Both the alcoholic fermentation and the malolactic fermentation have finished now. The malolactic fermentation converts malic acid into lactic acid, giving the wine a smoother, more rounded body. We suddenly felt that things took a serious turn. So far, we’d been working on the idea of making a wine. Now it was time to see if our idea of buying a vineyard was such a good one. The wine inside the steel vats and the barrels may not be ready for consumption yet, but it almost resembles the finished product. Some of the four to six different kinds of wine that we’ll begin producing will be ready for bottling and drinking in about six months. Others won’t be ready for another two years or so. This harvest yielded some 25,000 bottles in all.
Our winemaker Joan Asens, proudly presented 20 or so different samples that he had drawn from the tanks. We could see from the look in his eyes that he was very pleased with what we were about to taste. And he was right. The wines were beautifully fresh, crispy and aromatic. The low harvest yield this year, about 25% lower than average, has rewarded us with an excellent grape quality.
We rounded the sampling off in Swedish style with mulled wine (Glögg) and ginger cookies (pepparkakor), as is the custom at Christmas time in Sweden.
We’re delighted by what we’ve sampled. It bodes well for the future. It was a good idea, better than expected!
