September - It's wine crush time at Brooks Creek Winery
Late September the grapes are ripe and the crew gets busy! The equipment is pulled out, sterilized and the wine making process begins right here in the winery.
Grapes were harvested and also purchased as part of a master winemaking plan between Dave and Steve With Dave’s extensive list of all the necessary components, Steve made sure the winery was equipped with all that would be needed. The new walk-in cooler and fermentation room were also ready for business.
The Crew
Steve Kennard – Proprietor
Dave Sylling – Wine Maker
Paul Braeger – Winery Consultant
Charlie Blankenship – Winery Operator
How much fun can a few good men have? Apparently quite a bit. Actually, this endeavor required a team effort. Dave and his wife Jeanne have been making wine for several years and they have the experience needed. In addition, their Garden Shed Cellar’s wines have won numerous awards. We are so excited to have them as part of the “Crew.” and would not be able to do this without them.
Wine Making in Oso
It all begins with great grapes
Vans are rented each Fall and driven 5 hours each way to Walla Walla, WA to pick up several hundred pounds of grapes. The grapes are then stored in the large walk-in cooler. Thank you to Paul and Dan Neri for all of your help! Dave is in true winemaking form. He, Jeanne and Steve always make sure that each piece of equipment needed is on site and ready. The winery looks good transformed into a full-fledged center of operations.
De-stemming and crushing are the first steps
Charlie learned how to work the de-stemming/crushing machine. Everyone pitched in, sorting and then loading the grapes into the de-stemmer.
The grapes are then put into a bladder press
The crushed grapes are put into a bladder press which allows only the juice to filter through into an attached container.
The juice is then put into fermentation tanks. Nutrients are added and over a period of 10 days the acidity, ph and sugars are measured for proper balance.
The grapes have been transformed to juice at this point
The grape juice is now almost ready for fermentation. There are just a few more steps before it is set aside and left alone.
Dan is measuring PH and also adding a few critical components to the pressed juice.
The winery is equipped with a stainless sink and tables to provide a sterile work station. Dave, Paul and Dan analyze the juice to determine the next steps taken.
Chemistry
Once the grapes have been pressed and the juice filtered out and put into containers. Dave must check the Ph, acidity and other important attributes to make sure the fermentation process is in full swing.
Time to taste the juice
Tasting the juice prior to full fermentation allows the winemakers to determine sugar levels and other important characteristics needed to make good wine.