The harvest is coming in thick and fast in the Western Cape of South Africa. It is with great expectations that I await the new vintage and anticipate the surprise of special new wines.  I visited my friend Brenda de Jager’s garagiste operation in the centre of town and was surprised at how little you need to make your own.

Quick harvest facts:

• A ton of grapes makes about 720 bottles of wine
• Red wine goes through 2 fermentation phases
• Primary fermentation of red wine takes about 3 to 5 days and produces 70% of the alcohol
• Secondary fermentation takes up to 2 weeks and produces the 30%.
• Punch downs need to happen 3 times a day during the 2 fermentation phase as you want the juice to have maximum contact with the skins
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