Pinot Noir Harvest 2007

These pinot noir clusters are ripe for the picking. Mother Nature sure did amaze this season as the hot and dry temperatures on the Niagara Escarpment accelerated ripening and growth in the vineyard.

Our resident pinophile, Kurt, meticulously inspects grape clusters as he clips them from the vine. Even in perfect years you must be aware not to throw in infected, rotted, or lady bug infested clusters in the bins with the grapes.

Chip Manning drives the Bobcat down the rows as brother Larry stacks the pinot noir filled bins on the lift. The dry weather was as good as it gets for harvest making the space between the rows a friendly work area.

One fo our barrel club members, Steve, lends a hand and dumps the first bin of grapes into the crusher de-stemmer.

The grapes are cycled through the machine to separate the grapes from the stems as well as macerate the skins to allow the inside of the grape to be exposed when fermentation is started.

The grape must is the skins, the pulp, and the seeds of the grapes that has been pumped in to the primary fermentation vessel. We are using two 1000 liter stainless steel tanks for this step of the winemaking process. The must receives sulphur to stabilize it and stop any unwanted growth or other chemical reactions. The yeast is then added to induce fermentation, where the natural sugar gets broken down and converted to alcohol.

We were greeted by this harvest moon as we left the winery that night. After a long day of hard work in the late summer heat, this magnificent symbol of the fall harvest season was welcomed by all of us as we took a few minutes to appreciate our connection to the heavens.