Essential Winery Tasks to Complete in Winter

With all that goes into harvesting wine, most winemakers become excited for the slow time of winter in the cellar. Even though the workload certainly is much less in the winter, there are still plenty of critical tasks to make sure to do. At this stage in the season, the harvest is known to be in its sticky phase of the wine process, where thousands of pounds of grapes and machinery begin the alcoholic fermentation. This is what turns grapes into wine which is why winter is a great time to pay attention to detail.

It’s All in the Details

Your winter tasks will most likely be detail-oriented. In this time frame in the wine-making process, you will want to monitor the miniscule chemical changes closely. The goal is that your wines only become better with time rather than withering to vinegar. It is up to you to stay up on how it is progressing. Sometimes things do not go as planned, which is why winery insurance is helpful. Winter may be the ideal time to ensure your business is adequately protected.

The Importance of Topping

All too often, the task of topping up is overlooked, which should pretty much be a constant task in the cellar. Topping ensures that barrels stay completely full from one season to the next. The porous barrel oak allows small amounts of wine to evaporate and then be replaced with tiny pockets of air. This isn't always a bad thing as the new oxygen can bring unique flavors, however with too air much the wine will be astringent.

Time to Assess and Improve

You can use dormant vineyards to perfect the blends of both new and old wines to be bottled in the coming year. Take advantage of the fact that you do not have to be varietal-specific and that there is so much flexibility in creating your wines. Often, varietals are only 75% of what the label says, as you are free to combine varieties. For instance, an underripe-tasting Cabernet Sauvignon could be cured with a small amount of ripe Merlot or bold, fruity Zin. Wines can also be created to reach a certain alcohol content to make it sweeter, drier, or just to meet winery tax requirements.

Enjoy the Process

Wine-making comes with countless hours of mixing, tasting, and calculating to create a perfect blend. Then comes bottling prep, when wines are moved from one vessel to another to separate the wine from the sediment that will fall to the bottom of the barrel. Now it is time for the wine to rest for several weeks or months before its final journey to the bottle. What a beautiful process and a lot of hard work! Don't forget to take a step back and look at all you have accomplished. And before you know it, there will be buds bursting from dormant vines, and it is back to a busy cellar where a whole new round is being made.

About David G. Sayles Insurance Services

At David G. Sayles Insurance Services, we help our clients decide which of these options is best for them based on their current situation and risk factors.  Contact us at 1-855-977-1842 or insureme@dsayles.mysites.io for a consultation!