June was a busy month for Merry Making… fermenting, racking, clearing & stabilizing, filtering, bottling; and for the cider, fermenting, priming and bottling!!
Here, Brian is racking our new hard cider into a carboy… this step removes some of the sediment from the first week of fermenting. It continued to ferment in the carboy for another 10 days…
Two new “flavors”! … the Pinot Noir was racked, stabilized & cleared, then sent to the basement for about 3 weeks; and the Shiraz was started …
The hard cider was primed and bottled! Priming means adding some dextrose (fine sugar) … there is still a bit of active yeast at this point, so the yeast eats the sugars and gives off CO2 which is captured because of the bottle cap; thus carbonating the cider in the bottle! And the name, you ask? You’ll have to wait until the end of the month (below!)😆
Next … the Sangiovese was re-racked, filtered, bottled and labeled … Scarlett’s Sangiovese!!! It turned out fabulous!!
And the Sauvignon Blanc was started!! …
Started back in mid-January, our Snow Eater Gerwurztraminer was FINALLY ready to drink!! The instructions in this kit said to wait 3-4 months after bottling before drinking… and we followed the instructions! 😬 Barb & Gregor joined us for our Taste-Testing!! Another GREAT wine!! This white is a little sweeter, so it makes a nice afternoon wine!
And in no time at all, we racked the Shiraz! And added the stabilizing & clearing packets; and downstairs it went for 3 weeks!
And the last of our kits, but not really the last, we started the Zinfandel … with Brooke’s help!! Mixing it up, checking the temperature (and checking Brooke’s temp too! 😆), then adding the yeast!
The Pinot Noir … Pucacho’s Pinot Noir … was re-racked, filtered and bottled! … with Brooke’s help!!
And the Sauvignon Blanc was racked, stabilized and cleared; then moved to the basement for 3 weeks.
And… the new hard cider gets a name! Burnt Legs Hard Cider! Someone got a wee bit of a sunburn on Beaver Lake earlier in June! 😆
Thanks for all your help Brooke!!!! It was fun to Merry Make with you!!
