Being basically perfect outside today made for a good excuse for Hannah and I to visit the farm. We're currently looking for a spot to build our house, and although we had ideas of where we wanted it, we also wanted to examine all options before proceeding. It turns out the house that currently lives on the property is not going be available until well after the growing season so we figured why not go ahead and build our own dream home while we wait? It's something we wanted to do eventually anyway, but since we're eager to get on the land and get farming, we might as well take care of the things that could get pushed to the wayside once the train gets moving. You'll be happy to know that we did some searching and we've found our plot. Baring any other snags, we are planning to actually build this thing over the winter. So stay-tuned for some guaranteed hilarity and entertainment as we construct our dream home before the plants come screaming out of the ground. Fingers crossed!- Jesse.
We're back! Jesse, my family and I had a wonderful, perfect trip to Chicago. There was much basketball, babies, and butter churns, as well as plenty of Intelligentsia, 30 Rock, and relaxing. Jesse and I had a somewhat stressful time this past week...so this weekend was much needed. That being said, we are happy to be home and ready to jump back into reality. And as for the stress, I am adopting a new motto I saw on a poster in the city yesterday: Everything is going to be alright. Maybe not today, but eventually. And this we know. We have our families, we have the support from so many of you, and everything will be alright.- Hannah.
creepy indiana.
that's a cow-print bench, people.
the felix hotel.
view!
good book store.
this is why it is a good book store.
bethany and michael's hood.
my brother dunked! (this is not a picture of that)
Jesse and I are off to Chicago for the weekend...very excited to see my brother's basketball game and to introduce Jesse to EVEN MORE of the Crabtree family! We might not be so regular in our blogging over the next few days, but fear not! We'll be back. Have a lovely weekend!- Hannah.
Chapitalization is the somewhat controversial, somewhat common addition of sugar to wine to boost its alcohol content. The amount of sugar present in grape juice is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol it will produce. Chapitalization is an extremely regulated process, generally only allowed in regions where the sugar content of the grapes, or brix, consistently struggles to make it to a desired level of the producer. The controversy comes from winemakers and consumers alike: that you're messing with the nature of the ferment; or from the farmers: you're cheating by choosing your own alcohol percentage. If you're still with me, here's where it gets interesting.Nearly every––and I challenge you to find any DIY winemaking book in this country that doesn't say it––recipe I've ever found requires that you add pounds of sugar to any wine not consisting of grapes. POUNDS. The reason being is that many fruits have comparatively low sugar contents. Grapes are incredibly sweet, most other fruits pale in comparison. Blueberries, for example, hover around 10-14 brix where grapes often eclipse 20. The attraction to adding sugar is that it measurably raises the brix level, ferments quickly and efficiently, and is easily adjustable. The downside of sugar is that, well, it's sugar. It has next to zero nutritional properties. Despite the fact that I've made wine with everything from blueberries to apples, I have never added cane sugar to my wines and never will. However, I've definitely chapitalized. Even the most die-hard of skeptics will typically agree that a spoonful of honey is good for you. Local honey is a big market these days because of its nutritional and antiallergenic qualities. Honey is, almost without exception, one of the single most nutritious substances in the world. They say one could easily subsist on honey and water forever. When the brix level of my ferment requires higher sugar contents, I happily chapitalize with honey. Honey is almost twice as sweet as sugar so it must be used cautiously. Also, it takes a lot longer to ferment. But like our papa farmer, Eric, always said "Everything worthwhile takes time," and wine is no different. I used a couple cups each in the blackberry and wild berry wines which both took forever but turned out nearly perfect, and arguably all the more healthy for it. Adding honey to our ferments also contributes to the diversity of the drink itself. I like to assume diversity is to wine what diversity is to everything else: healthy.Originally, I was opposed to the idea. I felt the pressure of the purity dogma––that any addition is blasphemy. Whatever, I enjoy adding honey to wine. If done right, the wine will turn out not only palatable, but entirely comparable to grape wine. To attest to my strange luck, Hannah is an aspiring bee-keeper. Once we have our bee operation up and running on the farm I will have an extremely fresh supply of the stuff after a couple years. Already bubbling with microbiology and nutrition, I'd be a fool not to employ it.- Jesse.
