Wine Making for Dummies.

At I understand it, wine making is really easy:

First you grow grapes, then pick them when they are ripe. Once they are picked you squash all the juice out of them. Traditionally this is done with the feet, but most people use a machine of some sort now.

Squeezing the juice from the grapes

It's not ready yet

After that you store the juice at a mildly warm temperature until it goes alcoholic.

The musts (grape skins and pressed flesh)
are used to fertilize the vines

Then you stick it into barrels or metal tubs until it develops some flavour. This is apparently the bit you need to be an expert to do.

Wine available to be bought "en vrac" (in bulk)
Take your own plastic container

At any time from this point you can drink it.

Perhaps you understand now why Susan doesn't let me make wine and we instead buy it from experts. These photos were taken at the Simoneau winery, Domaine de la Rablais at St Georges sur Cher, where Carine and her family are the experts and make really tasty and interesting wine. She took time out of a hectic day of picking and pressing to show us how they make their wines, which was extraordinarily generous of her.

Simon