Landmark day – the first 2015 wine goes into barrel and the pressing goes on
It must be a landmark day when the first portion of RedHeads 2015 vintage wine goes into barrel. The barrel was given a high-blast clean with the pressure washer, then it was filled with rich, dark Barossa Shiraz.
The barrels have a high-pressure shower clean before they are filled with the new wine
Dan carefully topping up the barrels so there is minimal air at the top
That was Dan’s job, while I was given the task of tweaking the PHs with a little acidity. You’ll be glad to know Dan worked out the details; I only had to administer it.
The afternoon was filled with draining off three more ferments of luscious purple Shiraz into tank, then bucketing the pulp into the basket press. It’s tricky, when you’re short, to reach the bottom. With my head down into tank, I was wondering just how much alcohol you absorb through the fumes coming off the fermented skins. It’s heady work! Dan thought stilts might possibly be helpful and make the task more interesting … read that as amusing for the spectator!
Getting your head down into the giant open-fermenter tub to fill the bucket, then empty into the basket press, gets a bit heady … just how much alcohol do I absorb that way?
