Back in the FLX

I'm back at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in the Finger Lakes, with a promotion from harvest intern to full-time assistant and the dirty, raw hands to go with it! This past week we were grafting - European Vinifera buds on American rootstock - which involved a fun machine that makes an Omega cut to hold the pieces together and an even more fun vat of hot red wax that we dip the new plants in to keep them together. Also this week we started moving the first of what will be many tanks that have finished fermentation so the wine can clear.  It was fascinating to see the tartrate crystals that had formed (although not as much fun to clean them since I didn't realize how harsh they are and my hands are now thoroughly cut up) and to see how fast the wine cleared once it was moved off the fermentation gunk (by the next day). I'm learning how to sulfur the wine to stabilize it and how to measure residual sugar and alcohol.  It was very exciting to taste what has been made from the grapes we picked and crushed last fall.

Spring in the FLX is pretty nice so far - as long as it doesn't snow tomorrow like they are saying - and I get to see this waterfall every day: