Second racking...

We decided that double-racking would make our wine as uncloudy as possible, a measure to ensure thoughtful craftsmanship. We followed the same procedure as the first go-round. As it turned out, there was practically no sediment whatsoever, though we poured out perhaps an inch or so for good measure. This left crawl space in our barrel that needed to be filled in.

We turned to the assortment of jugs and bottles sitting on our counter by the microwave since the first racking in February. We’d filled them with overflow wine at that point, knowing it would come in handy to counter evaporation.

Only a couple of these bottles smelled and tasted right – the rest cooked, turning brown and foul enough to dump unceremoniously into the sink. We should have known better than to cork a couple of those bottles with silly Christmas-themed toppers, inadequate to keep out air. So, to top the barrel, we opened a couple of bottles of zin. A quick sampling of our wine still suggested high alcohol content. But underneath it tasted of bright fruit, and its color looked youthful, sassy, luscious.