but I am unsure about the quality of the wine. We will start tasting the blended barrels on the 10th of January. I can't wait. 
 

Dave 

Home | Read | Diary | Public Forum | Tell Us What You Think of Our Diary! | Last Week | Next Week