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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT 42 WINES&VINES May 2015 fermentation is performed. The vats, the mi- crobiota, the walls and atmosphere of a cellar all influence how a wine is made—often in a more tangible fashion than what gets discussed in terms of vineyard blocks and clones." Maloney's preference is to let fermentation begin spontaneously, and he said he had some doubts that he could get the must to ferment in that first vintage because the winery had been empty for so long. All of the wine, how- ever, fermented just fine in the first vintage except for one lot of Carignan that had to be inoculated. In 2013 and 2014, Maloney said he didn't have to inoculate anything. "Our goal is to avoid inoculations," he said. "We feel strongly that a natural fermentation brought about by native yeast reveals the wine and its terroir in a better fashion." Grapes are picked "early and cold" and are sorted by hand on a Milani vibrating sorting table and then carried by a Milani elevator conveyor to an Enoveneta Tema EVO destem- mer. The destemmed fruit is collected in half- ton bins that are dumped into the vats with a forklift. A forklift driver can access all of the vats in the historic winery via two large doors. Maloney said the cellar is naturally cold enough to provide for a cold soak of a few days if the grapes are picked cold. Fermentation generally takes about five days to start and is managed mainly with twice per day punch downs per- formed with a stainless steel punch down tool. Maloney said he will often treat the Zinfandel, Syrah, Cinsault and Charbono with a few aera- tive pump overs as the fermentation pro- gresses, but the Pinot, Valdiguié and Grenache just receive punch downs. For the Pinot and Valdiguié he'll press at dryness with a Marzola PV10-H basket press, but the other varieties can be held on the skins for additional extraction if necessary. The wine then ages in barrels by Demptos Napa Cooper- age, Trust Cooperage, Ermitage-Berthomieu Tonnellerie, Saury Tonnellerie, Canton Coo- perage and Seguin Moreau in a barrel cave dug into the hillside behind the building and accessible from the main fermentation area. A second cave had been used for wine storage but is in the process of being converted into a private tasting area. Haraszthy and his son Arpad dug those original caves, and one is still stained black from the fire Arpad kept burning for months to try and foster the secondary fermentation of California's first sparkling wine program. While Arpad didn't have any success with those early vintages, the younger Haraszthy did go on to operate a successful sparkling wine company with a winery in San Francisco, Calif. Boisset dug a new cave outside of the build- ing at the far end of the property to provide extra wine storage and additional water stor- age. The cave includes a concrete wall that serves as a dam holding back 28,000 gallons —from page 39 The 45-hectoliter tanks at left were designed by François Foudrier and feature stainless steel lids that can be removed for fermentation.