Sacred Drop 
Visit to W. J Graham’s of the Symington Family Estates in Oporto
Posted on October 6, 2011
W. J Graham’s is part of the Symington Family Estates and is one of the most well known wineries in the region. Quinta do Vesuvio in an earlier visit is part of W.J. Graham’s and is one of the best known estates used for their port. Marisol of W.J. Graham’s shows us around and provides us with some great tastings of Tawny and Ruby port.
The wine harvest has begun in Rioja Alta
Posted on September 26, 2011 1 Comment
In this video, you can see at a winery located in Rioja Alta, how they have started the harvest of the white grapes and doing an analysis of the grape must to check the sugar and therefore the alcohol content of the soon to be wine. The sugar content is measured using a handheld refractometer. When held to the light, you can see the approximate Brix of sugar that will give a predictive amount of Alcohol once this must has undergone fermentation. This is also judged and monitored by the Consejo Regulador in order to qualify each and every batch that comes into the winery. They are there measuring the amount of grapes in kilos per hectare and then qualifying it based on the Brix level.
The grapes that mature fastest tend to be the white grapes and therefore, the harvest generally begins with the white grapes and within a few days, the red grapes depending on their maturity and location will be picked next.
These grapes will be pressed first, the first pressing, a light pressing that will release the first juice will be set aside to be made into a higher quality wine and the second pressing will be used for the the next best wine. This is common practice in most all wineries.
Douro, Portugal- An unforgettable experience in the Iberian Peninsula
Posted on September 19, 2011 2 Comments
Having just returned from the beautiful country of Portugal, half exhausted, half recovering and not at all functional, I have to say that there are very few places like this in the world. I had the pleasure to accompany 6 other Viticulture and Enology Master students to Oporto and Douro river valley where we took a boat along the Douro, ate amazing foods paired to perfection with wines and visited spectacularly placed wineries. I will soon be posting the videos and explaining more about this region. Stay tuned!
Sacred Drop 