We need to get all of our equipment ready for harvest. The first big step is to replace the waste water settling tanks, and we will do that this week. These tanks receive and settle out solids from water used in washing tanks, equipment, and floors. Our existing tanks have been in the ground for nearly 20 years and their concrete bodies have been eaten away by the combination of acids and cleaning chemicals we use in the cellar.
Our scale will be calibrated and certified by the State of Iowa. We need to transfer harvest equipment that is stored in the warehouse to the winery. We need to perform preventative maintenance on our two presses, calibrate the pH probe on the Mettler titrator, and connect all of the harvest equipment we use on the crush pad and make sure it all works.
We will start tasting grape samples this week to get an idea on what is beginning to ripen and then we’ll prepare a rough harvest schedule. About ten days before starting harvest, we’ll take grape samples to Iowa State University to have them analyzed for yeast assimilable Nitrogen (YAN) so we will know how much yeast nutrient we will have to add during fermentation.
It is busy in the cellar and about to get a lot busier!
