Now I know!

I guess this blog is late since I said it would be up by last Friday. I had an unexpected painting session. No, I was not modeling for a painting but painting the inside of the winery. It looks good but it is slow going. All the painting put me behind with the wine club stuff and my blog research.

We had 3 large groups on Saturday so 5 of us had to work. Rob was off at Gold Beach doing a festival and Tim was entertaining for the Folk Festival in Eugene. That left Trish, Linde, Sharon, David and me for the tasting room. We had a fraternity group (mom's weekend), Junior League, and a sorority celebrating 100 years on the U of O campus. It was steady from 12:30 until 4 PM. I have no idea how much wine we sold but it was fun. Oh yeah, it was really hot on Saturday! I headed up to to the winery at 4:30 and worked until 10 PM. There was plenty to keep me busy but I decided to draw the line at 10 PM.

I got all the wine club packages out today on time. The UPS man (Lance) came about 20 minutes after I finished. I answered my emails and started on my next project...Memorial Day weekend. I did squeeze some time in to ask David more about the bentonite process and what a wine goes through before it is bottled.

Let's see how good my notes were:
1. Send in samples for bentonite trials, these tell you how much bentonite to add.
2. Mix and add bentonite at room temperature to wine. This settles out the proteins.
3. Once settled, cold stabilize. Chill wine down to zero degrees C or 32 F.
4. Add cream of tartar to cold wine. This creates a super saturated solution of potassium bitartrate which then drops out and forms tartrate crystals in the tank. Since the cream of tartar is very fine it will take 3-7 days for it to settle.
6. Pass number one through 2 filters, coarse to finer. The wine is tasted and we decide if it needs more sweetness. If more sweetness is desired then either sugar or sweet juice is added. We don't want yeast and sugar to get together...it can cause unexpected (not necessarily unpalatable) results.
7. Pass two through 2 filters, finer yet to the final filter which eliminates any remaining yeast cells.
After this process the wine is ready to bottle.

A bunch of our wines are in this process. Since we are a small winery be don't have refrigerated tanks. We have a cold room where the wine must sit for several days to get down to the desired temperature. Sometimes there is a back up at the cold room. There isn't much room in there.

Now you know what some of these wines go through before they are put in a bottle. After bottling, it is best to let them sit in the bottle for a few months. The flavors reintegrate and begin to taste like they did before the process. Some are not affected as much as others.

There you go. Now you know as much as I do. Hope you enjoyed the information. Hope to see a lot of you this weekend.

Tracy

Going good

Things seem to be going smoothly at the winery right now. With so much to do there is little time for anything else. I am into paperwork up to my eyeballs. David is running tests on a bunch of things (I will give more information on Friday). Rob is moving wine around and getting things cleaned up. Tim is helping Rob and labeling wine like crazy. On top of all this the tasting room is torn apart. The walls are getting textured and will soon be painted. It was fun finding all my stuff to ship a couple wine orders.

Our big Fine Art and Wine Festival happens in 10 days. The flyer should be on our website soon but if you have questions email me at info@chateaulorane.com I will email you the flyer. Next week the wine club shipment for May goes out. I need to get copies run in town sometime. Maybe I can pawn the job off on someone else.

The weather has been beautiful the last few afternoon/evenings. I love the smell of spring in the air and the warm sun (can you tell I grew up in Southern California?). I love winter too, don't get me wrong, there's just something about spring, everything is new!

I was sent home with a sample bottle of 2007 Viognier. It is very nice and I am enjoying it but pacing myself since it is over 16% alcohol right now. It needs a little work but I'm not complaining. I am eating some almonds and liking the pair. I am a woman of simple things.

I will get back to everyone with more information on what is happening with the wine that has been treated with bentonite on Friday. Better yet, maybe David can do that too.

