The things I do for love....

Wine making – finishing

We learned how to make wine at http://cbd.vcio.in/2013/02/02/wine-making-home-the-way-i-do-it/ – now let’s learn how to finish it!!

How to finish your wine

Ok we all know how to finish it by drinking it off; but I’m talking about a different kind of finishing here 🙂

Basically if you’ve tasted grape juice, you know how ‘rough’ it tastes – often there is a lot more fibre in it than we’d want, and wine would taste similar if it’s not ‘smoothed’. Also the yeast would add in a slight bread-y flavour which tastes most unacceptable.

There are a few natural processes that occur that help the finishing.

First is the settling phase, where the yeast has finished processing as much of the sugar as it can, and dies off – it then settles to the bottom of the fermenting can and we can decant the clarified wine off the top. Even after this the yeast continues to settle; so this is not the end of it – ideally we then want it to sit as long as humanly possible so we get a clearer wine.

Next, is the forced-clearing phase, where we change something to remove the residual floating debris as much as possible. This includes:

  1. Filtering (using a sieve or a fine filter) – I use a superfine kitchen sieve specially for this
  2. Additives – I’ve only ever used Bentonite (fuller’s earth or what we call ‘multani mitti’ in Hindi); mix this in some warm water and then add it into the wine barrel; shake well. This binds to the floating particles and weighs them down to the bottom.
  3. Temperature drop – this is best done after adding in bentonite as it’ll cause the settling to speed up, and the wine clears faster

And we’re done! Let it sit for 1-2 months (remember longer the better) undisturbed, and then we move on to really finishing it 😉

Enjoy!!

Blatherings & Ramblings

Funny thoughts when you browse through your old websites during the weekend

. 4GDWFN54K7KR .

With some free time on my hands, I’ve been looking through my old websites, old clients’ pages, just for fun and maybe out of curiosity to see where they are today.

Some things haven’t changed, but some have drastically! Some – while I made them – seemed just ‘normal’ – but now when I look through it makes me laugh.

Try as I might, I cannot seem to come up with why I wrote this line

“Once a disaster strikes, and half the world is engulfed in turmoil, WHAT DO YOU DO??? Normally, most humans would die of a panic attack before anything else. But YOU, our client, can sit back and relax – your systems, websites, email – everything you depend upon from us – is up and running!” (ref: http://vcio.in/Disaster%20Recovery.aspx)

The “panic attack” part really got to me. You know during those 4 years not a single one of my customers had a panic attack, let alone died of one – they didn’t always take hosting from us – other brand companies were on their list too. But I’ve never seen anyone have a panic attack no matter whether their website was down, hacked (because that service provider’s security was weak), or taken down (worst case) due to non-payment of dues.

Now I’d probably take a more conservative line and write a bit less on the site – but I’m just too lazy to take it down 🙂

Somehow, someday maybe I will start my consulting work again. And I’ll be inundated with work all weekend – oh joy.

Nah – my target is set and the focus is clear – a Brand CIO in a Fortune 500 Brand Organization in 2020. See you there.

The things I do for love....

Wine making @ Home – the way I do it

I’ve been making wine at home for a while now, and have always declined to publicize it.

Recently my colleagues tried some and were very excited in that the flavour seems (in their words) ‘better than any market wine they’ve tasted’… I’m sure this includes some poetic license and of course doesn’t make my skills on par with commercial producers… However it did make me decide to do this write-up.

In India, December/January/February are the best times to get grapes. When you’re lucky you get an excellent crop of reds if you hunt in the right places, and then 1kg feels just too less even for a snack – those are the grapes I look for.

Wine making as you’re aware is a simple process. All you need is yeast, grapes, and time.

The Yeast

The yeast I’ve always used is a regular baker’s yeast – packaged by Bluebird. It doesn’t cost much, and gives an excellent result.

