Showing posts with label Iowa winery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iowa winery. Show all posts
Monday, October 1, 2012
Fireside Winery Live Entertainment
Fireside Winery hosts live local and regional artists on two outdoor stages throughout the warm weather season. Visit www.firesidewinery.com/events to see what's coming.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Punching Down the Cap
Red wine production tends to begin in open-top fermentation tanks called micro-bins. Once the red wine grapes are destemmed and crushed (actually, the skins are broken to release the juice) we pump the "must" (the grape skins, seeds, and juice) into these bins to ferment.
HOW DOES FERMENTATION WORK? Wine yeast have the ability to convert sugars into alcohol (with carbon dioxide and heat as by-products). Fully ripened wine grapes tend to be very sweet, upwards of 25% sugar, and we in the wine industry refer to this percentage as degrees-Brix, or 25 Brix. Generally speaking the yeast can convert about one-half of the sugar into alcohol, thus a 25% sugar grape juice can yield about 12.5% alcohol wine. The fermentation process creates a lot of carbon dioxide gas!
Once fermentation takes off, with the addition of a specially selected commercial yeast strain, the grape skins rise to the surface because of all that CO2 gas. Because the grape skins contain important properties, such as anthocyanins (color pigments), tannin, and other good stuff, we want to make sure it is incorporated into the fermenting wine. Additionally, it makes for good practice to avoid any bad micro-organisms.
So, two or three times daily we "punch down the cap" to make sure all that goodness is in the wine! :) The following video shows the process in action.
HOW DOES FERMENTATION WORK? Wine yeast have the ability to convert sugars into alcohol (with carbon dioxide and heat as by-products). Fully ripened wine grapes tend to be very sweet, upwards of 25% sugar, and we in the wine industry refer to this percentage as degrees-Brix, or 25 Brix. Generally speaking the yeast can convert about one-half of the sugar into alcohol, thus a 25% sugar grape juice can yield about 12.5% alcohol wine. The fermentation process creates a lot of carbon dioxide gas!
Once fermentation takes off, with the addition of a specially selected commercial yeast strain, the grape skins rise to the surface because of all that CO2 gas. Because the grape skins contain important properties, such as anthocyanins (color pigments), tannin, and other good stuff, we want to make sure it is incorporated into the fermenting wine. Additionally, it makes for good practice to avoid any bad micro-organisms.
So, two or three times daily we "punch down the cap" to make sure all that goodness is in the wine! :) The following video shows the process in action.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Third Thursdays @ Fireside - NEW!
Not too long ago we conducted a comprehensive online survey to assess our current and potential future events. One of the things that stood out was your suggestion to open up the Thursday night events to everyone.
From now on the Third Thursday of each month we'll have extended hours - open until 9pm.
What can you do on Third Thursdays @ Fireside?
* * * * * * * * *
For our "MyTimeToWine" fans - we've updated the name to "Girls Night Out" and will host them as periodic Special Events.
"Girls Night Out"
When: Thursday, April 28th (4-8pm)
Location: Earl May Nursery & Garden Center (1901 Lower Muscatine Rd., I.C.)
Featuring: Scency Candles, Fireside Wienry, Bochner Chocolates and Rebecca's Island Collection Jewelry. *Food, drinks, door prizes, and seminars!
Keep up-to-date with our current Events by following the link to our EVENTS PAGE.
From now on the Third Thursday of each month we'll have extended hours - open until 9pm.
What can you do on Third Thursdays @ Fireside?
- Make it a date night
- Sip wine by the fireplace
- Bring a book and relax
- Escape the house night
- Try a new wine each time
- Bring your guitar and play (maybe an open mic night?)
* * * * * * * * *
For our "MyTimeToWine" fans - we've updated the name to "Girls Night Out" and will host them as periodic Special Events.
"Girls Night Out" When: Thursday, April 28th (4-8pm)
Location: Earl May Nursery & Garden Center (1901 Lower Muscatine Rd., I.C.)
Featuring: Scency Candles, Fireside Wienry, Bochner Chocolates and Rebecca's Island Collection Jewelry. *Food, drinks, door prizes, and seminars!
Keep up-to-date with our current Events by following the link to our EVENTS PAGE.
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