Wine making has been around for thousands of years and is a natural process that requires very little human intervention.
My father used to do it in the traditional way. He died a few days ago, but I have lots of memories with him. Making wine is one of them. It was a family gathering. Don’t think that we have a huge vineyard. My dad had 4 vines but very good ones, red grapes with a strawberry flavor.
We used to get all the family together to do the harvest. Choosing when to harvest the grapes is a major fact in how the wine will turn out. It was also a time for jockes, stories and lots of fun. We used to destemmer by hand and crush the grapes with our hands. Now days, we have small corkscrew crusher to do that, so we don’t need to do the destemmer by hand. If the stem is left attached to the grape for too long, it will give off a bitter taste later.
For the next step, the pressing, we used a small mechanical press. We never did it like they do it in Italy with your feet in a huge barrel.
Pressing was done by the men in the house, so my little boy was present to taste the grape juice. He loved it. It is the first time for him, and he loved to be part of the process. He tried and help as much as he could, and was such a fan to see him participate.
From this point only the men will take care of the wine. To keep the secret of the process.
The grape juice is placed in oak barrels for red wines. During the fermentation process, the grapes’ natural sugars are converted into alcohol by wild yeasts that form on the grapes as they grow. Fermentation time varies, but is usually seven to ten days. For red wines, the skins are removed during or after the initial fermentation.
The liquid is gently pumped or bucketed by hand from the fermentation barrels into clean barrels.
The wine is finally racked, by hand, into bottles. The bottles are corked and labeled.
So, this is our traditional wine making process. In the end I raise a glass of wine and wish you a good day!
Cooking Without Limits 
Reblogged this on youcanfindsandra.
Raising a glass to you and your dear departed dad…clink, clink.. !
Thank you
Second that
How nice to have such good memories with your dad. They live forever…
So true…
Cheers! I enjoyed watching this process. I also think it is a wonderful way to think of your dad.
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What an amazing post! I raise a glass to your dad and to your wonderful family tradition!
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My condolences for your loss. The memories will always keep him with you. Will talking out loud probably ask him questions how well you are keeping up the wine tradition in his memory. Isil
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I love that you demonstrate that wine doesn’t have to be made on a large scale – and that it can be family affair. 🙂
Thank you. It is a way to do something with your family
My fiance Juls is currently studying wine making at uni… who knows maybe we’ll have our own little family vineyard one day. 🙂
What beautiful pictures and memories. The wine this year will be a very special vintage…
So true
Beautiful post!
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What great memories! I really enjoyed the post and photos. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Gorgeous photos and lovely story!
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I am so sorry for your loss. You will always have the wonderful memories of your dad. I also enjoyed your post and pictures.
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I have done the same in my childhood.
Same process, lots of memories, thanks for sharing.
You are welcome
Thank you for sharing these wonderful family memories.
You are welcome
A lovely post! I recently went to a wine tasting with lots of winemakers and it was so nice to hear their passion for the process and their end product!
Thank you. I have been in France 2 years ago to a champagne factory and it was so interesting.
Oh I love the idea of making homemade wine! Your photos are gorgeous and make the process wen more enticing. And your little guy is adorable, how fun that he got to sample some grape juice!
-Dana
He was so happy. Being around grandpa and dad was wonderful. Even our dog was between their legs. It was such a beautiful day!
Reblogged this on Chef Ceaser.
Seems like it would be so cool to make wine.
Amazing photographs. So glad I stumbled across your blog, and thank you for following me!
Thank you
Reblogged this on Cappuccino.
So sorry to hear you lost your dad, I am sorry for that. Lovely post about wine making and family traditions. And thank you for liking my Oatmeal coconut porridge recipe! I hope to see you again visiting my blog, let me know what you think.
Thank you. I will visit your blog in the future
Thank you very much. I will too!
This story is beautifully illustrated. I loved seeing your son continuing your father’s tradition. How nice to have such a wonderful food tradition to remember your father! -Lisa (Sojourner Tours)
Thank you, Lisa
I love this post
Thank you
What wonderful memories you have made working with your dad. So sorry for you that he is gone. My grandpa died some 5 years ago now, but each day as I work the farm we used to ride horses across, I remember him and hope that he would approve the changes I’ve made. Shalom!
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Thank you for liking my post, really just checking out my blog. Making wine was on my bucket list. Also, my sincerest condolences for your departed father. I hope all is well.
S xx
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Hi There. I liked your Traditional Wine Making Article. We also like to make things the Traditional Way! I could definitely learn a thing or two on your photography posts! Thanks for Liking some of my stuff! All the best for the New Year.
Happy New Year!
This is such a cool tradition! I bet your son will make some great memories of this over the years.
I am sure he will
Your photos and recipes are gorgeous!! Also, wine-making looks much more fun {and clean} than the barefoot I Love Lucy version I always picture in my head. Cheers!
Thank you. Cheers!
We believe that the best way to honor those that we have loved and lost (and even those we never knew) is to keep up their traditions. This is wonderful … and very ITALIAN 🙂
So true
i’m glad to get to see the whole process, well, up to the wine making that is. but i love the pictures. thank you for sharing. and red grapes with a strawberry flavor?? yum. i’m envious.
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Thank you for visiting my blog, Veganista! I love your post; very educational.
Thank you