Mike in China

你好，每个人都
Nimen Hao!

I wasn't originally intending to write a blog during this trip, but I couldn't resist the temptation at least to have a go at offering one or two photos. Only arrived here in Zhengzhou yesterday evening so, what with sleeping off jet-lag etc, I haven't had chance to do much photography yet. Anyway, here's the view from my 6th-floor hotel window.



Sorry about the barring effect. That's a kind of "Moire" pattern caused by the fly-screen.

I have free broadband access (you'll be sorry to learn!!) and here's where I get the electricity from to run my laptop:



Nice touch, don't you think?

Incidentally, Gmail works fine, so if you fancy emailing me (keysmike@gmail.com) please feel free. Don't expect an immediate response though as I'm currently seven hours ahead of you. After next weekend it may well be eight. (? Yes, definitely eight not six.)

Zai Jian
(bye - for now)
Mike
再见
迈克

Grapes Pressed - Thanks to Oli!

... and to Tina, for recording the proceedings!

Saturday 6th October, 2007, preparing for action:















It takes a bit of muscle power to press grapes.















Filling the press ...















to the brim ...















makes pressing effective:















The "must" goes straight into glass jars called
"demijohns".
(I've often wondered why they aren't "semiberts", for example.)















What's left behind is a solid "cake"







































which will end up in the compost bin.

And just to show that we got (almost) four jars'-worth...















A job well done, I think.
Cheers!

And here are my FAQs on grape-growing/wine-making

Wine-making 2007: update

Hmm. The wine failed to start fermenting. On Saturday evening (22nd Sept) I put in a couple of crushed campden tablets and about four teaspoons of pectolase. Then I left the tub tightly covered overnight before adding yeast on Sunday morning. By Wednesday it still hadn't got going. It seems I hadn't allowed the sulphur dioxide to escape - or at any rate, I over-did the campden. So I promptly loosened the lid and ordered a new batch of yeast. I left it for a further couple of days before risking adding the second "starter". I'm relieved to report that all's well again: it's bubbling away merrily and filling the house with its sweet fragrance (or not).

... And doesn't it look appetising ...?















I'm planning to do the pressing this Saturday afternoon, 6th October. Anyone who fancies popping round for a shufty is more than welcome.

And, as promised, here are some
FAQs about the vines and winemaking.

Cheers for now,

Mike

Grape Harvest 2007

Well, we just about beat the wasps - at least as far as the black grapes were concerned. Pity about the whites though (Madeleine Angevine mostly). Yes, despite the desperation measure of tailor-fitting nylon mesh bags to each individual bunch (see pics below) the little devils - and they did seem to be littler than in previous years - managed to crawl inside and do their worst. That being the case, despite the sterling efforts of my wonderful band of pickers (strippers, squashers and quaffers!) we succeeded in producing sufficient juice to just about fill a wine bottle.
















Anyway - the most important thing, is to say a huge thanks to all my helpers. I'm quite sure several of you didn't believe I actually meant you'd be picking grapes today! I think - and hope - you all had an interesting afternoon. I certainly enjoyed it, as always, and it made the "job" so much more fun. OK, perhaps no match for your average Bordeaux fest, but not bad, eh?

And here are a few reminders ...















I'm always struck by the willingness of everyone to get stuck in - up to their elbows in some cases!

Now for a brief update: I ended up adding 1.3 kg of sugar in total. That raised the Brix reading to 21.9%, which translates to a specific gravity of 1.0933 (which is the same as 93.3 Oechsle). What that essentially means is that there is now enough sugar in the "must" (ie the juice before it becomes wine) to make a reaonable red wine (in theory at any rate!). If it ferments out fully it should give an alcohol content of about 12.5% (HIC!).

I think the reason we didn't get it right first time was to do with the uncertainty in the actual volume of liquid (ie not including the skins, pips and bugs!). I now think 15 litres was an underestimate, and it is probably more likely to be around 18. Also, the sugar I added may not have completely dissolved by the time I took the first readings.

Last night I added two campden tablets (to kill wild yeasts & bacteria) and some pectolase, to extract as much sugar as possible from the fruit. I then left it covered in the garage overnight. I'll measure the Brix one more time this morning, add the yeast, and then keep it in the bucket for about a week before pressing and transferring juice (must) to the demijohns.

And this is what it looked like before the yeast went in













By the way - here's the famous refractometer that virtually stole the show!

FAQ
Caroline has suggested I do an FAQ for people to try and answer the various questions. Sounds like a good idea so I'll give it a go. If so, I'll make it available here and/or via my website.

