It is quite amazing the amount that goes into the wine planning. And quite amazing about how little we do know, and how much we do know, and how the planning goes into all this stuff that we have no idea how it is going to turn out at all. The arguments, and the discussions are aplenty...and how we will get to this final product - who in god's name knows.
Already we have started out deciding what type of wine we want - and old world Merlot. And it wouldn't be our wine meeting if we haven't began the first problem, the notion of of how we pursue this final goal. Do we start with the characteristics of what we want and try and work our way back to it? Or do we start with what we know how to do, and fine tune it and go with what it eventually pumps out. For the amateur winemaker in all of us, that is the biggest challenge to a certain degree - knowing what we want and not knowing how to get to the end of it. Or more so it is knowing what we want, and having slight limitations in our knowledge and skill that infringe upon our ability to achieve this final product.
But the grape order is there. 1300 pounds of Merlot. Going into a barrel. Pretty much doing what we always do - diving straight in over our heads into an empty pool. A swan dive into a concrete grave. But the previous versions? They turned out all right. So maybe this isn't a swan dive into an empty pool, but more a belly flop with our weight equally spread out, or maybe it ends up being a triple backflip with a corkscrew - flawless tens across the board.
But list of things we need to get so far. Do you think the old world French did it this way? Aquarium heaters, chemicals, plastic tubing, scales, etc etc etc. But welcome to Xanadu Cellars, where we hodgepodge something together in hopes it is alcoholic and delicious. The real thrill of it this year is the introduction of the barrel. Previously we have gone in carboys with oak chips, and in an effort to improve our wine, we have determined collectively that we are upping the ante and going with a barrel. This is maybe a 25-30% increase on our overall volume, and it brings a whole load of extra questions into play. How do we move about a barrel? How do we afford the grapes that eventually will go in there? It is a different game, a more serious game, and it is something that at some point, we will need to do eventually - so why not. Lets dive right in.