Here's to spring and all that is new!
Tracy

Ending a week

Another week has ended. Each one counts since there is a lot to do. I have a list running through my head of all the things that need to be done. Part of the time I don't know if I should just move ahead or wait. Ordering glass (wine bottles) is a big one. If there is any change made to the wine my bottle count will change. The label situation is a biggie also. My quotes are coming in and by the end of next week I would like to make a decision. That would be a miracle.

I need to put some information on the website. I'll have to figure that out somehow. It is frustrating to know what needs to be done but not knowing how to do it. There is still so much to learn, that's part of what keeps things challenging. I'm always up for a good challenge, though I'm not very competitive. Is this possible?

I made the decision on which capsules to order. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal but considering we may be using this company 10 years from now, there is a little weight to the decision. I'm happy it is done and approval has been granted.

I need to try to get a label approved. Seems as though the government agency that takes care of that had a computer glitch. They told me my approval was pending when it was rejected. After sitting for 15 days it is automatically rejected. It is very upsetting. I will submit it again tonight.

It has been a long day. My body, brain and spirit are tired. I need sleep. I would like to wish all of you moms a happy Mother's Day.

Blessing,
Tracy

Moving along

Wow, I learn something new everyday! I learned Bentonite is added to wines that are light in color. I actually got my last post correct. It is named after the place it was discovered, Fort Benton in Wyoming. Also, Rob is a man of mystery. He gave me a glimpse into his past today, it felt nice.

Things are moving along. Maybe not the painting or flooring but the label and capsule situation. The quotes for labels are coming in and look good. I can't wait to see how things go. Information for the Memorial Day festival is coming together. A lot to think about.

We have decided on a wall color and treatment for the tasting room. We still need to pick out lights and flooring. Time it ticking away and we only have 3 weeks. Yikes!

David is at LCC (Lane Community College) tonight giving a presentation to culinary students on wine pairing. I think a class like that would be helpful for a lot of people plus it sounds like a lot of fun!

I have everything typed up for the upcoming wine club shipment (May 19) except for the newsletter. I will work on that tomorrow and see how far I get. I will put my thinking cap on.

We are planning our grand reopening over Father's Day weekend (June 13-15). We plan to have food and extended hours. Keep your eyes open for more information.

I better get back to real work.

Until next time.

A busy week

So tomorrow is bottling day! I'm always happy on bottling day, it is very rewarding seeing the bulk wine going into a bottle. I have nothing to do with making the wine so maybe my happiness is misplaced. Maybe I'm excited for Rob and David. They work hard and baby these wines along. They grow up, get put into bottles and leave home. Just like parents taking care of kids! Tomorrow is the Malbec...soon it will be ready to leave home.

I didn't bring my notes home to put technical info into the blog. I do know that the wines that are getting ready to be bottled just had Bentonite trials completed. I forgot to ask what that determines but I think it has something to do with how much Bentonite to add to the wine. The results of the trials came back and Rob started mixing Bentonite today. The Bentonite is food grade clay used to clarify wine or help settle solids. I will take better notes next time. The wines that are being prepared for bottling are Tempranillo Rose, Sweet Camille (sweet Rose), Muller-Thurgau, Pinot Gris and the sweet red dessert wine.

Memorial Day Festival is nearing. We got the flyer finished for the music and basic info. That should be on our website soon. I need to get the price lists typed up, table tents purchased, wine club sign up sheets and the wine club shipments prepared. The updating in the tasting room is going slow. We are going to have to move double time to get it all finished by June 1. We'll see how far things are by the end of the week. Hopefully I'll get some pictures posted on the blog soon.

I need to do inventory tomorrow or the next day. Every month I will be doing physical inventory. We wouldn't want anything to sneak up on us. It'll be fun to see how much we have sold the last 4 months.

I need to wrap things up. I need ice cream! If I don't drink wine I get ice cream. Nothing in my wine rack sounded good tonight. I really wanted Gewurztraminer and I didn't have any. That will be solved tomorrow if I remember.