Tokar Estate: Tokar Estate Yarra Valley Winery

Tokar Estate Yarra Valley Winery – The Making of The Vincotto

Time for something different we thought. So the idea was suggested by Leon Tokar that we make some Vincotto.

Good idea, seeing as though we had some left over grapes still yet to be picked from the Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon.

We could have made Jam as well, but we thought we’d try this first.

So picking got underway

Ended up picking about 2 bins worth, which was probably more than what we had planned. Hmm Looks like this is going

To be an industrial venture.

Had to then try and get the old Dinosaur forklift working, mainly to move it out of the way, but also to actually move the bins.

We got it going, eventually..... then moved the bins and moved it outside before it died. Needs a new battery I think.

So once than was done, it was time to introduce the Old School Wine making.

Joe had brought along his old grape press..

So things got underway, with Colin and Joe working working working, drinking drinking drinking.... I think they found

Some chardonnay in the fridge, not sure how that got there......

So they worked away with Leon Tokar to get the grapes in the old press, pushing them down and pushing

The juices out, into buckets and then into the tank. Mean while I was driving around town trying to find

A burner big enough to go underneath to cook it and reduce it down.

Essentially Vincotto (literally "cooked wine") is a dark, sweet dense grape must produced artisanally in the Apulia region of south-eastern Italy. It is made by the slow cooking and reduction over many hours of grape must that can be made from a variety of types of local red wine grapes.

Vincotto has a sweet flavour, and is not a form of vinegar, though a sweet vinegar version can be produced using a vincotto as a base. This additional product is called a Vinegar of Vincotto, or Vincotto Vinegar, and can be used in exactly the same way as a good mellow Balsamic vinegar.

The I came in to finish to job off. J

Take the Glory.

Once we had it all pressed and juice into the tank, we waited for Leon to find the right gas fitting for the burner that I had just purchased.

Seeing as though the girl said a normally BBQ fitting will work, excellent, I have 2 of those.

Wrong........

So Off Leon went.

While he was out and we were waiting, Colin noticed something.