As the reds reach the end of their fermentation period we have started decuvage, which is the process of draining the free run juice and then pressing the grapes to extract the tannic and colorful juice from the skins. The tannic press-juice adds extra structure to the final wine. Some winemakers will keep the press juice separate until the final blending takes place, others, like Alex Gambal, do a lighter press (gently pressing prevents too much extraction of the bitter tannins from the seeds and skins) and mix it back in with the free run juice. The wine will then go into barrel.
Emptying out the grapes after the free-run juice has been pumped out of the tank
Shoveling out the grapes from inside the tank
Fruit being loaded into the press via conveyer belt (fondly referred to as Tutu the elephant)
Press-juice (freaky bright purple)
Pressed skins will be picked up and taken to a distillery
No comments:
Post a Comment