Displaying items by tag: Vintage
Ice Wine
Monday, 16 May 2011 10:18
Due to the humid growing season this year we were able to get some Botrytis Riesling from Portland. We lightly whole-bunch pressed the fruit then froze the juice in our refrigerated shipping container. As it thawed we collected the concentrated juice with its increased flavour, sugar and acid to partially ferment, leaving a desert wine with residual sugar and about 10% alcohol.
Foot Stomping On the Side Of The Road
Monday, 28 March 2011 10:18
We have been bringing all of our red ferments in picking bins out into the sun during the day to increase their ferment temperatures. The bins are foot stomped once or twice a day by one of us which means getting the boots, and usually the pants, off to get into the bins and give the berries a good squash and mix with our feet.
Child Labour
Friday, 08 April 2011 10:18
During the busy vintage time it's always good to enlist as many helpers as possible. It's also fun for the kids to help us stomp or plunge the red ferments and check all of the temperatures and baumés of the bins.
Loam Come to Visit
Saturday, 02 April 2011 10:18
The team from Loam restaurant spent the day at the winery helping with our vintage activities, including foot-stomping all of the ferments. We tasted all of the juices and wines we are working on, as well as some older barrels, and shared our thoughts on them before having lunch with a few older vintages and interesting imported bottles.
First Pinot of the Year
Saturday, 16 April 2011 08:37
The first Pinot Noir pressing of the year is always a much anticipated event at Lethbridge. As per normal the first Pinot is always from Hat Rock Vineyards on the Bellerine Peninsula. The slightly warmer daytime conditions and much warmer night time temperatures (being closer to the sea, less than 1km) than Lethbridge always mean that the grapes ripen 2-3 weeks earlier than our home blocks. This season has been unusually cool in Geelong so we have been harversting later than normal.