The Aha Moments of Winemaking
As I stood there, the hose of a gravity siphon in hand, dripping in wayward Pinot Grigio, I couldn’t help but swallow the little bit of wine that had ended up in my mouth. As the flavors of peach, tangerine, pineapple and pear rolled over my tongue, I was ecstatic to discover that though I was wearing a portion of the final product, my first attempt at winemaking had been a success. The process of making wine has always been a fascination of mine. Honestly, how can one wine taste so incredibly different from a wine made just down the road with the same type of grapes? Over the years, I have poured over numerous books on the subject. I also had no shame in listening in on the conversations down in the production and barrel rooms at the winery, peaking in on what they were doing whenever I could. All of this gave me a great foundation for understanding the various intricacies of the winemaking stages, ...