Vine, Vineyard, Region Environment

Different countries, states, cities and suburbs can be either warm or cool, depending on the time of the year and whether you're close to the coast or inland. The same goes for; wine regions, vineyards and even the vines.

Vineyard climates are divided into the following three climates:

Macroclimate: this is the region of the vineyard, i.e. Hunter Vally, Barossa Valley, Margaret River, Yarra Valley etc.

Mesoclimate: this is the vineyard itself, e.g. Tempus Two, Yalumba, Evans & Tate, Penfolds, Yering Station etc.

Microclimate: this is the direct environment of the vines.

All these different types of climates effect wine production, then of course there is the terroir. As you can imagine vineyards are acres of vines and one end of the vineyard can be cooler or warmer than the other. The wine maker takes this into account when producing the best type of wine that nature has handed them in any given season.

Peace,
Cristian.

 "…Hang on, its a drink, its only a drink. It goes through our kidneys and then it goes into the great sewerage system. Lets have a bit of fun with it, it wasn't built to be serious it was built for enjoyment and discourse and humour."

So I was having a glass of wine the other day and...

I thought to myself, I'm actually writing about this delectable drink and as I was having this glass of wine, I started to remember a process called maceration.

Maceration and fermentation go hand in hand, then of course there's the cap.

First, we'll get fermentation out of the way. Fermentation is when the yeast converts sugar into alcohol, releasing carbon dioxide.

Second, is the cap; which consists of "must". Since the fermentation gives off carbon dioxide, it causes the must to rise, this creates the cap, leaving the juice underneath. Must will also create the tannins colour and texture of the wine. The cap can dry out if left unattended, so the process of maceration is a 24 hour, 7 day commitment.

Finally, maceration. There are a few ways in which the wine maker can tackle this process. Which ever way the winemaker decides, the process is simple - keep the cap moist.

There are three main types of maceration:
1. Pumping Over
Grab a hose -> connect it to the base of the vat -> pump the juices through the hose and spray over the cap, as if you where watering the garden.

2. Punching Down
Get some crazy guy or gal to stand on top of the vat, breath in all that carbon dioxide, while plunging the cap into the juice or you can also get a machine to do it for you. And lastly...

3. Rack and Return
This requires two vats. Empty half the the original vat into vat2. Then poor vat2 back into the original vat at high speed.

Peace,
Cristian Sepulveda
 "…Hang on, its a drink, its only a drink. It goes through our kidneys and then it goes into the great sewerage system. Lets have a bit of fun with it, it wasn't built to be serious it was built for enjoyment and discourse and humour." Phillip White