VINIFICATION OF WHITES

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   The pressing :  On arrival at the winery, the berries can be sorted, crushed or de-stemmed (optional processes). The grapes are then pressed with the greatest attention to respect the fruit as much as possible and not to extract the vegetable elements. The goal is to get as much juice as possible with the least amount of pressure. For this, most of the cellars are equipped with pneumatic presses, allowing a gentle and regulated extraction.  

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   Settling :  After pressing, the must (juice) and the marc (solid parts) are placed in a tank. The must is generally decanted, ie it is clarified by separating it from the solid parts (skins, seeds, stalks). This operation usually lasts between 12 and 24 hours, depending on the type of harvest (manual or mechanical).  

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   Alcoholic fermentation :  The clear must obtained is placed in vats where the alcoholic fermentation (transformation of sugars into alcohol thanks to the intervention of yeasts) takes place under an average controlled temperature between 18°C and 22°C. The control of fermentation temperatures has been one of the most striking developments of the last 30 years, it allows long fermentations and gives finer and more intense aromas.  

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   Breeding :  At the end of fermentation, the wine is left on its fine lees. The first cuvées are bottled in the spring after the clarification and stabilization operations. More complex wines wait nearly a year before bottling.

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RED VINIFICATION  

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  Destemming :  The harvest is partially or totally destemmed. 

Maceration and alcoholic fermentation:  The grapes are put in vats for the pre-fermentation maceration which allows the color, tannins and aromas to be extracted. The conduct of vatting varies according to the wine that the winemaker wants to obtain. The longer the fermentation, the more concentrated the wine. Conversely, when one seeks to produce a lighter wine, the macerations are shorter and the operations of pumping over, punching down or delestage (processes which consist of concentrating the musts) are few. Fermentation lasts between 7 and 10 days, the juice is maintained between 22 and 30°C.

Assembly:  After this maceration, we devat and press the marc remaining in the tank. We then obtain the "press wine" which is assembled with the "free run wine" (must). 

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  Malolactic fermentation :  The wines are then placed in vats or put in barrels for the end of the alcoholic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation can start. It consists in transforming malic acid into lactic acid by the intervention of lactic bacteria. The objective of this fermentation is to reduce the acidity of the wine and to produce milky/buttery aromas. It generally takes place in the spring or during the summer following the harvest. 

Breeding:  Once the malolactic fermentation is complete, the wine is left to mature. A few rackings may occur during the different phases of clarification. The majority of bottling takes place in the fall. The first can be done in the spring.

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ROSÉ VINIFICATION

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  Pressing or maceration :  Rosé wines are generally obtained by direct pressing, less often by bleeding (maceration for a few hours). The contact time of the juice with the film is short, hence very light colors.

The fermentations  are then carried out in the same way as the whites, ie by controlling the temperatures between 18 and 22°C.  

   The pressing rosés are fresh, elegant with aromas of white fruits. Saignée rosés often develop a more vinous character.