I came home Friday evening and got everything set up to bottle the wine. I knew I didn't have enough corks or bottles and that I would have to go to the wine supply store the next day, but I had enough to get about half of it done. Ronnie is sick again so this was going to be a solo project. I got started. Let me step aside for a minute and explain something. When you are a nice winery you can afford some equipment. If you're a REALLY NICE winery you can afford top of the line equipment. If you bottle at home...you have manual equipment. I have manual equipment. Thus I began. The first thing I had to do was use a siphon (called a wine thief) to pump the wine from the six gallon jug into a pitcher which I would then use to fill the bottles. Think six gallons. Think pumping motion (like a sawing motion...or that obnoxious thing men do when their privates take over). It took about 40 pumps to fill the pitcher. Then I took the pitcher to the bar where I would lift it to at least eye level and pour the wine through a funnel lined with cheesecloth into the wine bottle. Each pitcher filled 3+ bottles. I bottled 28 bottles on Friday night. 28 bottles x 40 pumps? You do the math...I am way to sore for that.
After filling each bottle I then had to put the bottle in the floor on a non-slip pad and use the manual corker to force a cork in and seal the wine. Again...times 28? Is it any wonder that on Saturday morning my shoulders and back were sore? But wait...more wine needed bottling.
After a quick trip to the grocery store to get milk shake ingredients for the sick hubby, I headed out to the wine supply store. I purchased more bottles, more corks, a bottle sanitizer (so this part didn't have to be done quite so manually) and more wine product before returning home.
Starting from scratch Saturday, I washed each bottle by hand. This involves filling them about half way with Cascade water, putting a top on them and shaking vigorously.Then rinsing several times the same way. Again...my poor sore shoulders! The sanitizer I bought involves inverting the bottle and pushing down several times where the sanitizing solution sprays up in the bottle. An aside: If you don't let the solution run back into the bowl before lifting the bottle you get sanitized, too. You'll be glad to know that I am quite sanitary! At any rate, I let the bottles drain in the bottom rack of my dishwasher while setting up, cleaning and sanitizing all the bowls, funnels, pitchers, siphon equipment, etc. Then it started all over again...the pumping, the lifting, the pouring, the corking,... On this day I bottled 27 bottles. That made a total of 55 bottles of wildberry shiraz which I call "Untamed." Oops...make that 54 bottles. I HAD to celebrate.
Once the bottling was done, the cleanup began. Washing those heavy glass carboys is no easy task. Everything has to be washed immediately because you can't let the sediment sit and harden. Things have to be sanitized as well. Got that done.
Step number whatever in the process...cleaning and labeling the bottles. Each bottle has the potential for being a bit sticky...Hey, I said I had to lift the pitcher to eye level. You try doing that 55 times and pouring into a funnel without spilling a bit. Anyway, each bottle has to be wiped with a cloth sprayed with Windex. Then each bottle has to be labeled...by hand. Patting myself on the back here, but I think I did a pretty good job. I made the labels myself and labeled each bottle before packing carefully back into the cases the bottles came in. Job done. Went to bed Saturday night exhausted!
It's Sunday morning and I can barely move. My shoulders are ridiculously sore...my back hurts...my right knee is killing me...my elbows are aching...and I have two batches of wine that I must get started today! Each batch involves "vigorous stirring" along the way in their creation. Will it be worth it? You bet!! In four weeks I will reap about 25 bottles each of "Avalon" (green apple reisling) and "Razzmatazz" (black raspberry merlot). I just hope the soreness is gone by then!!!
Enjoy the pictures of "Untamed." I know I will enjoy the wine!!
The first bottle
The cuter than cute label
The gang
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