Labeling

We had a bit of a false start labeling today. Katie put together a design we were both happy with and had been sitting on since we started making this batch over a month ago. We even got fancy label paper with glossy labels that was supposed to be compatible with ink jet printers. Turns out, not so much. A couple of test labels that we printed two weeks ago still had wet ink, so we bailed on that. Instead we broke out labels that we had planned on using for later batches, and we're both happier with the new design. The original had all the same information and basic layout but no pictures.


We decided to call our brand Hackmans' Uphill Hike because when we were in Switzerland Katie made the observation that it seemed like every time we went on a hike it was always uphill. My response was, "We're in the Alps, what did you expect?"

Since we started our first batch the day before my 30th birthday and we both turn 30 this year, we called this batch Turning Thirty. According to Winexpert, the company that manufactured the kit, the Australian Cabernet/Shiraz is "[t]he blend that made Australia famous. Cabernet Sauvignon's structural intensity perfectly complements the ripe fruit and chocolate flavors of Shiraz, for rich, complex and hearty red wine of outstanding character. Big, bold and dark a luxurious treat." We'll see if it turns out that way.


We have two more kits on the way this week, a Riesling and a Supertuscan. We're looking forward to making them both. We've switched the schedule up and will be starting the Riesling next week. That way we'll have two batches ready to drink by the 2010 Hackman Open; the Supertuscan will take a while longer to make and be ready to drink. The big challenge we're going to have making this many batches is going to be scavenging enough empty bottles.

Bottling

We finished our first batch and bottled it without incident. We already did a "dry" run with the auto-siphon and filler stem using water, which made it much easier.

Step one was to rinse and sanitize all of our bottles and equipment.


After sanitization we took a final hydrometer reading to calculate our alcohol percentage. We finished off at 12.4-12.5% alcohol, which should mean we fermented all the available sugar in the juice.

Naturally, the next step was to sniff and sample.


Katie took care of filling.

And Aaron corked.


We finished with just over 30 bottles. Bottle number 31 didn't get a cork, so it won't last very long. We're in the process of finishing it off while prepping this post. Tomorrow we'll finish the labels and reveal our brand and vintage.

Side Project #1

One of the extra costs involved with our new hobby is the need to store a larger quantity of bottles on their sides than we ever have before. Being a Hackman I wasn't going to spend $80 to $100 on a rack that holds forty bottles to put in the basement, knowing that we'd only have to buy a second when we finish our next batch. So we went to Home Depot and I bought some 1"x10"s to build my own bins. Total cost: $34. Just some wood glue and screws; the cross-pieces are notched in the middle and held in place by tension at the corners.

That's the current extent of our wine collection, but each bin should hold forty bottles. Hopefully we have some success and get those filled with our own wines by the end of the year.

Racking

With both of us going out of town, we had to cut a day off the schedule and rack a week after clarifying. We had plenty of sediment in the bottom of the carboy, though.


With only one carboy we racked from the carboy back to our bucket. No pictures dumping the sediment and rinsing the carboy. Can't say it was exactly appetizing. After rinsing and sanitizing the carboy, we racked a second time. It's only a matter of time before we get a second carboy to expand our production.


Now to wait two more weeks or so 'til we bottle.