Steps I use to prepare the yeast:

  1. Start with a bowl of warm water – about 500ml is adequate
  2. Dissolve 500gm of sugar into the water, then stir in the entire packet-full of yeast granules and leave covered in a warm place
  3. The yeast should soften up and start ‘fluffing’ – which indicates it’s started doing its job
  4. Once the yeast mix becomes frothy (usually does in ~5 minutes)

The Wine Barrel

Yes we need something to ferment the wine in, and then to let the wine settle in for ~6 months – so pick something you don’t use too often. I prefer to get a 20-litre water can (a good brand with a tough shell is preferred), transfer out the water and use the can.

The Grapes

Steps I use to prepare the grapes – no I don’t lay them on the ground and dance on top of them 🙂

  1. Pick out the grapes from the stem and wash thoroughly – preferably with a light soap (I use my home-made soap for this – it’s light, hand-friendly, effective and simply awesome!)
  2. Mash the grapes using a potato masher, and pour the juice into my fermenting can
  3. If you want high quality wine at this time you need to discard the pulp (as it has very little juice and squeezing it hard will result in your wine looking a little foggy)
  4. I usually squeeze the pulp till I get the last drop out – and then add in about a quarter of the pulp to the fermenting can to get a better colour

The fermenting

Mix in the now-very-active-yeast into the can, ensure there’s at least a few inches of space above the mix. Remember this process will produce carbon-di-oxide (CO2) – which protects the fermenting wine from external agents. If you fill the barrel fully you lose out on this protection; and yet if you leave too much space you’re allowing in possible contaminants.

Seal off the barrel (I use a plastic bag – others recommend a balloon or an air-lock) – I wrap the bag tightly round the mouth of the barrel and then poke a very fine needle hole in the centre.

Let this sit for 3 weeks.

Next article – coming soon!!

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The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

By Patrick Lencioni – superbly written.

This is a brief summary of what I came across in it; an excellent learning experience.

1. Build and maintain a cohesive leadership team
– Ensure people understand each other
– trust is key, and vulnerability is key to building that trust
– More time people spend understanding each other (not working with each other) better they are really able to achieve something while working together

2. Create organizational clarity
– Values, Mission and Vision
– Key culture
– Who is the competitor
– USP
– Key Target
– Responsibility

3. Over communicate the plan
– Keep repeating till over communication is achieved
– Groundedness is very important, glossiness blocks clarity and communication
– Discipline is key
– Ensure message goes into the system and sticks in the system

4. Reinforce the message through human systems
– Value-based hiring, culture fit
– Performance management including rewards
– Exterminate the pests: remove unwanted employees who dont fit

Key learning – A Healthy Organization is a powerful organization tending to perfection.

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The Mayan Calendar – a turning point in our existance

Everyone – for the past 3 years has been blabbing about 2012 – will it bring death? will it bring armageddon?

The real answer lies within; as respected Master (Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari) has said it will be a year of great awakening. It’s the year in which humanity reaches a new level, a new peak of growth – physical, psychological, and spiritual.

Naturally business leaders with a keen perception will notice this happening now. Naturally they will want someone who is experiencing the same growth as of course it is only those that can help grow – the business, the company, the bottom line – every thing.

It’s a wonderful time for someone like me to be in a contributory role, where the effects of this evolution can translate into greater efficiencies and benefits for MY company.

Equally as important is the psychological awakening – the Mind waking up from a long period of what now feels like, was someone else’s life. A calm collected acceptance of my place in this Universe – acceptance of the power we’re all gifted with.

A few years back I would have been the last person on earth to think about driving even 10 km – but just last month we drove Delhi to Mumbai (via Mount Abu) – a 1900 km trip in our new VW Polo.

And now I notice someone else also talk about the Mayan Calendar – I simply had to write this.

Thank you, The Universe!

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Our Delhi-Bombay Drive!!

