Ice, Ice, Baby!

Pressing Times...

Thank you for being patient with me as we emerge from the Arctic blast, heaps of snow over the holidays and now the 500

year flood.  I think I'm ready for a glass of wine.  

As I mentioned on the last post, we were expecting a "deep freeze" in the days coming up to Christmas and man, Mutha Nature didn't disappoint!  We got the grapes off the vines and in the press just before solid and frozen met wet, white and sloppy.

The grape this year for our ice wine is Chardonnay.  Napeequa has done three vintages of Gewurztraminer and it's time for exploration.  So, you fans of our Gewurztraminer, not to worry.  With hints of Grandma's baked apple pie, you'll love Chardonnay as an ice wine.

The juice came in at 33 Brix.  The fruit was the best I've seen in my short stint... Botrytis almost on every cluster.  Black Sooty mold (scourge of ice wine makers) was a speck here-and-there, bottom line, very outstanding fruit.

The juice will be allowed to cold settle for a few days, then transfered into a fermentation tank and allowed to warm up a bit.  At which point the juice will be inoculated with a special yeast (can't tell you which strain... top-secret.  Wouldn't want Chateau d' Yquem to find out!)

Will keep you posted.  This coming weekend?  Why racking the reds, of course!

Keep Safe,

David

PS:  The fellow on the right in the middle pic is none-other than Charles Smasne.

He and his father Paul, were the masterminds behind raising this beautiful fruit.  Yeah, he's getting hands-on!  Thanks Charles!!