Bottle filling

[zonta223]

Hi everyone
No not a commercial winemaker by any streatch of the imagination. Just own a few acres of grapes. Could not sell all the grapes so started to make wine. Won a few first prizes at local wine shows and it grew from there.
Planted the vineyard myself , knocked in every pole, put in every piece of irrigation and hand prune every vine every year
Good news however grape prices have gone from $200 a ton (not worth growing) to nearly $2000 a ton because of our drought. So next year will prob not make any wine but money instead.
This year bottled over 6 hogshead of shiraz and made 13 new barrels of shiraz plus about 1200litres of rose.
Doing this and working full time keeps my wife and I fully occupied
Located a few Kilometers from the Barossa Valley in the Adelaide Hills.
Grow mainly shiraz. (the only wine to drink)
So thats a brief history from this end.
Nice to meet you all.
Cheers from the land downunder.


Anton

 

[grapeman]

Thanks for the update zonta. Great hobby growing grapes and making your own. I wish I had a warm enough environment to raise Shiraz, but where I'm at no vinifera ripens very well, much less Shiraz. I must admit I had to look up what a hogshead is so to help all you other guys out a little 1 hogshead = 238.480943 liters.

 

[geocorn]

Now that is a lot of wine! You should be good for a couple of year, at least unless you give a bunch away.


BTW, zonta, welcome to our forum. It is so great to have wine makers from all over the world on my forum. I greatly appreciate your involvement.

 

[Wade E]

Thats great Zonte, May I ask how long you have been making wine and do you do malolacti ferm on your shiraz?

 

[PeterZ]

Zonta,

You should ship a case to George so we can enjoy it at Winestock. Better yet, bring it with you. We'd love to meet you!!

 

[zonta223]

Thanks for the welcome
1 hogshead = 238.480943 liters.


Don't know if hogshead sizes are different in different countries but a hogshead of wine in Australia is between 300 to 320 litres of wine.
Yes try to get the wine to go through malo as soon as it has finished fermenting and while the weather is still warm.
hopefully from the tests the latetest batch is finished now got to rack the wine clean the barrels and put the wine back in the barrels.
Use only american oak found french to soft and gentle for the fruit I grow.
Make wine in the style of a Grant Burge Meshach (wish it was as good) Big wine, Alcohol ranging betwen 15 to 16%. Bucket loads of berry flovours, tannins etc,So people, including proffesional winemakers think the alcohol is between 13 to 14%.
Got a bit carried away and made a shiraz with 17.5% last year. Beautiful drinking and only one bottle needed per party
Been doing it for 5 vintages but hope to sell all the grapes to a winery this year.


best wishes from down under
Anton

 

[Wade E]

Great info zonte,I hope you do good but would also like to know if you
save any at all to make your personel consumption batch and if so how
much do you save for yourself.

 

[zonta223]

Hi
Sorry for the delay in answering but I have been sick for a few days.


I used to work in the wine industry in the Barossa Valley and part of the salery package (common for wine industry workers) was a wine allowance.


Now to answer your question my wife and I MAY just drink 1 or 2 bottles of wine a week.
In my wine cellar (fancy name) at the moment I have about 500 dozen bottles of wine. Approx half of which is my own from last years vintage which I have just bottled.
I normally sell out of my wine about 6 months after going on sale and I only hold about 3 dozen bottles back for myself.
I have commercial wines with values from $10 to $800 a bottle. (Can never seem to find THE occasion to crack one of the best bottles open)


In between naps whilst I was sick I was looking at all the different forums on Fine Vine Wines and the are all very interesting BUT oh so different from the way we do things around here.
So while I find a lot of the methods mentioned in the forums as being "over fussy" and would not know a "wine recipe" if it hit me, if I say anything out of place just take me to one side and tap me gently on the head with an iron bar.
If anyone is interested can post photos of my vineyard or if you want to know how we make shiraz locally just ask same with grape cuttings etc.


Anton


local slogan


Life's to short to drink bad wine.
Barossa Valley

 

[Wade E]

We would love all of the above!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Photos...Please.

 

[redwineleo]

Welcome, zonta. So...no cabs? I agree with the others, pictures are great!

 

[zonta223]

Hi everyone


Well good news. ITS RAINING.


Just had 8 inches of rain in just over a week and we normally only get 25 inches for the full year.
Been constant steady rain no great cloud burst so the ground has been soaking it up like a sponge.
The weeds have shot up overnight.
Now just need a frost to drop the vines leaves so I can start pruning. Already serviced the air compressor and air snips. Will post more pictures When vineyard pruned


Tried uploading pictures of my vineyard but had no luck.
When a picture would upload could not add any text. will have to try again another time.
However if you want to look at the photos of my vineyard go here http://www.wineries.org.au/


any questions feel free to ask


Anton

 

[Wade E]

Nice vineyard zonte!

 

[PolishWineP]

Very nice! So glad to hear you've gotten rain! A friend of mine down there had just written about severe drought and the toll it is taking on plants and livestock.

Much happiness to you and your rain!

 

[OldWino1]

oh no and the grape vine are suffering some where. more rain

 

[zonta223]

Hi
Now asking for your help
Need a name for a Rose wine.
Rose made from shiraz.
Already is a commercial wine with the name white shiraz so cant use that.
had suggestions like Maidens Blush, Just Pink, Barely there.
Whats your best suggestion.
And who is the label guru. I am as artistic as a brick wall.
any ideas.


Cheers from down under


Anton

 

[Wade E]

Shirose, and Ramona is the label Guru in my opinion but others can really suprise us when asked!
Edited by: wade

 

[zonta223]

Hi
Thanks for the suggestion re name for Rose.
Just doing the first racking on my barrels.
Only 5 more to go.
Always amazes me how the batches made from the same grapes at different times (1 week apart) taste so different. Doing tannin and acid adds as I refill the barrels.
Just wish I could get rid of this cold I have had for the last 3 weeks.
Tried drowing it wine with no luck. Just have to keep trying.


Anton