We had sulphered but this year as usual but downy mildew took its toll and stopped leaf and vine growth in its tracks. The tempranillo was more or less wiped out but the syrah was okay and had reasonable grape growth. We have learned this year that we should use Bordeaux mixture, here it is called ‘Caldo Bordeles’ to stop downy mildew. The sulphur is to stop powdery mildew.

We like to harvest near the full moon when it is waxing gibbous. The best date was the 10th August and the brix levels in the grapes that we had were on average 20.

So at 5.30 we started cutting having laid out tables and work areas on the terrace and washed down all the buckets and basins and prepared our new destemmer or ‘despalilladora’ as it is called in spanish.

Friends arrived to help, being put into teams of cutters, carriers and table sorters. We did not have so many grapes and the new machine made easy work of destemming which last year had taken up so much time. By 9.00 it was all done with maybe only 200 litres in the fermenting tank. A big disappointment when we were expecting 1500 litres, but a lesson that nature can be fickle.

We cleared away all the buckets and had a harvest breakfast of hot sausage and bacon rolls washed down with bucks fizz, then some beer. Tortilla, cold meats, cheeses and prawns did the round of the table until all were full and ambled off ‘muy contento’!

Thanks to all who helped namely Carl & Jill, Carmen, Christine, David, Sarah & Antonio, Ikuku,  Jenny & Einar, Jim & Louise, Julia & Gordon, Paco, Penny, Thiery & Breda & Alannah.

The last word goes to Molly, our lost and found basset hound. She found it all too much and just laid down and fell asleep!

The devil is in the detail, so . . .

Barrel One

Five days prior to bottling,in mid January, I used four egg whites mixed with half a litre of  salty water to pour into the barrel. This is to take down to the bottom any remaining sediment that may be in solution.

Used 4 crushed camden tablets (sodium metabsulphite) in small white bucket for corks to soak. Used 10 crushed camden tablets in larger white container to flush through the pump and then put water into bottle soaking bin. We are using the pump to transfer the wine from the barrel to a container that has a tap and can thus fill the bottles easily.

Used two crushed camden tablets in container with tap and put water in  bottle soaking bin.

Rinsed bottles in sink using bottle brush then into black bin that has crushed camden tablets added. Soaked and rinsed bottles thoroughly, then into oven at 200 degrees centigrade for 15 minutes. The bottles have then to cool down for 10 minutes or so and then go straight to have the wine poured in and corked.

Changed water in soaking bin after processing 100 bottles or so and used 10 crushed camden tablets each time.

Started bottling at 12.30 and finished at 6.30 having bottled 256 bottles from the barrel before the sediment came through.

We tasted as we bottled and found the wine to have a bright, clear and fresh burgundy colour, there is some nose which should dissipate and the wine has medium length and a fresh young fruity flavour.

Barrel Two

Late February and time to prepare for bottling.  Used exactly the method as previously.

Bottled 252 bottles, which took nearly 6 hours.

The wine has a bright and clear burgundy colour, this time with no nose and good fresh berry fruit bouquet and flavour.

Barrel Three

Late April and time to prepare for last bottling of the 2010 vintage.  Used exactly the method as previously as it has worked well.

Bottled 238 bottles, which again took nearly 6 hours.

This final bottling has bright and clear colour with no nose and fresh berry fruit flavour, but is a little dryer.

Next year we will go into stainless steel tanks as I want to have consistent flavour.

The press is cleaned and washed down ready for use. In fact all the buckets, tubes, colanders, funnels, utensils etc are sterilised and cleaned. First we transfer the free liquid using tubes into the barrels. This method is slow even with three tubes so next year we will get a pump. The fine tubes avoid too many pips and bits of skin getting into the barrel, although they do add flavour. Also a fine muslin is used to filter out any bits.

It is a slow process but on a sunny day with an occasional taste check not a bad job to be doing. As the tank empties the pips and pulp and skins are put into the press and squeezed as tight as we can. We only fill the press up to the half way mark and after two pressings we put the whole batch of skins through again and even more juice comes out.

Presses like this have not changed in centuries and it is a tried and sure way for small winemakers to squeeze the last drop out of the grapes. The creaking of the wood blocks, in the press, as they take the strain is alarming but as long as they are placed square to each other and do not slip there is no chance of a sudden collapse. There is a lot of alcohol and flavour in the pressed wine, it has a thicker consistency than the free run juice.

As the last of the wine is taken from the main tank and the last pressing made the dry skins and pips are put into separate containers to be distributed around the vineyard. We place them around each vine rather than just throw down in the lines. There maybe some side products, like soap, we could make from the skins but so far we just use it for mulch. Lifting the cake from the press becomes a game to see who can lift the most entire piece.

