The filteration of wine is a complex process which allows for a good shelf life and taste. As we prepared to bottle our Apple Wine Alan ran several test on the system. The filter test showed that the filter was not holding a tight seal. A long story short, we ended up with a new high-end filter that will function with ease and bottling was put off one week. We look forward to playing with the new "toy" as we bottle the next 600 cases over the spring months. Anyone wishing to see the new "toy" need only ask, we are happy to give tours of our production area.

We are welcoming a beautiful Saturday. Soon the spring and summer rush of visitors and activities will be upon us, but today the forecast called for a late spring snow. For those who braved the weather, they will be very pleased with the sunny, cool day. Another reason not to let the weather report slow you down.
Alan is finishing up our latest batch of fruity apple, chardonnay and sakura wines. We expect to bottle every weekend next month!! Come by and check it out.
Tuesday we talked with Amanda from Gibbs Graphics. They create the most beautiful murals. By this time next year (at the latest), we should have a very artistic winery. I'll keep you posted via the e-newsletter.
Lilith

We are fermenting another batch of apple juice and it should finish around April 21st.  The key to consistency is to keep the fermentation temperature in the 50s and to monitor the sugar (aka brix) on a daily basis.   I try to keep the drop in brix below 2 units per day to retain fruitiness in the wine.  Aroma and flavor are also checked to help determine if the yeast are sufficiently nourished. Periodically, I check the yeast activity using the microscope.   So far, all is going according to plan.  Cheers! -- Alan

Have you ever had the experience of the big game (or event) being on TV only to discover that it was airing on a channel you don't get. The next thing you know you're on the phone calling for expanded services. That has been the story of this website. I've truly enjoyed learning and doing more design and posting but everytime we add something new, it requires an upgrade. For now, shipping will have to be a manual feature, but I will continue with my nightly research and study to bring a simpler process to purchasing wine.

On the other hand, our new partner, vinoshipper, has been a joy to work with. A simple exchange of information and we are set up. I hope that this partnership will allow for more people to experience great Washington wines.

Welcome to our first web blog! I am the winemaker's wife - Lilith

Cherries are wonderful...Alan is working on a new cherry merlot dessert wine. It still amazes me that it takes so much work, chemistry and just fun processing to get any wine in the bottle. (I will not go into the State paperwork!) As you may know, our merlot just received an "excellent" rating from Wine Press Northwest. This is a great honor for what we aimed to have as a high quality great value wine. The new cherry merlot will use the same merlot grapes from 2007 harvest and an all natural cherry juice. I have been working with Cascade Graphics on a label design. Being a dessert wine with a small (half) bottle, it requires an extra small label. With all the legal text that must be on every bottle, we have to be careful that the label remains readable, fun, attractive and functional. Choosing a wine name is very challenging. I guess that is why most wine is named simply for the type of grape. The draft name is "sakura". We welcome any comments or ideas.