Shalom is in good form, surprisingly not showing signs of fatigue, yet, although it does look like they had a relatively slack day. No doubt some readers will be bewildered at the colour of white wine in tank, before it becomes what we know as wine… Also some good notes on the Salomon current range, both their Austrian and Australian wines… and that leads to an amzing story in itself http://salomonwines.com/estate/index.php?lang=en

Day 6 – 01/10/2011

Not much action seems to be going on except for filtering and racking of the grape must. It is quieter today because not all the pickers are working. Most of the grapes need more time on the vine.

Salomon winery - filtration

Natural fermentation is already starting up and undoing the cold settling. When the ferment starts, the lees get stirred up and makes the final wine coarse and cloudy. This is unwanted.

Salomon winery - racking by torchlight to check for sediments before pumping

When doing the racking, we want as little air in the transfer pipes so that air won’t get injected into the grape must and stir up the lees. To know when the juice is not clear any more during the transfer, a sort of “lees catcher” is being used. A torchlight is used to see if the catcher has collected a lot of lees. Once it is considered too cloudy, the pumping of the juice is stopped and the remaining cloudy juice is fed through a filter to get the particles out. This filtration is done to recover more of the product (clear juice) from the remaining cloudy must.

Salomon winery - lees catcher

Today, we ended early. A group of Australians came to the cellar door for a tasting and the winemaking crew mingled around with them.

Some wonderful wines were tasted. Below are my tasting notes for Salomon.

Hochterrassen 2010 Grüner Veltliner, 12%abv, €7,70

Aromas of green apples and pear. A very light wine that is best served on a hot day. A light citrus finish.

Wieden & Berg 2010 Grüner Veltliner Kremstal DAC, 12.5%abv, €10,90

A riper version of the Hockterrassen. A sort of gum smell with light mintiness. High acid and flavours of bananas and minerals.

Wachtberg 2010 Grüner Veltliner Kremstal DAC, 13%abv, €12,90

Aromas of gum Arabic and sesame seed oil, herbs and a mineral, peardrop nose. Dry, beautiful striking acid and is in balance with the flavours of mint and peardrops.

Kögl 2010 Riesling Kremstal DAC, 12.5%abv, €12,90

A lifted nose, stonefruit, aromatic, mineral and blossoms. On the palate, flavours of apricots and a sort of light muscat flavor. A flinty finish.Lovely acid with food.

Von Stein 2010 Grüner Veltliner Reserve Kremstal DAC, 13.5%abv, €23

Coming from 50 year old vines and harvested at Spatlese level. A lovely stonefruit nose, with mineral and ripeness in it that suggest a feminine wine, menthol and white pepper nose. On the palate, citrusy, pears, mineral and a lightly oily mouthfeel with lingering white peppers in the background. A Long length.

Gelber Traminer 2010 Wildrosen, 13%abv, €13

Floral on the nose with light lychees, a very fresh nose and easy to drink.

The Salomon Estate made in Australia, Finniss River was also tasted.

Norwood 2009, Shiraz-Cabernet, €12,90

Chocolate on the nose which huge plums and lifted raspberry/blackberry aromas. A punchy nose. Ripe tannins and a sort of fruit sweetness mingled with coffee and vanilla.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, 14.5%abv, €24

Aromas of blackberry and chocolate, very ripe fruit with a very slight herbaceousness.Concentrated and dense on the palate with light cedar.

Shiraz 2008, 14.5%

Ripe notes of blackberry and vanilla. A light mushroom and pencil lead aroma to it too. On the palate is a deep concentration, ink, dark chocolate and raspberry candy.