Finally, the Zinfandel/Durif was ready to press on Thursday. Some of those grapes had been fermenting and macerating since July 13th. We extracted almost 40 gallons of wine from our 500 pounds of grapes. The color is fabulous!
On Friday, we racked the 2010 Red Grape Blend into carboys and put the 2011 Zinfandel/Durif in the barrel. Only time will tell about the 2011 Z/D, but I can tell you the 2010 RGB is our very best effort! It's delicious!
By golly! The winery is beginning to look like a winery. We would love to share with all of you. Consider this an open invitation!
Around the hacienda . . .
We have a new Pueblo Magico sign at the entrance that gives a brief history of the hacienda and the wine bodega.
And the workers in the pecan grove are laying new irrigation hose. Many of the hacienda's trees are located away from the natural flow of the spring water. For those trees, water is pumped and then directed with a series of hoses.
Unless we have some unexpected tragedy, the crop is going to be good this year.
The pomegranate trees are dotted with bright red fruits. What a treat!
I find that I can enjoy the horses much more now that we have the garden gate. We've had lots of babies to admire this summer.
From the bird world . . .
a new photo of an old favorite, the Black-Throated Sparrow.
From the heavens . . .
A spectacular sunrise . . .
And just a tiny slice of rainbow.
From the front patio . . .
Mama Spider moving house! Well, at least she was moving her babies. I couldn't help thinking it was poor planning on her part. Seems it would have been much easier to relocate before she got the babes, but sometimes life is what happens while we're making other plans. Maybe it happens to spiders, too.
What I learned from last week's post:
Not everyone is as interested in what I have to say as I am. I only picked up two new followers. Thank the Lord for Mom. She made up 50% of my increase.
I did hear from a few of you who said you would like to follow the blog, but couldn't see the button. I did a little research and learned that depending on the browser you use and/or your personal involvement with Blogger, you may not be able to see the button.
I have installed a new gadget that will allow you to subscribe to the blog by email. Just type in your email address and follow the instructions. I tried this out on Stanley's email and what he received was a notice in his email inbox from Day by Day, subject: Day by Day.
Of course, you can bookmark the page and check in periodically.
Additionally, I will continue to post on Facebook.
I will only be sending the email notices a few more times; it's just too much of a hassle when we are away from home. Besides that . . .I don't want to fill up your inboxes with superfulous notices.
Wishing all of you a great week.
