Ohio in August

Well, Ohio in August was about what I was expecting.  Hot, 90+F, humid, 90%, and one thunderstorm, one of the few weather trends I miss out here in Oregon.  Of course we were on the interstate when it let loose, 12 feet of visibility and 4 inches of standing water in about 5 minutes.  I wasn't driving so I just got to enjoy the storm.

Otherwise the trip went well.  I don't have any pictures because I didn't take my camera but I do have a partial list of some of the places around Cincinnati and Louisville who took my wine.  Our distributor is Tramonte & Sons so if your store doesn't carry it you can ask your wine shop to order it from them.

As for what I did, Monday was a trade show at Tramonte's new warehouse and there were a lot of us pouring our wines so that customers, i.e. wine shop owners, restaurateurs, could come in and try the wines as well as admire the new facility, which is lovely.  Humidity and temperature controlled so it was almost like Oregon in the spring except I was inside the whole time.  I was also next to a gelato table, lovely!  Especially as a palate cleanser.  Nick, the gelato owner, has a shop in Dayton, Dolce Vita, just across the river from Cincinnati, I highly recommend trying it out.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I spent being driven around and talking about my wines.  I was pouring the Muller, Seven, Riesling and Willamette Valley Pinot.  Except for the pinot they were perfect wines to be pouring in that kind of heat and were well received because of it I think.  People liked the pinot but said it wouldn't sell until the fall.  I can certainly respect that, I'm not drinking much red myself right now.  There was a nice tasting at 4 Flights in Prospect, KY, just outside of Louisville except that was just after the storm hit so fewer tasters than normal but a good turnout nonetheless.  I got home very late on Thursday and spent Friday helping Mary set up for Starry, Starry nights, our annual campover.  Check out our website www.airliewinery.com for more information if you would like to come next year. 

And here is the promised list . . .

Ohio:
Piazza Discepoli, Glendale
Brown Dog Cafe, Blue Ash
Hyde Park Gourmet Food & Wine, Hyde Park
Tellers, Hyde Park
City Beverage (Drive Thru), Hyde Park
20 Brix Restaurant, Milford
Wyoming Wines, Cincinnati
Little Sonoma, West Chester

Kentucky:
Kroger, Prospect (after approval by Kroger)
Prospect Party Center, Prospect
4 Flights, Prospect
Westport Whiskey & Wine, Louisville
Corbett's, Louisville

Chardonnay and Foch are in Tank!

Another week gone and in a flash it seems.  I spent the week moving the Chardonnay and Marechal Foch from barrel to tank as well as all the work that goes along with moving wine.  Mostly I spend Tuesday and Wednesday watching wine move through a sight glass, trying to do other jobs in the 9 minute window afforded me and cleaning up after myself.  Barry, our marketing and sales person, bailed me out by draining the rest of the lees and washing the barrels after I emptied them.  The lees are collected in a small tank and allowed to settle for a week or two so that I can recover a little more wine.
Thursday I spent resetting the barrels and burning sulfur wicks inside them to protect the empty barrels until they are cleaned and refilled in October.  I couldn't take a picture of the wick on fire as holding the wick, the match and the camera all at the same time seemed dangerous and possibly a fire hazard.  Though in the interest of sharing the thought crossed my mind including using the camera's timer feature but in the end I decided to keep moving ahead.  Therefore you only get to see the wick before and after.  After burning the wick I put a small dixie cup in the bung hole instead of a bung because I find the sulfur gas tends to degrade the silicon of the bungs and shorten their life span.  Dixie cups are cheaper and work great for this job.
Otherwise I spend the rest of my time getting ready for my trip east next week.  Kentucky and Ohio in the August, just imagine the humidity!  It will be a good refresher for my system. Monday I am at an event put on by our new distributor, Tramonte and Sons, and then three days of ride alongs with reps in Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington.  Leave me a comment if you have a favorite wine shop you want me to visit.  I must admit that selling wine is not my favorite aspect of being a winemaker, but a necessary one if I want the pleasure of continuing to be able to make more.  Fortunately Mary and Barry save me from having to do this sort of thing very often.  Personally, I think they are better at selling wine than I am anyway. ;-)

Where did my week go?

I can't believe it is Friday and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write.  To be honest I can believe that I haven't had time to sit down and write but it is still hard to believe it is Friday.  This week has been perfect grape growing weather, cool nights (about 50-55F) and warm days (80-85F).  The only problem is that we are still about 2 weeks behind and could use some more heat but I'll take what we can get and if it lasts this is perfect ripening weather.  We also haven't had any rain for about a month and so the new vines, just planted 2 years ago need to be watered by hand.

As the crew is busy pulling leaves to expose the fruit to more sunlight the watering job has defaulted to Mary and me.  We are a little slower and of course are trying to come up with a better, more efficient way while we work so I have spent at least several hours each day this week watering little plants and cheering them one.  The difference in growth from plant to plant is quite interesting and a few are even sporting a cluster or two of grapes.  We do cut the clusters off as they are drawing nutrition from the plant and we would rather all the plant's energy go into growing bigger and stronger.  We also are watering the replacement plants that are mixed in with the mature ones.  Those we water with a bucket with a small hole drilled in it so that the water soaks in where the roots are instead of running over the surface being wasted.  The new blocks we water with a hose attached to the tank being pulled by the tractor.  Mary and I take turns driving and watering and it gives us a great time to stand and talk.

Also this week we have been tasting blends both in the pinot noir and the chardonnay.  The chardonnay we decided really does need a little tweaking and after several trials and retrials we have decided to add a product called Biolees to the portion of the Chardonnay that has been in tank all summer.  Biolees are the cell walls from yeasts that were grown specifically for this product.  It emulates what the yeast lees leftover from fermentation do but better and it doesn't impart any off flavors, a risk you run using regular lees.  Because the cell walls have been broken down in the lab they also act much quicker in the wine.  What we found in the trials is that the Chardonnay was rounder, creamier and the acid was better balanced.  Hopefully you will agree. 

The pinot noir on the other hand came around on its own and in the end we decided on both a Dunn Forest Single Vineyard and a Vintner's Blend.  I must give kudos to my husband for suggesting how I might make a better reserve wine, it worked.  Thanks honey!  I have yet to decide if we will bottle the reserve this fall or wait till next fall.  I'll make that decision in two weeks when I get back from Ohio.

I also started cleaning tanks.  Next week I'll be moving the Chardonnay and Marechal Foch out of barrel and into tank.  This will give the wine a chance to start settling before I have to filter it, also after I get back from Ohio.  Ahh, the work is starting to stack up.  Hope you all have a great weekend.  I must admit that this is the first one in about 8 weeks that we have no projects scheduled to work on around the house.  We get to sit and do nothing if we desire.  Somehow I doubt that will happen!