Burning issues whilst racking the wine

The cellar is busy with racking today. Racking is taking the wine from its solids, such as particles of fruit flesh, skins, yeast cells etc. Everything that has sunk to the bottom of the tank to put it simply. Most tanks have a racking valve some distance from the bottom for that purpose. You can see a pipe attached to such a valve on the right tank on the picture. Fermentation has been completed in most of the tanks so the wine is now very vulnerable to bacterial infection or oxidation until malolactic fermentation has set in. It is also sometimes called "secondary fermentation". This is not entirely correct, because it is a process where tart tasting malic acid, which is naturally present in grapes, and the resulting must is converted into a much softer tasting lactic acid. Sometimes this happens spontaneously but most of the time it needs some encouragement by adding malolactic cultures to the wine. Now is the time to keep all the tanks full to the very top so no oxygen ages the wine prematurely or in the worst case scenario spoils it altogether.

The fire seen on the picture above is in Paarl and just about to reach main road and some houses are in immediate danger of burning down. The helicopters fly long hours until sunset and during the night the skyline is red and thick smoke rises high into the sky. We all feel for the people who live in the danger zone and that are now asking themselves if they had paid their fire insurances and if their belongings and properties will be spared. We ourselves have had been in a very similar position only two years ago. Reminds me to call my insurance broker a.s.a.p. As the saying goes: you cannot insure a burning house.

The guesthouse has been reappointed by Portfolio of Places and the Greenwood Guide as well as being awarded a four star status once more. Our cleaning staff Dina, Ragel and Sissy have been mentioned as being very thorough and on top of the task. I guess a plain "thank you" has to be followed by some cash as well, but they deserve it/ Well done ladies! I installed a new chlorinator for the swimming pool and ever since it has turned into "deep blue". The nice thing about this little gadget is that it is self-cleaning ;)

The restaurant is as popular as ever and has rewritten its entire menu which you can see here: http://www.kapwein.com/food.htm.

The Wellington Harvest Festival is on this month on 21 and 22 March. We won't do much ourselves this year, because we are virtually sold out and the new wines aren't bottled yet. So no jumping castle, but wine and brandy tasting and good food at the restaurant is the order of the day. We'll keep you posted.

Tough bird

The latest pic of our injured ostrich. I am pleased to report the bird seems to be upbeat and standing again, a bit shaky - but standing. Tough birds these ostriches. The wound was substantial all the way to the bone. The guesthouse bookings are getting lesser now but still going strong. The temperature is in the high 30s and the grass has turned yellow. The ostriches must feel like they're in the Karoo with barren land and little vegetation.

On the wine side, all is going according to plan and we are looking forward to bottling soon. I must say Sydney is doing an excellent job and is helpful beyond duty. All tanks are full and the smells in the cellar are fresh and yeasty with whiffs of delicious fruit. Now we are busy cleaning up the cellar surrounds, watering the vineyards and scrubbing the equipment.

There must be a ghost in our electrical system. Random alarms are setting themselves off and coffee machines start on their own (not even making good coffee). Eskom is haunting us too with random power failures. They last only seconds, but wreak havoc on our electronic equipment and pumps.