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I read something the other day about using an sink garbage disposal (Insinkerator) unit to crush grapes/apples? Might make it easier as it will totally blitz everything to a very fine pulp?
 
:icon_offtopic:

I am working out a deal with an orchard for next years cider. I may be picking up a couple of hundred kg of fruit. I suspect my little bench juicer won't survive. How do you guys reckon a wine press like that would handle pressing apple pulp? I'm thinking of mashing the fruit to a pulp and putting it in the press inside a muslin bag to stop the pulp escaping. Do you think the press would be up to it? Apples have more solids than grapes so its likely to be harder going...

Cheers
Dave

I don't see why not.
 
I don't see why not.

Cool.

Finding one in Sydney might be a problem given that Sydney isn't exactly the wine capital of Australia. Maybe there's someone in the Hunter who could lend me one in the off season.

Cheers
Dave
 
Boston and I had the tough task of tasting the wine on the weekend before adjusting the pH and adding oak staves.

Its coming along nicely but it did take a few samples just to make sure and then some Imperial Landlord to cleanse the palate :icon_drunk:

We needed to draw out more than 1L in one of the barrels just to fit the oak in so i have added a small amount of red wine vinegar to it and left it to do its thing.

Anyone else had a crack at making their own vinegar? I did do some searching about it and read that most people buy a 'vinegar mother' to kickstart the process but did find a few references to just leaving it sit for a few months.
 
Anyone else had a crack at making their own vinegar? I did do some searching about it and read that most people buy a 'vinegar mother' to kickstart the process but did find a few references to just leaving it sit for a few months.


Next time you are in the Barossa call in at Seppeltsfied Winery. From memory they are now making vinegar again along with that gorgeous red raspberry cordial. You may be able to pick some brains.

BYB
 
We oaked the wine a month ago and had a taste during the week. Very happy to taste/smell the oak coming through.

Discovered pics of the oak staves on my camera so here they are.

A combination of 2 different sorts of french oak, 2-3 per 200L barrel.

oakforwine.jpg
 
Beer is 1 step closer to the bottle.

It was racked into a 1000L container and is now sitting in a cool room waiting until we can get it bottled in late March.

Just shy of 800L :icon_drunk:

P28_02_11_17.17.JPG

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P28_02_11_19.02_01_.JPG
 
Beer is 1 step closer to the bottle.

funny lookin beer :lol:

your wine looks great... my '10 Cabernet is sleeping soundly in the cool room still. Will be putting it in a new french oak hogshead this month and looking to bottle August/September this year. Looking like it will be a cracker if i do say so myself!
 
funny lookin beer :lol:

your wine looks great... my '10 Cabernet is sleeping soundly in the cool room still. Will be putting it in a new french oak hogshead this month and looking to bottle August/September this year. Looking like it will be a cracker if i do say so myself!

<_< Damn it, i was even drinking wine whilst posting. :icon_drunk:

We cleaned (well, Boston cleaned, i watched) the oak staves after racking. Not sure if its worth trying to re-use them for anything else. Not sure i will make wine again anytime soon, work seems to be supplying me with wine at quite a good price.......

As it turns out, i cant count. We used 4 staves per barrel.

And they let me play with explosives :blink:
 
might be just the thing in a lambic/funky style beer.
 
Speaking of steeping and wine....

I am tempted to do similar to that i saw in a youtube video and dry hop some white wine.....

Was thinking recently during a wine sensory session at work that the aromas from fresh hop flowers would go very well in something as aromatic as a sauvignon blanc or perhaps a riesling.
 
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Doing 2 batches this year; both Shiraz from the Hunter, but both very different.

First batch I started a couple of weeks back with a class mate who got 800kg of machine picked Shiraz through his work. We've made this wine at the TAFE and used their equipment for it.
Winemaking_003.jpg
Winemaking_004.jpg
Winemaking_007.jpg

My PERSONAL batch, I picked 50kg of the best grapes left from a block at work, and made it with whatever I could muster up around the house. Picked it on Monday and so far so good.
Winemaking_010.jpg
Winemaking_012.jpg
Winemaking_017.jpg
 
what yeast are you using?
Blend of yeasts for the big batch...F15 and FX10...can't remember the maker, it's all written down at college.

For my personal blend I was given a packet of out of date Enoferm BDX from work. Didn't take much to get it going, though there was at least a day of lag phase, but that may have been a result of the 50mg/kg of SO2 I nuked it with during crushing!
 
I heard the vintage for reds in the hunter is the best for years. A good year to be making hunter shiraz.

A good year in the central tablelands for vineyards that survived the mildew in spring/early summer.
 
I heard the vintage for reds in the hunter is the best for years. A good year to be making hunter shiraz.

A good year in the central tablelands for vineyards that survived the mildew in spring/early summer.
Yeah, the vintage has been quite good in the Hunter, very dry and hot during harvest, well looked after vineyards can really afford to let their fruit hang FAR longer than usual.
From what i've heard, the whites, Semillon and Chardonnay in particular, should be excellent across the board.
As for the reds, they're set to be good if you survived that week of extreme heat. Alot of the lower cropped Shiraz was picked before the heatwave, and they should look fantastic. However it looks like most vines suffered during the heatwave, and most lost a good amount of leaf and the grapes themself did dehydrate quite a bit without being particularly ripe or flavoursome, especially the overcropped vines.

Having said that, the boys at work reckon the cabernet is the best they've ever seen from the vineyard, and we could realistically let it hang for another month if this lack of rain keeps up...but we've been hit by bats instead! :ph34r:
 
Having said that, the boys at work reckon the cabernet is the best they've ever seen from the vineyard, and we could realistically let it hang for another month if this lack of rain keeps up...but we've been hit by bats instead! :ph34r:

Pity about the heatwave, the hunter does get pretty hot. Bats here for the first time ever, but I have to net my little vineyard anyway so no problem for me.

I have to pick my cab sav by mid april, I hope its ripe enough by then.
 
I have to pick my cab sav by mid april, I hope its ripe enough by then.
April! Crickey, that's unheard of in the Hunter.
Infact, it's a miracle that we're still picking in the Hunter right now...it just never happens!
 

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