Adding to the Family...

For those of you who have been following my blog you should know that I had been greatly anticipating my return to my village and my re-union with my wine cellar. So, you may think it is strange that I have hardly talked about it. You can be assured that it is not because of lack of interest on my part--I visited the cellar first thing in the morning after my late night arrival to Distomo. It has been a bit hectic with lots and lots of chores with the house and the garden. It's spring and the planting calendar imposed ny mother nature is rather strict.
Finally I was able to devote some time to the cellar and begin the important task of adding to the wine stock. Since I don't have a vineyard, the wines come mostly from local producers. I buy bulk wine and bottle it myself--with the assistance of Alexandra, my life and wine cellar partner. Last night it was the first such bottling operation of the 2010 season and I am very happy to report that it went very smoothly--although very tiring. The whole process is manual, of course, and not very well streamlined yet. Fifty bottles--30 red and 20 white--were corked and placed on their ageing racks.
Bottling wine is the culmination of the wine making process and one which is almost a spiritual experience--at least to me--and marks the beginning of the wine maturation. It's also a sensual experience as it gives us the opportunity to taste the new vintages--a rich reward for all the hard work. We bottled red and white wines from the Βερβά vineyards. Although a wine review of these will the subject of another posting in the near future, my initial reaction was one of mixed findings. While the red was an excellent one--perhaps the best yet of these varietals--the white fell a bit short of our expectations. It will be interesting to watch these as they age in the next several years...