So vintage is now well and truly behind us here in the Roussillon, and the cold winter is closing in (yes - it does get cold down here). There is still a lot to be done in the winery to keep things running smoothly.
Firstly we need to keep an eye on our ferments. Several reasons for this. Firstly the whites must be sulphured when ferment is finished to prevent them from oxidation and tp stop malolactic kicking in. Those in barrel must be topped up, and some battonage (lees stirring) will be undertaken depending on the varietals.
For the reds, we need to keep a careful eye on the residual sugars at the end of ferment. Most of our reds continue to ferment after pressing, as pressing releases more sugard for the yeasts to consume. This means some tanks finish very slowly, and in some cases we might have to launch a 'pied de cuve' to finish the ferment dry. This is time consuming, as we need to start the yeasts with a small amount of wine, and gradually double up until the whole tank (usually 5000litres for us) is bubbling away.
We never have enough tanks (show me a winery that does) so we need to blend finished wines together, and of course look at blends for the 09s that are not yet bottled.
Cleaning is vital for all the machinery that will not be used for another year - picking bins, destemmers, press, must pumps etc all need a thorough clean which takes days to do properly.
In the vineyard, the team have started hand weeding, rebuilding walls and generally tidying up. Pruning will start in a month's time, and that is a 3 month job for us.
On the logistics side, I need to order up dry goods for our bottling runs over the next two months. Labels, capsules, corks, bottles and boxes all need to be just right, and different markets have different requirements.
So never a quiet moment, and the annual cycle continues apace....
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Making Red Wine
When all the picking is done and the grapes have been processed, it's time to really concentrate on the winemaking. With the white wines all safely racked and bubbling away in tank or barrel, our attention turns to the red wines.
Because red wines are fermented with the skins, seeds and all (and pressed after fermentation, unlike white which is pressed as soon as it arrives in the winery) there is a lot more work to be done on the wines. Controlling the extraction process is great fun and something of an art form.
Once fermentation begins, the solid matter (the 'cap') rises above the juice thanks to the CO2 bubbles in the tank. This is where it gets interesting, as much of the tannin, colour and other phenolic compounds are in that cap. So we need the juice to be in contact with the cap to give good red wine.
How we go about this is a never-ending discussion amongst winemakers, and depends on the grape variety, ripeness, healthiness and style of wine required. It is a time-consuming process which may involve foot-treading, pumping over, rack and return, heating, plungeing and more. Having the time do to it all properly and seeing the tanks of red progress is wonderfully fulfilling. One of the most important decisions is knowing when to stop. Are the tannins still supple? Can we get more structure without any harshness? Do we in fact want any more structure? As soon as the balance is right (and this may be several weeks after ferment has finished), it's time to run off the free-run juice and press the rest of the must.
This morning we are pressing some Grenache and Carignan. Here is our Carignan tank when ferment started - sometimes the cap rising takes you by surprise....we had to empty a couple of hundred kilos out of this tank by hand!
Because red wines are fermented with the skins, seeds and all (and pressed after fermentation, unlike white which is pressed as soon as it arrives in the winery) there is a lot more work to be done on the wines. Controlling the extraction process is great fun and something of an art form.
Once fermentation begins, the solid matter (the 'cap') rises above the juice thanks to the CO2 bubbles in the tank. This is where it gets interesting, as much of the tannin, colour and other phenolic compounds are in that cap. So we need the juice to be in contact with the cap to give good red wine.
How we go about this is a never-ending discussion amongst winemakers, and depends on the grape variety, ripeness, healthiness and style of wine required. It is a time-consuming process which may involve foot-treading, pumping over, rack and return, heating, plungeing and more. Having the time do to it all properly and seeing the tanks of red progress is wonderfully fulfilling. One of the most important decisions is knowing when to stop. Are the tannins still supple? Can we get more structure without any harshness? Do we in fact want any more structure? As soon as the balance is right (and this may be several weeks after ferment has finished), it's time to run off the free-run juice and press the rest of the must.
This morning we are pressing some Grenache and Carignan. Here is our Carignan tank when ferment started - sometimes the cap rising takes you by surprise....we had to empty a couple of hundred kilos out of this tank by hand!
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