Vintage 2011 Ends

We picked the Cabernet Sauvignon which came in at 12.1 Be' and 3.7 pH.
The fruit was in pretty good condition.
The grapes were crushed and inoculated with same Italian red wine yeast culture that was used on the other reds. French oak mini staves and MLF culture were added to the must.
Fermentation began within 12 hours.
After a week of punching down the cap four to five times a day, the wine was pressed and drained and the free run together with the pressings transferred to a stainless steel tank.
The oak staves were recovered from the marc and added back into the wine.
The marc was returned to the vineyard rows.

The wine was allowed to settle for a week and then racked off the fermentation lees. We established that MLF was complete so the wine was sulphured and egg white added to begin the fining process.
In the coming weeks and months, all the 2011 wine will be racked off their fining lees, sulphur added and in the case of the reds, pH adjusted.
The Semillon should be ready to drink by June and the reds by the end of the year.
Hopefully 2012 won't be as difficult a year, viticulturally, as this one has been.