I'll add more to this posting in due course, so do keep a look-out.

And thanks again to everyone who came and made it a successful day. See you soon,

Mike

Grapes' Progress 2007

Well, the first question is: will they do any better than last year? If you read my blog from then you'll know it was pretty disastrous as regards the green grapes, to the extent that I eradicated the Madeleine Angevine under the carport altogether - cut it right off near ground level. It's doing OK now, thank you very much. Almost reaches the study window. I should take the hint: if it's that determined to survive I ought maybe to give it a fighting chance. We'll see.

Anyhow. This year things are looking reasonably OK. On 19th August I harvested and froze 485g (after removing from the stalks) of Seigerebbe from the house-wall plant . That one's a fairly recent addition so I wasn't expecting more from it yet. On the other hand, the newly-forming fruits on all the vines in the back garden (Boskoop Glory, Seyval and Siegerebbe) for some reason seemed to give up the ghost earlier in the season. Still, it hasn't exactly been the driest, warmest or sunniest summer on record, has it? And the less said about the Pinbot Blanc the better. It's been in at least five years now, and so far there hasn't been a sign of it flowering. Grows like mad though. I imagine it's too happy. Perhaps it wants putting in more impoverished soil?

But back to the plot. For comparison, last year I picked the Siegerebbe grapes on 2nd September. So, despite the awful summer, ripening seems to be very early. Caroline said she'd heard somewhere that all sorts of fruit is doing something similar. Odd, that. Global warming? Difficult to see how.

The Black Hamburgh (in the greenhouse) is doing particularly well this year (fingers crossed). That's it in the picture at the top of this blog, taken 19th August.

The Madeleine Angevine over the front window is also looking better this year. Again, this pic was taken on 19th August. Now here's another odd thing: given the cold and damp (OK - wet) summer, the last thing you'd expect are wasps. Mosquitos maybe, and there do seem to be plenty of those about. But not wasps. Well the grapes in this picture are now attracting worrying numbers of the little blighters. I lost them all last year (grapes, that is), so today I put some netting over them. Not ideal, I thought, and not enough to cover all the bunches. So then I had a bright idea and added a few of those white net bags with drawstrings you used to get free with a certain brand of washing powder tablet. I still have about a dozen of them. They're rather tight, but kind of work. The received wisdom seems to be that individual netting of the bunches in this way is probably the most reliable method of protection - from birds, too. But I need lots more (well, I'm hoping I will, at least in future seasons), so I'm looking at buying something similar in bulk from the internet (interNET - get it? Sorry!).

Next, the Boskoop Glory on the house front wall: The bunches are a bit patchy, but generally looking reasonable. Some ripening is definitely in progress (these are black grapes), but there are also many all-green bunches, like the ones in the next photo (like the others, taken on 19th August). That stem runs along the front of the carport. Just a temporary feature. The Boskoop Glory has been messed about a bit this year because I made space to plant two more vines near it (no photos of these). One is a Seyval , which I plan to train under the carport as a replacement for the fated (or should it perhaps be "fêted") Madeleine Angevine. Seyval is a hybrid, resistant to mildew, so stands a better chance of success (a better grape for wine, too). The other new planting is a recent cutting of Triomphe d'Alsace - a red-wine variety with rave reviews. And last, but not least, the Brant on the front wall. Again, it's doing reasonably well. Many bunches are ripening. But it has to share space with that new Siegerebbe which is not ideal. There's nothing else for it - I need a huge plot of ground somewhere to grow them properly - how about France?? Actually, I have applied for an allotment. If I'm very lucky, I might just get a plot by the time I retire!

Here's the Brant:
















Now for the big questions:

WILL THERE BE A HARVEST PARTY THIS YEAR?
IF SO, WHEN?

Well I'm determined to have a party - even if there are no grapes to pick - which there should be. It is always difficult to predict when the best time will be, because there are so many variables.

Last year I picked what there was on 15th October. I get the feeling it will be earlier than that this year. It would be awkward to have it any later as I'm due to go to China on 19th October! Well at least the day of the week and time are fixed: a Saturday afternoon. That way I get the Sunday to complete the necessary wine-starting processes.

Last year, of course, there were no green grapes to speak of, and no harvest party, as Caroline had her birthday ceilidh instead. But there were black grapes, which I dealt with single-handedly! I got four gallons of wine, the third of which I'm currently drinking.

It looks good. And it don't taste 'alf bad either (hic!). I'm just bottling it as and when I think about it. The final gallon is still in its demijohn. If your'e lucky there might be a drop left for tasting at the "do".

Cheers!