Red Wine Making

grapes for red wine are destemed. green stems make bitter wine, brown stems can add depth

grapes are transferred to cold steel for

prefermentation maceration also called cold soak

this is the grapes sitting and crushing under their own weight initially, allowing the juice contact with the skins, providing color, flavor and acid. this is done at 32F to prevent fermentation from happening.

remontage or pump over is done once the berries have released enough juice and CO2 that the berries are floating and no longer crushing under their own weight. the juice is pumped out and back over the top, adding some violence to create more crush. this is done 2-3 times a day for the time that the cold soak happens, seven days plus.

pump over is done in large, steel containers, equipped for this purpose.

punch down
for smaller vats, often wood or concrete without pumping systems, the punch down method is used. a worker uses a large tool to break the cap or cake of berries down, and release more juice. the worker will work all the way around the tank doing this, 2-3 times a day.

punch down works better for thicker skinned grapes, but only in smaller quantities due to the labor required.

pigeage
is an old method from Burgandy, where a person would climb into the tank, usually naked, and while hanging from a rope, tread through the must, kicking and swimming to break up the cap. thought to be more delicate, it also is dangerous since the grapes are thick like quicksand, and with all the releasing CO2, a person could be poisoned.


once the winemaker believes the desired intensity is reached, the juice may be treated with sulpher dioxide (SO2) to kill unwanted natural yeasts, and then the liquid is racked off to a fermentation tank where yeast is added and the temperature is raised.

the remaining berries are taken to the press for crushing and extraction of the remaining juice, which due to the manner of removal, and longer contact with high flesh to juice ratio, is extra tannic. This press fraction can be fermented separately and used to and strength to the finished wine.

once the fermentation starts, the heat created sets the color of the wine, so that any more skin contact will not change this.