2017... Sheeeeeeesh!

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Feb 9, 2010
Messages
10,068
Reaction score
5,943
Well like most of you, I set up a checklist.

I'm doing very well against my checklist. I have all the food ready, and I also have all the tanks and fermenters scrub clean. All that's left to do is to worry about what I forgot. This is why I never get any sleep at the end September.

I'm very proud of how clean I've got everything. Just check out how clean this tank is!

I hope everything is progressing well for everybody else out there doing crush this year.

IMG_20170916_163333842.jpg
 
Last edited:
Looks good to me. I don't do a check list, but then again I don't have a party or make as much wine as you do. I've got 1000 lbs of 2017 frozen must on order and I'm excited about that. I'm sure everything will go well for you.
 
Just don't do what I did and put all the yeast food and such in the shopping cart and forget to hit "buy":po

Thank the stars for FedEx. Arrived yesterday and we picked today.
 
Lovely. Looks clean enough to make wine in. ;)

FWIIW, I scrub all the vats and tanks in the fall or spring when they come available after racking/bottling. Spring is the best; warmer weather allows for better drying. So equipment only needs a pre-harvest sanitize rinse.

Don't do a list anymore. Have done this so many times over the years it is all now second nature, routine and SOP.

My wife, a real old world hostess, handles all care and feeding of any crew I can muster. One thing I do not have to worry about.
 
Bottling ended about a month ago. I like to get the tanks clean but there is still some staining and some wine diamonds stuck to the sides. I don't bother going nuts cleaning the tank after bottling because I only have to clean it again prior to crush.

A wise man once said that winemaking is a purely custodial action. I truly believe this after all the scrubbing and rinsing and scrubbing again that I've done over the last 24 hours.
 
supplemental

I hope the following does not sound like I am bragging, or this is not too detailed or wordy.

When I was starting out hosting a crush, I would have given my eye-teeth to have a look at what others were doing for crush. In this spirit, I submit the following..

Here is what I have taken care of so far.

* finished preparing food..
- 3 trays of lasagna
- 2 trays of meatballs
- 3 trays of sausage n peppers
- 2 trays of spatzles
- 1 tray of goulash

Others are bringing food to crush as well. Everyone seems to bring a dish. Some of the highlighted items are: chicken paprikash, perogies, eggplant parm, and lecho (Hungarian veggie stew). Other are also bringing salads, dessert items, and breakfast items. WE WILL NOT GO HUNGRY!

* As he does each year, my Cousin is bringing his home brew. He has 2 sixtals ready to go.
* all tanks and fermenters are clean,
* the winery is now immaculate.
* all barrels have been topped off. I do this while I still have room to move.

* I have completed the Winery Spreadsheet. This has the following worksheets ..

- final checklist. Funny how I have "make checklist" as an item on my checklist.
- share schedule (listing each person and how much wine they are making).
- Cost schedule - details price we pay for grapes, corks, yeast, nutrient, acid, mlb, oak, k-meta, etc.
- Grape and supply checklist.
- Sulfide Schedule (grid of tank size, ppm increase vs k-meta dose)
- nutrient schedule ( grid of tank size, required doses, and day to add each dose.
- Fermentation Schedule for each batch of wine- A calendar form recording initial brix, TA, and ph, for each batch. I use this to record brix and temp reading throughout fermentation. This form also has the dose and timing of k-meta, yeast, and nutrient. This form is like a bible to me.

* Reserved the truck and have ordered the dumpster.
* The house and yard are all straightened up and are in great shape.
* guest bedrooms are all made up and ready (people will be arriving as early as next Wednesday)
* I sent out reminders to everyone about crush.
* I placed my grape order with my supplier


This week is rather light. I promised to help my local Lions club with their Octoberfest. This is their main source of income, so it is important to help them out. As a result, I need to work on the following each day after work..

* Service press
* Service crusher/destemmer and stand
* clean all hoses, fittings, and pump.

This should put me in really great shape. The following week is crush. I won't bore you with the details, but it is mostly getting things set up (e.g. tents, chairs, tables, etc).
 
Last edited:
I totally agree, unfortunately I just don't have the people willing to participate.
 
@johnt are your spreadsheets and checklists, schedules etc all on computer spreadsheets or on clipboards or in notebooks? I'd love to find some computer spreadsheets to keep track of this years wine. I remember seeing a post or two where someone showed their info laid out where you could plug in your numbers and it would show amounts of Chems needed. I'd bet it was NorCal or Ibglowin.
Mike
 
@johnt are your spreadsheets and checklists, schedules etc all on computer spreadsheets or on clipboards or in notebooks? I'd love to find some computer spreadsheets to keep track of this years wine. I remember seeing a post or two where someone showed their info laid out where you could plug in your numbers and it would show amounts of Chems needed. I'd bet it was NorCal or Ibglowin.
Mike

Norcal has a spreadsheet, i just printed it off and am adjusting the gallons and everything respectivly

IMG_3978.PNG
 
JohnT,
for the past several years we've really enjoyed reading about your crush process and all of the fun you get to have with family and friends. Then you raised the bar up a couple of notches when we read on the other thread how you manage who gets into your club and how you had to take care of the unruly ones. I've had hopes that our wine tasting acquaintances that have sorta become close friends could join in on our crushes and 'the' family is getting older and to far away. Then Mrs. Duo reminded me what you said that some might not be a good fit at our crushes!
So here is to all of the crushers out there no matter if you do it by yourself or with your spouse or even if you do get your family and friends in on it, CRUSH ON!!! and have fun!!

TXWineDuo
 
JohnT, I'm helping out on a crush at one of the wineries I belong to this Friday. It costs me $50.00 to help them. Some deal huh.

The experience will be invaluable. And I like the way you net out the cost. ;)

Sign up to help out at Gadino Cellars - they don't charge anything. :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top