Processing

Pumps, Crushers, Presses, etc. Lot’s of new words, lots of strange equipment.
But. . .as my grandmother used to say: “ With flour, water, eggs and chocolate,
you can make a cake or brownies! It all depends on how you put them together!” They all have a purpose. We want turn your grapes into great wine so we use the finest, most flexible equipment available.

• Crusher/Destemmer: Ours is a flexible unit allowing a change in throughput to improve stem removal, and adjustments to the crusher rollers to insure seeds don’t get mashed.

• Pumps: We won’t pump your must, again preventing mashing of seeds, imparting harsh tannins into your wine. Your grapes will fall straight out of the crusher into the fermentation vessel. When we do transfer your wine, we will use gentle, positive displacement pumps.

• Press: We use industry-standard bladder presses to insure uniform pressure on your grapes maximizing yield at lower pressures, again minimizing extraction of tannins, and optimizing the flavor of your wine.

• Racking: You can prevent oxidation if you toss in enough SO2, but why not just minimize contact with air in the first place? We use modern equipment to clean your barrels fast and get the wine back where it belongs. There really is a better way! Think about it...