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WINEMAKING TECHNICAL REVIEW Bacchus Caves built the 8,000-square-foot cave at Thomas George Estates winery. It has room for barrel storage, a tasting area and events. the cellar. After a bit of cold settling, the juice is then racked off heavy lees into other tanks, including the eggs, or to embedded pipes that lead to a barrel room beneath the cellar. Russi said he fills barrels for white wine barrel fermentation using gravity. He added that two cellar workers could coordinate the job using walkie-talkies. Some improvements at the winery came through experience. Baker said that for about an hour on late summer afternoons, the sun shines directly on the crush pad, reflecting off the stainless equipment and making a 100°F day feel like 115°F. Baker had roll-down screens installed to block out the sun and keep workers cooler. He also added a sound system to help staff get through those long harvest days. Native yeast fermentation Red grapes are dumped into a P & L Specialties incline sorter with two work- ers on each side removing leaves and other MOG. About 10% of all the reds are designated for whole-cluster fermen- tation, while most grapes pass through a Vega 10 destemmer with the crusher removed and then onto shaker tables for further sorting. Russi said that whole-cluster lots fall into bins that are dumped into open tops with a forklift. The winery has two Nissan propane-powered lifts. Other lots flow through a small auger and are pumped to tanks with a Carlsen Waukesha. He said the red line could operate at about 1.5 tons per hour. The winery is equipped with two of the Waukeshas as well as an air pump. Fermentations are achieved using native yeast, and the rooms in the cellar can be warmed or cooled to assist with fermentation. If some must or juice needs help to get going, Russi Many Of The World's Finest Wines Are Made In Concrete AVAILABLE IN MANY SIZES AND STYLES CONCRETEWINETANKS.COM (888) 807-4575 52 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 2012