As the yeast
consumes the sugar, gases are released. The fermentation lock allows these
to pass out, but does not allow outside air in. This prevents foreign, wild yeasts from growing and affecting the flavor of your wine.
After 4 to 6 weeks, the wine is racked or siphoned from one glass container into another, leaving the bottom inch of sediment.
When the yeast has completed its life cycle, it dies, leaving the yeast bodies behind. Gravity does the work, pulling heavy solids to the bottom, including any leftover pieces of grape or grape skins.
The goal is to cleanse the wine of any impurities which will affect the flavor and the clarity or transparency of the liquid.
Grade A wine with the best flavor and clarity will be in the top third of the container.
The racking process is repeated 2 to 3 more times before bottling. |
The glass carbuncle and fermentation lock.
Above: 6 gallons of blueberry wine about 2 months old.
|
Excerpt from Out to Change the World: The Changeover
Although the official date for The Changeover was in
September of 1983, the process was an evolution that took place over several
years, with key events that triggered shifts and cracks within the established
order. Marked by the end of common
economic interdependence and shared incomes, The Changeover was also the formal
dissolution of Stephen’s reign as the man in charge and his family’s power and
ability to set policy and make financial decisions that affected the entire
community. As time wore on Stephen seemed less like a divinely inspired,
spiritual teacher and it became more evident that he was simply a man, a good
man, but one who had ego issues that were the obvious result of too much power.
In some aspects The Changeover can be likened to the
proverbial dumping of the checkerboard with pieces flying in all directions.
Those who could often scrambled to grab and hold on to whatever they deemed
represented value and a reflection of their contribution during the communal
period. Hundreds panicked and jumped ship scattering to all corners of the
country, their security shaken, only to find themselves starting from scratch
as if the previous decade had vanished into thin air. When the dust settled and
the air cleared, a core group of about 100 adults and their 150 children
remained on the land. Their resolve saved The Farm from bankruptcy and
dissolution to maintain the integrity of the land in its entirety, forming the
new foundation of the community as it exists today.
The End of the Beginning
The decision was made and a meeting was called. The
Community Center was packed. It seemed like everyone was there. We all knew
that something big was about to go down but no one was quite sure what was
going to happen. The Board sat at the front of the room. One of them stood up
and basically announced that our communal economy and interdependence was over. From that day forward, every
individual, every family would be responsible for all their personal expenses,
be it food, medical care, transportation, the clothes on your back, all the
things most families in the world have to cover for themselves. Next, every
person or couple would be expected to pay weekly or monthly for their portion
of the community’s operating expenses. These would be cut to a bare minimum,
but ultimately would be decided by a thorough examination of all the services
and their cost, followed by a vote of all the members placing the final
reckoning in the hands of the people. In addition, each person was also expected
to pay monthly an equal, shared amount toward our collective debt.
In one fell swoop, with the
exception of the Book Publishing Company, all the small businesses and
enterprises on The Farm were privatized, owned by their principal managers with
the rest of the workers becoming employees who had to be paid a salary. It was
a lot to integrate.
The people who had the easiest time
were those who had skills or employment that were already part of a cash flow
system. Carpenters, painters and others in the construction trades saw an
immediate improvement in their way of life, receiving paychecks that previously
had been turned into the community’s central banking system. Other small
businesses were able to make the transition. Pay was low at first perhaps even
below minimum wage. With a forced focus to meet overhead costs and the paying
actual wages to employees, over the course of several years several of the
small businesses became viable companies.
Some enterprises did not survive.
Fresh bread from The Farm’s bakery was delicious, but a luxury. With so many
people starting from scratch, needing to find a job, buy a car and so many
other necessities, it would be a while before most people could afford and the
community’s internal economy able to support extras like the bakery.
To Stay or Not to Stay?
I think we all experienced shock and numbness as the news
started to sink in. Huge numbers of people panicked and made plans to leave as
soon as possible. After The Changeover, The Farm’s population continued to fall
for another couple of years, finally settling down to a mere 250, 100 adults
and 150 children. In many ways the community felt like a ghost town. Where once
had been a bustling, thriving town, there was now only quiet, and a stillness
in the air. Abandoned, empty buildings were scattered throughout the property.
Without money for repairs and maintenance, even a few well-constructed
buildings began to develop roof leaks and rot to the point of collapse,
surrounded by piles of trash and assorted junk. Of course dozens of
sub-standard shacks and the remains of tents needed to go. Each one represented
another site in need of demolition and removal. In ways we felt like the
cleanup crew after Woodstock.
With each departing family, those
who remained drew closer. We sort of looked each other in the eye and said,
“I’m staying. Are you staying?” For some it was a source of pride, a refusal to
return back to their parents. This would be an admission that the whole hippie
experiment had been nothing more than youthful folly and it was finally time to
grow up, get a real job and return to the American mainstream.
Leaving The Farm also often meant
leaving a rural lifestyle and moving back to the city. Having grown attached
the peace, serenity and beauty of a life surrounded by nature, for those who
stayed there was a strong desire to protect the children from the world of
shopping malls and middle class mediocrity.
Ultimately it came down to housing
and work. With so many people exiting, each house that had served as a giant
commune inside the Farm saw its population shrink until but one family remained
and it became their own single family home. Walls were taken out and bedrooms
formerly the size of large closets were expanded to something closer to normal
size. As the kids grew older it became apparent that ideally they should each
have their own room. A family could finally feel like it had some breathing
room and the huge houses started feeling not so big after all. |
