Well this is it. My first blog post. Organics , whether you love the idea, or loath the idea it's a hot topic today and there is an increasing demand for organic products in consumer and business markets. Have you ever wondered what determines a wine as organic? Recently I completed a group project showcasing an organic winery: Frogpond Farms in Niagara-on-the-Lake. By visiting the farm and doing some of my own research I was able to get a much better idea of the risk and art of making an organic wine. What is organic wine? Wine produced from grapes grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers. Typically during the wine making process S02 - sulphur dioxide, is added to wine as a preservative to prevent oxidization or spoilage. This is usually not practiced in organic winemaking, however there is no such thing as a sulphite free wine (as it a natural byproduct of fermentation). You may see a few different ways an organic wine is expressed: 10...
Popular posts from this blog
2018 Vintage at 16 Mile Cellar
This year I started a new adventure as I accepted the position as winemaker/GM of 16 Mile Cellar . Working closely with Susan Barnacle and Joe Groia I am determined to put my mark on 2018! As many already know, this growing season was full of sun, heat, and a little bit of rain when we needed it most. However, like many vintages in the past, most winemakers were harvesting around days of rain, high humidity, and lots of disease pressure. 2018 marks the first year 16 Mile Cellar will be making 100% estate fruit wine. Vineyard view We hand picked our very first crop of Chardonnay in early September after a long 4 year wait! The fruit was sun kissed, fully ripened, and incredibly clean. Pressed whole cluster, the juice had a wonderful balance of acid and sugar and was put into french oak barrels right away. After a short couple days of waiting, the fermentation started naturally and slowly bubbled away creating a symphony in the cellar! Now we wait for the sugars to ful...
Not Your Average Christmas Ham
The Ham It was a few months ago at the Mudgee Wine Show where I finally said it out loud: I want to get a pig and eat it. Okay, I understand that sounds cryptic but I can assure you it’s truly not. Every week we walk the isles of the supermarket catering to our wants and needs for energy and if you are anything like me, you read the catalogs for the latest specials to save a couple bucks. If it isn't on special I don’t buy it but does that mean the product is not worth the money? *Light bulb* How hard can it be to grow/ raise you own food? I can barely fulfill my need for fresh herbs with my own herb garden so I am guessing if I had to raise my own animals for meat, the occasion where I do enjoy the beast would be much more sentimental, or perhaps appreciated. Thankfully one of the guys I work with raises pigs so I bought two. Okay it wasn’t that simple…let me break down the process. I talked to Maurice (pig man...


Comments
Post a Comment