When we begin picking the Black Muscat grapes we have a real sense that the hectic pace of vintage is coming to an end. These wonderfully fragrant and delicious grapes are great for eating, (if you don’t mind the seeds), but at Dindima we also use them to make three very aromatic styles on wine. A dry Rosé, a fruity, not too sweet Moscato and an unusual, lighter style of Fortified Muscat.
This vintage we have picked the Muscat’s to make a batch of fortified wine to add to our Muscat, solera system.
Yesterday 10 May, we inoculated an open fermenter of it. Given the cold, snowy conditions outside we are keeping the must gently warm to ensure this batch tracks through it’s ferment successfully until we need to kill off the yeast with an addition of high quality brandy spirits. The result will be a very fragrant, not too sweet or viscous dessert wine with a spicy finish.
In the coming months we will be removing some of the non-vintage Muscat from the solera for bottling and replacing it with the 2018 batch. The new bottling will be available for sale at the cellar door and to restaurants, local and further afield hopefully before winter is over.
While the picking and the primary ferments of the 2018 reds are over there is still much to do in the winery and the vineyard too.
Some new and old oak barrels will be filled with these 2018 reds where they will undergo their secondary, malolactic ferments for several years. Previous vintage reds will either be prepared for bottling or moved into different barrels where they will continue to develop before being selected for bottling at a later date.
So, the cycle continues. Before we know it, we will be back in the vineyard, pruning and preparing for next vintage.
2018 has been a wonderful vintage at Dindima, both in the vineyard and the winery. Our family is very much looking forward to nurturing these new wines through their development stages and eventually into bottle. Then we will have much pleasure in sharing them with you at our cellar door, at food and wine festivals in Orange and beyond and of course at some of our Special Dindima Events
Meet our winemaker James Bell who has made wine for Dindima since 2003. 2018 is James’ 16th vintage and he is delighted with how this vintage has progressed.
Vintage is underway at Dindima, and as always the familiar sights and sounds of this busy time of year are exciting to experience.
