Processing the Reds

 Merlot is the first of our reds to be picked and this year because of the dry season the bunches were loose with small, absolutely disease free intensely purple almost black berries. Just the way we like them!

Before I tell you more about the Merlot and other reds, I mentioned earlier that I would let you know how the two whites were progressing in the winery.

Both were fermented slowly in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks in order to retain their aromatics. Both are as we hoped, fresh, clean and displaying lovely aromas and flavours. Lots of pear in the Chardonnay and typically for the Semillon at this stage of its development more gooseberry characters. They have been racked off their yeasty lees and are now settling until we finish processing the

red grape varieties and can begin preparing them for bottling. Given both whites are unwooded we hope to have them available for you to enjoy during the Orange Wine Festival this coming October.

Now back to the reds.

After destemming and crushing the Merlot grapes and for that matter all the reds, they have been inoculated with carefully chosen yeasts in open fermenting tanks and regularly plunged to release wonderful intense colour that is extracted from the skins. The Merlot and the Shiraz have now finished their primary ferments and their juice pressed off their skins and seeds in our labour saving pneumatic bag press. At present these wines are being held in sealed tanks until we have time to pump the young wine into beautiful French oak barrels for their secondary ferments. This process transforms the raw wines into the premium, award winning reds we are known for.

At time of writing the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is currently about half way through its fermentation process. It is displaying fabulous dark purple colour and smells divinely rich and fruity. Like the other reds it will be transferred into a mixture of new and old oak barrels to develop for several years before being bottled.

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