8/5: Today in Introductory Winemaking, we learned the processes of chilling, draining, and pressing grapes during harvest and also about wine types, processes for red and white wine fermentation. During the tutorial, we discussed perception, wine quality, consumer opinion, oak maturation, oak in wine aging vs. no oak. Since class ended early today and it was a very nice day, I decided to take the tram to Glenelg, a beach town. It was 65F and sunny so it was a perfect day for the beach. I walked into the water but just ankle deep since the water was a bit chilly. I also walked along the beach for a while then walked along the street lined with shops. I also treated myself to mint chocolate ice cream because why not? I took the tram back to my apartment and prepared myself pasta and chicken for the week.
8/6: Today I had Viticultural Methods and procedures. During lecture we learned about planning and constructing a vineyard and re-developing and removing a vineyard. Since both processes are very expensive, its crucial to know if the land, soil, and climate one chooses is the best for growing grapes and producing wine. There are many factors one must consider such as wood vs. steel posts for the trellis, the irrigation system, rootstock vs. single variety, and if phylloxera and other diseases are present. During practical, we began our Rootstock project for our rootstock, Teleki 5C, in the Coombe vineyard. Across 11 rows, there are 8 different rootstocks planted in each row and 4 vines of each per row. We went through each row with our rootstock and pruned each vine to 2-node spurs and collected certain measurements such as trunk circumference, pruning weight, cordon length, count shoots, non-count shoots, and total shoots. This project is split up into 2 parts with the other part completed when the buds burst on each vine starting in September. It was quite a nice day to be outside since we would still be in the vineyard if it was pouring outside and cold. The next few days will be cold and rainy so we lucked out today.
8/7: Today I had sensory studies lecture in the morning and we learned about the process of tasting wine from appearance, aromas, and tasting. We also discussed the terminology at each step for describing the wine. All the steps we discussed were the same I learned in Italy so it was mostly a refresher for me but still interesting. During practical, we tasted 36 white wines in total. It was a lot. We had various activities such as ranking the wines in order of decreasing bitterness, acidity and sweetness, and choosing the wine that had an increase in astringency, increase in acidity, or increase in bitterness compared to the control wine.
8/8: We learned about bud burst and fruitfulness during the viticultural science lecture today. We discussed the 47 stages associated with bud burst to leaf fall after harvest. This was quite interesting since we will have a few projects that will require us to observe the vines at various stages during growth. During practical, we did bud dissections and have a report due at the end of August. After class we had a welcome party for the wine students which I and some friends attended. We met and talked to many of the professors in the program and also mingled with some other students. We were given a few glass of wine, some pizza, and fruit. I met so many people from all over the world. I met people from Canada, Taiwan, China, and India. A group of friends that I met were the last ones at the party so some of the professors gave us the remaining pizza boxes, fruit and wine bottles. After the party, we went to a restaurant for complimentary food since one of my friends knows the owner. The food was so good. I had some empanadas, small tacos and a glass of sangria.
8/9: We continued with the rotation experiments in the intro winemaking practical and today we did SO2 and volatile acidity determination. We tested the free, bound and total SO2 using the same apparatus for volatile acidity. Today was rainy, cold and windy again. In the sensory studies tutorial, we smelled various vials and guessed what we smelled using a scent wheel guide to help us. This task was fairly difficult since I hadn’t been exposed to many of those aromas before. Afterwards, we tasted 3 commercial white wines and described the color, aromas, taste, body, and aftertaste. One was a Riesling, a Chardonnay, and the blend was Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. After class, a group of friends and I attended the wine social club. This was the first meeting of the semester and for us so we decided to check it out. We had to pay for wine and beer but the snacks were free. We indulged the snacks and waited for the rain to stop and took the bus back to the city.
Weekend: Today my apartment provided us a free pancake breakfast but I forgot to set my alarm so I missed it. There will be more occasions in the future so I wasn’t that disappointed. I walked to the Museum of Discovery (MOD) which is about 1/4 mile from my apartment. I love how every museum is free in the city. I really enjoyed my visit to this museum. It was small but interesting. Afterwards, I walked to the city campus hub to read and start working on the reports I have to write.
Glenelg
Catch Rachel Down Under 