As we learned about how Estancia’s Pinot Noir is made from Winemaker, Scott Kelley, he took us up on the catwalks between the open top fermentation tanks to see the punch down process. Some of the Pinot Noir tanks are punched down, and some are pumped over. The point of both these processes is to recirculate the “cap” of skins that forms on the top of the tank during the fermentation back down into the juice. As the grapes ferment, the CO2 pushes the skins to the top of the tank, forming a cap. The skins are where the wine gets it’s color and tannins, so keeping the cap moving through the juice is what creates the flavors and texture of red wines.
Annie actually got to do a punch down and while she probably won’t put this on her resume, she had a great time with only a little “acceptable loss” of grapes:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daCU-578sKg[/youtube]
Very cool Annie even tho a little spilled. lol What a fun way to tour a winery then to take part in the process, good job. 🙂
Hi Bev – Yes, it was super fun! I felt bad about the spill…but I’ll make it up to them when I buy that Pinot!
Annie, keep your day job! LOL> That was funny and a great look at punching process. Thanks for the vid.
Thanks, Doc! Pretty interesting…great view from up there into the tanks!
Awesome, let us know how it taste.