Winemaking in Gonzalo's backyard

I love the way people utilize their yards here in Spain.  Instead of perfectly manicuring their grass, they utilize the space more effectively, growing beautiful flowers (many have yards full of roses) or growing their own food.  Gonzalo, Jonathan's cousin grows grapes in his backyard.  He grows many different varietals of grapes.

So yesterday we spent the first part of the day picking all of the white (Albarino) grapes.

•  After we picked all of the grapes we then sat in the driveway and picked out all of the bad ones (dried up ones, moldy ones, spider webs, unripe ones, etc.).  Many of the older women in the family joined us here and helped to separate the grapes. 

After separating the grapes we all went inside to enjoy a big lunch.  After lunch it was time to crush the grapes, my favorite part.  We put all of the grapes into a large bin and took turns stomping on them.

It was an absolute blast!!  This stomped on mix was left in his cellar to ferment for a day.  We then quickly went out and picked and sorted the red grapes.  Gonzalo uses 5 different varietals for his Tinto wine.

When we returned this afternoon we placed the stomped on white grapes in a press, to remove all of the stems and seeds from the fermented pulp.  Gonzalo has a press, whereas when a crank at the top is turned, pressure is applied to the pulp below, squishing out the juice.  The fermented grape stems, skins, and seeds are later used to make aguardiente ("fire water"), which is a clear 100-120 proof liquor (I find it absolutely painful and the most unpleasurable thing I could ever imagine).

The grape juice obtained sits in a plastic bin for 8 days to ferment and then is placed in a steel barrel until March or April, when it is bottled.

After we were done pressing the Albarino, we stomped out the red wine!

The red wine is barreled in oak with the pulp for 3 days, until it is pressed just as the white wine was.  The juice then returns to the barrel until March or April when it is bottled via a spout out the front of the barrel.

All in all, this was an absolutely amazing experience that I feel so privileged to have been a part of.  All of the family comes over to the house and Chelo (Gonzalo's wife) prepares a large lunch with the other women in the family.  This truly is a shared family experience.  Gonzalo has learned how to make wine from his grandfather, which was taught to him by his grandfather, and so on.