04 November 2014

Kilikanoon Vintage 2013! Pressing Cab


Let me explain for a second how happy I was to even be able to be in this picture... I'm with two legends, Kevin & Mort Mitchell.  Way too privileged to be working with them both.  Overwhelmed.


I feel like this is just proof that I DID things and what-not.  Cleaning a tank.  Wearing a Kili shirt I made.  Kind of ridiculous, but it's all love.  For the record, I did work hard on this trip.  I'm cleaning the HELL out of this tank.  


I'm raking grapes out of a tank, which is harder than it looks.  At the end of this I realized I hadn't been so sore since... the last time I worked in the barrel room at Kilikanoon. Ugh.  You use some weird muscles to scrape these things out;  Best workout ever.



And after you scrape everything out with all you have, in it to win it, you have to grab things with your hands and just make it happen!  Those grapes have to be level to put them in the press!!!  So to make sure that the grapes are pressed correctly, here's how that goes...  I feel like I'm now legit.


Obviously, there's help needed in moving the press from the tank to the pressing apparatus.  Note the gorgeous sunset of wine barrels in the background.  We're about to make magic!  Cabernet looking pretty...


Money shot.  Fun to watch with the timer we've set:  an hour and a half for a press, for any of you who thought this happened quickly.  Kind of like cooking, slow and low means that you have more mellow flavor!  You can press quickly, but it's not the same.



And here's the juice--the  reason we're here.  The more we can get early run, the happier we are...


Sometimes you use fancy equipment, and sometimes you just need masking tape and a sharpie.  We put that Cab away in it's home for the next year.  Gonna be delicious.



Keep with us for more info about this vintage plus my wine I blended with Kevin.  This was a remarkable year for me in Australia!  Next, we pick some more grapes...