Once all the wine is in the barrels we added diluted campden tablets at the rate of 1 tab per 5 litres. So each barrel of 225 litres has 45 tablets added to control any bacterial action. As we have no cellar our barrels sit outside on the covered terrace against the house wall, not ideal but as temperatures drop now, we should average down to 14C through the winter, we will see how that works out. We do get air frost in January down to -5C but other winter months can be in the 20C’s so some variance.

Tubing wine from barrel

Using a narrow tube and capillary action we took the wine from the barrel and put it through a Vinturi Wine Aerator so that the wine was oxygenated before going in the bottles. This was a slow and laborious job involving many hands and because of the position of the barrel we had to sit awkwardly. A lesson to be learned for next year! We then poured the wine into the bottles

Hands, Tubes and Funnels

The bottles had previously been thoroughly washed in a cleaning and disinfecting solution and then had 15 minutes in the oven at 200C. As the bottles were filled we then took a cork from a separate cleaning solution and using our super corking machine pressed home the cork. This requires a strong arm as the nozzle first compresses the cork to make it smaller than the bottle opening and then pushes it down.

As the day continued and the line of finished bottles got longer the tedium of this particular job struck us and with a ready supply to hand we had to sample as we went. This led us to think of seemingly inspired variations of how we could accomplish what we were doing more easily. As our talkativeness increased so did our need to quench our thirst on what was after all a hot day anyway.

The line of bottles increased until at last we had over 200 of the blighters. Now where to put them? The coolest place in the house was in the porch, where the barrel had been, and in the family bathrooms. So the bottles were racked and stacked under the double sink tops in boxes to lie quietly to see how the taste would mature.

Many green bottles waiting by the wall!

.

Grapes ready for cutting

The first lines Brix readings were 19, 22, 21, 19. The estimated alcohol level in the wine is calculated by multiplying the Brix level by 0.55. So onto the third line and readings of 19, 19, 19, 21. We continued through the lines taking readings every three lines that ranged from 19 to 23, so the top vineyard was ready.

On checking the bottom vineyard we started getting Brix readings between 22 and 27,  but also noticed that many bunches of grapes had a mold that looked like Botrytis Cinerea. Some of the grapes on the bunches were good but a lot were not. There had been a heavy rainstorm over a week before then a day of sun then a heavy rainstorm again, so the grapes had become soaked then dried then soaked again. Very unusual for such heavy rain in August and coupled with the strong leaf canopy had led to high humidity and thus the Botrytis. It’s okay if you are making Sauternes in France, Tröckenbeerenauslese in Germany, or Tokaj in Hungary. The mold is called “Noble Rot” and in France “La Pourriture Noble”, and “Edelfaule” in Germany.

Mold on some of the Tempranillo grapes.

Our wine harvest was on Thurday 26th August, probably two weeks later than it should have been. Some of the Tempranillo grapes, especially in the lower vineyard, were spoilt, but there were still lots to pick.

Crusher and de-stemmer work stations ready for the day.

We started at 4am to get a good start so that when the de-stemmers arrived they would have trays full of grapes to work on. With head torches picking out the bunches, we cut and piled the grapes into our carrying buckets. A cool morning, but temperatures would soon be racking up.

The de-stemming and crushing started at 6am and finished at 3pm . . . what a day!

We had great support from friends who helped with picking, de-stemming and crushing from 6am in the morning through till 3pm. Working in the hot sun for long hours in what was one of the hottest days of the year with temperatures near 40C or standing at tables separating grapes from stems. So a big thank you to: Ian, Jenny & Einar, Linda & Adrian, Louise & Jim, Maggie & Ralph, Ros & David , Sharon & John, Tom.

Tearing, de-stemming, crushing and generally working through the pile of grapes.

The borrowed crusher/de-stemmer, turned out to be just a crusher, which was good but led to the same back-log as last year. There were many more grapes than last year which would mean a long day.

The sun rises and still more grapes come down from the cutters.

As our main 1000 litre tank filled and as the day wore on it became apparent that we would not finish in one day so we stopped at 3pm for our harvest celebrations which carried on till late evening.

Jenny and Louise look after the food and drink.

We continued picking and de-stemming the next day from 8am till 8pm until the last of the good grapes were in the tank and vowed to buy a proper de-stemmer for next years harvest.

Hot work means less clothes!

At last the big tank was full and we also had two 75 litre bins nearly full, so just over 1000 litres of must. So maybe three barrels of wine.

Pushing the cap down and stirring over.

Fermentation started right away and so we started freezing water bottles to bring the temperature down to get a long slow fermentation.

Stumbling out of  bed at 5 o’clock
on the morning of 4th September
we just had time to review
our prepared work line for
the de-stemming
and collection of the grapes
before friends started to
arrive to help.

After a brief chat about job
roles and how we thought
the processing of the grapes should take place we all took our places and waited for
the cutters and carriers to bring up the first containers of grapes.

We are de-stemming by hand to make sure that only the grapes go into the fermentation tank, so figure this will be the most time consuming activity and this turned out to be correct, most people were on de-stemming.