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Hi all, I know you’re thinking I’m a lazy bastard who just couldnt be bothered to update my blog but thats so NOT true!! I’ve been busy – first packing up and finalizing work at Banyan Tours & Travels / Shakti Tours – and on the other hand I’ve been busy planning the trip back to Mumbai.

As you are aware I’ve recently purchased my Volkswagen Polo 1.2 Petrol Trendline – and wifey and me were dying for a long drive. The ideal choice was Delhi – Jaipur – Udaipur – Mount Abu – Surat – Mumbai; on the way home and a nice round figure driving distance of 1900 km.

The car of course performed magnificently, and the sights were nice – but we didnt do too much sightseeing. I’m yet to sort through the photos (wifey’s staring over my shoulder as I write this) so more coming soon!! Pics are below!!!

 

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New worm that infiltrates Windows PCs through Skype!!

There’s a new attack method being used through Skype. If you receive a message from someone you do not know, please do NOT accept the message!

Here’s more:

Free internet-calling service Skype is being used by hackers to distribute a ‘worm/virus’ that infects users Windows PCs.

On clicking an instant message saying “lol is this your new profile pic?” users are unwittingly downloading a file containing a Trojan  horse  malware file.  This opens a backdoor allowing hackers to hijack infected PCs and recruit them into a “botnet army”.

Users can be locked out of their machines and held to ransom, the BBC reports.

http://www.techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Hackers-using-Skype-to-attack-Windows-PCs-15544

Currently antivirus softwares are not able to detect this sort of activity – so we need to be careful!!

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The universe was _made_ for us

Wouldnt it be wonderful if everything in our surroundings was created, built to perfection the we wanted it? I tell you, you can manifest your own reality.

If you need any help manifesting your own reality, call me and I will be happy to help….

 

 

Would you believe:

  1. The lungs contain over 300,000 million capillaries (tiny blood vessels). If they were laid end to end, they would stretch 2400km (1500 miles).
  2. The largest organ in the body is the skin. In an adult man it covers about 1.9m2 (20sq ft). The skin constantly flakes away – in a lifetime each person sheds around 18kg (40 lb) of skin.
  3. When you sleep, you grow by about 8mm (0.3in). The next day you shrink back to your former height. The reason is that your cartilage discs are squeezed like sponges by the force of gravity when you stand or sit.
  4. The eyes receive approximately 90 percent of all our information.
  5. And then the brain – a veritable Forest of neurons – processes it; wipes out the part we don’t want, or find difficult, or don’t need – and stores it in an easy-to-retreive manner.

The mind can create thoughts in an instant – you can imagine that you’re rich, you can imagine you’re poor; you can close your eyes and imagine you’re at your workbench or in the forest.

It’s always fun to stand under a cold shower and imagine you’re enjoying the rains.

It’s always fun to create thoughts that are not real (at that instant).

FURTHER we know of course that thought can be concentrated to such an extent it can alter a person’s state of being – strong enough willpower will heal cancers, enough consistent work produce the Wonder’s of the World – the Taj, the Eiffel tower, the Pyramids and more.

Sometimes it so happens you’re thinking of a loved one – and suddenly you get a call from that person – is it really chance?

It may be difficult to believe sometimes – but here’s what I believe.

THE UNIVERSE CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY TO ADAPT TO OUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS AND GIVES US EXACTLY THAT ON WHICH WHAT WE FOCUS OUR THOUGHTS

I’m very grateful to the secret www.thesecret.tv for giving me this wonderful gift.

I’ve used this to:

  1. Get a job that I love in this economy where people arent even able to get any job (the job just popped into my mailbox at the time – I did not initially apply for it – and then when I went to the interview I was asked only “when can you join?”)
  2. Get a car I want without having to arrange the $ for it (the money just happened to arrive at that time – I did not ‘try’ to arrange it)
  3. Get an MBA with very little hard work – even the certificate was delivered to my doorstep (nice story this one)
  4. More coming up!

If you need any help manifesting your own reality, call me and I will be happy to help.