Wednesday, August 31, 2011

August meeting at Alan's house


 
Paul, Eric and Chuck sipping wine out by the pool at Alan's house

Eric and Paul brought significant others.  Anna and Julia also sipping wine and eating thin wheats in the protective smog of a citronella candle.  This is in Alan's Gazebo.  The snacks were outside and the weather was great.

Alan entertaining the ladies





Decending the steps to Alan's basement winery

This man is serious.  He has a stainless sink and cabinet top with necessary fittings to pass inspection.
you can see in this pic seven primary fermentators, all filled with grapes and all fermenting.  These buckets are larger than the usual 6 gallon bucket.  Perhaps, if memory serves, they hold 12 gallons.  Alan uses them in his pool business to hold chlorine.  When empty they make good fermentors.  Alan also has a machine shop where he has made his own basket press and his own crusher and destemmer.

Chuck giving the must the old sniff test.  Three times Chuck.

You can see that Alan is a serious winemaker.  Here is the data sheet with the vitals.  Each bucket has a sheet with the measurements.  Alan experiments with various yeasts and other perameters if he has enough of one type of grape to get two buckets going.

Stirring the cap.