All hands on deck: Ferment is here

It’s been a flat-out month. We went from waiting on the fruit to having everything arrive in the winery within 48 hours.

The Shiraz ferment is a beast. We’re getting some incredible color out of the skins already—think deep, dark purple. We are hitting it with two punch-downs a day and the native yeasts are powering through it. The smell of CO2 in the morning is a good sign things are exactly where they should be.

The Rosé is a different game. We’re keeping it cold to hold onto those floral aromas. The G40 is working overtime to keep it at 13 degrees, and the Brix are dropping slowly. So far, the balance feels right.

Winery life is basically just constant cleaning and checking the numbers. Morning Brix, midday punch-downs, afternoon pH. It’s exhausting, but seeing the juice start its transformation is why we do this.

Pressing isn't far off.

- Benny