The first containers began to arrive from the
bottom vineyard, the cutters having to use
head  and hand torches.

The pressure was now on . . .
the de-stemmers started pulling
the grapes away from the tight
embrace of the stalks.

The bunches varied from very tight and juicy to sparse and widely spread.
It soon became clear that the
de-stemming would take the most time.

All the dried bullet like grapes were discarded but the raisin type ones were allowed into the must as they will re-hydrate and give intense flavour . . .
at least that’s the theory.

As dawn broke
over the eastern
mountain ridges opposite
our finca
there where many
questions about
how many more
lines of vines
had to be cut.

Standing for over 4 hours the team continued de-stemming and crushing until the cutters announced that they were on the last few rows.

A cheer went up and it gave
everyone the final impetus to finish.

The last bucket was tipped into the tank and the cover put on for the fermentation to begin.

A general clear up and the tables were put together, chairs found and the bottles of cava and orange juice opened for a celebratory drink.

A toast and vote of thanks was made to all those who helped with the harvest; Jenny & Einer, Becky & Chris, Julia & Gordon, Jacqui & Marc, Ros & David, Linda & Adrian, Maggie & Ralph, Polly & Stuart, Brenda, Jim, and Ian.

With plates loaded with sausage and bacon rolls, tostados spread with tomato and garlic, lots of cold meats and cheeses the harvest breakfast continued for most of the day until the last person left at 4pm, all very tired but feeling good about a job well done.

It had been a  long and tiring day with about 300 litres of wine in the tank slowly beginning to ferment.

We will need to check that the fermentation takes hold, that the temperature does not get too high and make sure that we stir the cap down every 6 hours.

Hopefully then
the fermentation
is on its
way to be a very
drinkable wine!

We think this is the first wine made in this part of the Guadiaro River valley since phyloxra wiped out the grapes in this area in the 1870′s.

Crazy economically, as good wine only
costs 2 or 3 euros a bottle! But great fun to make.

Tempranillo grapes

We have been checking the tempranillo grapes closely this last week of August as they are looking ripe and ready and measuring the  sugar levels of the grapes using a Refractometer.

Squeezing juice onto Refractometer

Using Refractometer to measure Brix level

It has been a hot and dry summer so the vines are looking dry with many dead leaves.

We cut a lot of bunches off a month ago as the plants seemed to be struggling with an overburden of grapes.

The grapes we left have flourished as the plants were able to direct more energy to fewer bunches.

We also irrigated a bit more to avoid the dehydration of the grapes which had been occurring.

The lower vineyard showed an average of 19 Brix and the upper vineyard was higher at 21 Brix.

These readings indicated, along with tasting the grapes and looking at the pips to see how brown they were, that we should harvest this week.

A good count showed there to be 1854 bunches of grapes with maybe an average weight of  a third of a kilo so maybe 600 kilos in total which could give 600 bottles.

We have set the date for our harvest or vendimia for the 4th September on the full moon, as the water table will be high and enable the grapes to be harvested with good moisture content.

We have asked friends to help and will be starting at 6am with a crew of 20
and aim to finish in 3 hours to avoid the heat of the sun.

With 3 cutters and 3 carriers, 6 de-stemmers, 4 crushers and provisioners we should get the job done and have time for a harvest breakfast to celebrate with Cava and orange juice, BBQ’d bacon & sausages, and fresh tomato & garlic tostades!

This year the apricot trees have produced loads of fruit. This could have been down to the unusual rainfall we had during the past winter.

I decided it was time to try to make my own jam. Previous attempts last year were not too successful. My next job was to find an easy to do “mugs” recipe. The one I found to be the easiest was a Delia recipe which was handed down to her by her mum.

Simple – wash the fruit and de-stone. Grease the saucepan with a little bit of butter, just enough to stop everything sticking, not loads. Then layer the cut fruit with jam making sugar and finish off with a few squeezes from a lemon. Leave this in the saucepan overnight or even for the next day. When you come to make the jam, the sugar has already started to dissolve. Heat gently until all the crystals have gone and then go for the boil. Put a small plate in the freezer ready to test the setting of the jam. I boiled the liquid for 10 minutes and then did my test. The jam settled on the plate and didn’t run so that was it. Ready for the jam jars.

The jars had been previously washed in the dishwasher and were now sterilising in a low oven, 100C and the lids were in a saucepan of simmering water.

The end result is absolutely delicious.

The jars are all ready for labelling but I haven’t designed the labels yet and the colour printer is on its way.

Each time I made a batch using 1.1kg apricots and 1kg of jam making sugar which filled approx 5 jars, depending on size.

I have been given about a kilo of cherries so I’ve followed the same method which is soaking now. Let’s hope the recipe works with cherries.

The plum trees are almost ready to pick, I just need lots more jam jars!