Thank Goodness for Windows!

Our house is starting to smell like a real winery! Or as Patrick says, "...sort of like a frat house". Given my expert honed nose and palate, I am rather sure that it is the former -- soupconne de yeast, grape juice, and jam mixed with just a touch of CO2! Thankfully, we've had the most beautiful, crisp, cool and sunny fall days, so keeping my office window open is a pleasure.

Yesterday, I returned the press, letting the shop owner know that we'd be back come time to squeeze the juice out of the Pinot post fermentation. And last night, we transferred the pressed Chardonnay into two containers. (Patrick had pressed into one on Tuesday and filled it -- apparently with fermentation you don't want to do that as it could bubble over. And I'm quite sure of it given the activity of these yeasts!) The red you see in the picture is unfortunately not part of our "blood, sweat and tears" -- it's stain from where I've been resting the potato masher/punch down tool after working the Pinot.

I've been punching down said Pinot each morning and evening. It's amazing how active those yeasts become when you do so! It's like greeting a room full of cute, sleeping puppies who awake in a frenzy for love!

Can you tell I'm going to be a geeky wine parent? Let's just hope people aren't behind my back saying, "...a taste only a mother could love".
If all goes according to schedule and we manage not to make anymore stupid mistakes, we'll be pressing Pinot and racking Chardonnay come Halloween or so...