vine to bottle (without the fuss) part 1. red

vintage in mclaren vale has officially come to an end and we’re over here just stoked that the fruit is in and the hard work is almost done.

if you’ve ever wondered how grapes actually become the wine in your glass, here’s a no fuss breakdown of what happens.

1. the harvest:
first, we wait for the grapes to look and taste right. when they’re ready, it’s all hands on deck to get them off the vines and into the winery. it’s early mornings, heaps of caffeine, and making sure the fruit stays delicious and fresh. no grapes = no juice. no juice = no fun.

2. the stomp:
there’s no footstomping around here (or most wineries these days for that matter). instead, we run them through a machine that essentially squishes the grapes. it pops the skins and gets rid of the stems. think of it as the ultimate grape spa day, just a bit more aggressive.

3. the science:
now this is where the magic happens. we add yeast (yes, like when you make bread), which eats the sugar and turns it into alcohol. the juice sits with the grape skins for a while to soak up colour, flavour and a bit of attitude. during this time, it’ll tend to get a bit bubbly and warm and it starts smelling like a winery (yeast, fruit & sweat from our post vintage shift drinks).

4. the squeeze:
once we’re happy that the yeast has done its job, we separate the juice from the skins and squeeze out every last drop of goodness.this leaves behind what looks like a ‘cake’ of skins. it looks a bit rough, but it means we’ve got all the good stuff out. the rest gets composted and goes back to the vines – full circle moment. 

5. the chill out:
the wine is a bit too rowdy at this stage, so it needs some time to chill.  we put it into a tanks (depends on the style) and let the flavour settle. think of it like letting a teenager sleep in – it comes out way more polished and ready to be seen in public. this is where the fancy stuff happens. we can put it in barrels if we want to add some flavour, we can stir it with oxygen, or we can just let it be.

6. the bottle:
finally we put a lid on it. there’s no real fancy ceremony; it’s a bit more conveyor belt action. just good juice going into a bottle so it can get to you!

now, all of that is for a still red – whites and sparkling are a slightly different story. we’ll get to that later.