SEGMENT: PRODUCTION
Edward Russell>ISM Walk & Talk Interviews>Russell, Edward, Section 2
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- PRODUCTION
- the grapes are picked, crushed/destemmed, presesd and then put in the tank, fermented and racked. The winery uses a crusher-destemmer that separates the fruit, a press that is a drum with a vinyl bladder inside and two air compressors on the end that adjusts to light or medium presses for a long as you want. The air forces the juice into a catch pan and then into tanks.Once in the tank the grapes are fermented and then racked. Yeast and pectic enzyme are added to make the wine. The racking series takes 90-120 days. Alcohol, pH, and acidity must be certain numbers before wine is done. Tasting and blending are done after four to six months. Wines are then bottled between April and July.
- EQUIPMENT
- Variable steel tanks are used to hold the wine. The lid is equipped with a rubber gasket that allows you to lower the lid to lower levels depending how full the tanks are. A rope and an arm are used to prevent the lid from falling in. The tanks are 1000 to 3000 liters or about 264 to 760 gallons. The tanks have sample valves and manholes. They are steam cleaned. There are also plastic and wood tanks that other producers may use. The tanks range from 2,500 pounds to 10,000 pound in weight and are moved with a pallet jack.
