10:15 AM: Holy mackerel. The grapes are here and are beautiful. Refractometer readings vary but are just about all between 25 and 27 brix.
The middle hours: We set up a bit differently this year, deciding to do all of the sorting, destemming and stomping before any of the pressing. And then, because the grapes were all in the stomping barrels out on the sidewalk, we set the press up out there. Before pressing, though, much of the other equipment was washed and stowed.
Only so many of us can be involved in the pressing at one time. If you're doing it, you're very involved. If you're watching, it's boring and, gee, why does it go so slow? But the slowness paid off - the juice yield equaled what we had in 2019, just about 100 liters.
Really not sure what time we started pressing (someone fill me in) but the video of Ron adding the last of the juice to the primary fermenter was taken at just about 3 PM.
The latter hours: Press washed & stowed, barrels washed & stowed, sorting tables washed and stowed. Front yard made again to look like people live here, and not like an industrial site. LUNCH! which lasted until 9 PM for some of us, with James's puttanesca as the main meal.
Brix reading by hydrometer at 6 PM was 26.5.
Pitched 30 grams of R2 yeast shortly after.
Winemakers, thank you!
So many of you took charge of chores. Will shout out when the pics get collected my memory gets jogged.
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