Fabbioli Cellars

All of the anticipation and hard work has led us to the days of harvest. Each variety will come in at different times and each vineyard location will affect the ripening date also. As of this writing, we have harvested our Merlot, the bulk and flagship of our vineyard. Most other wineries have brought in their white grapes. We are picking our Cabernet Franc with the customers tomorrow. This can be a little crazy, bringing in a group of people that have never done this before. I have always been one to share what I do and the passion that I have for it. I actually enjoy making the customers work a little. There is so much romance built around this industry. I like to bring the reality into the picture through the work, the sweat, the dirt and the long days. This is a great industry and there is a great reward at the end, but you must thrive on the journey to be happy at the end of the road.

Wines in the Cave:
Here is a photo of our crushed and fermenting Merlot with Lucy our punch down foot. We crush the grapes, add enzymes to help the color and flavor release from the skins and add specific strains of yeast to start the fermentation of the sugars into alcohol. As the grapes ferment, CO2 bubbles out of the wine and catches in the skins. The skins float to the top and create the “cap.” We use Lucy to push those skins back into the wine twice a day so the color and flavor will be extracted from the skins. We ferment these grapes for about a week and then press the skins off, pumping the wine into a tank. Then it will be pumped into a barrel and stored in the new cave. Above is a photo of our fascinating wine cave; 2 shipping containers buried in the hillside. This is cost efficient and climate controlled just like a cave and in general, pretty cool. These will be full of wine by the end of the season. Our next wines to come in are Chambourcin, Tannat and Petit Verdot. The harvest will continue into mid October depending on the weather and the fruit available.

Consulting again:
I guess this is where I start talking about the Virginia wine industry again. I received 3 calls this week from landowners that are interested in planting grapes and starting a winery. I am sure you all noticed a lot more wineries lately. The count was 67 when I arrived 10 years ago and now it is over 130. There were numerous new names at the Virginia Wine Festival that I did not recognize. Each of these wineries has vineyards, winemakers, cellars, tasting rooms and people to make it all work. It is fascinating to me to think that there are that many more people looking to buy VA wine. Our sales have been growing well and I am working to make enough wine to build my inventory and feed the market. All I can say at this point is THANK YOU to all of the people who are trying and buying VA wine! Remember, if you do not like the wine, do not buy it. That goes for any wine. I am a true believer in survival of the fittest and I want all wineries to produce great wines, it is not that hard to do. Quality first and everything else will follow.

I love this time of year. As the grapes come off, the leaves change color in the vineyard and in the hills, and the cooler nights show that the seasons are changing. I really enjoy showing some new customers the process of how these little black berries that we work so hard to grow, start their journey into making deep flavored and colored beverages that we still understand so little about. Take the time to visit a winery during this magical season to experience a little of the voodoo that we do. Also, any questions about wine that you may have, please forward them to me. I will start answering them in the column as they come up. Vinofab@aol.com. Thanks so much for your support.