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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING February 2017 WINES&VINES 55 managed with punch downs. All of the large, stainless steel open tops were supplied by JVNW Inc., in Canby, Ore. "What we'll do is have the interns grab a ladder, and then there's some steel planks that we just throw up over the tanks and then they'll climb on," Franscioni said. The steel planks lay across the diameter of the tanks so workers can reach all portions of the cap with a manual punch-down tool. When doing punch downs, workers wear safety har- nesses connected to wires attached to the metal girders anchored in the ceiling. The tanks also have variable-capacity lids with inflatable seals so they can be used as storage tanks as well. Once fermentation is complete, the reds are pressed in a Puleo SF-36, which is also from Carlsen, and the same press is used for whites too. Shapley said the membrane press is a good fit for the winery because it can handle all the small-lot fermentations as well as the largest tanks. "It's a relatively small press as we have some relatively small lot sizes, but it's perfect for our tank sizes," he said. "It's small enough that you can do one bin but big enough so that we're not here all day trying to do 6 tons of Chardonnay, and it's not going to take us four loads to make it happen." The reds are pressed when dry, and Shapley will typically taste through the press run to see if it starts to taste astringent and decide whether he needs to make a press cut that will either be blended back in or kept separate. The membrane press also gives him the option to roll the must and coax out a little more wine if he wants to. "I do like the ability to roll be- cause you can get some better yields that way," he said. "Sometimes you're not looking for the yields, you're looking for the very best high- quality fruit, and the yields and the quality don't work at odds necessarily." Finished Roar wines head to either new or neutral French oak barrels. Franscioni said he buys enough new barrels every year for about 65% of that vintage's total volume. His pre- ferred coopers are Tonnellerie Francois Freres, Tonnellerie Remond and Louis Latour. Inside, the winery has the look and feel of a cellar at any premium Pinot winery in the Russian River Valley or on the Sonoma County coast. Outside, however, the facility is almost in the shadow of a highway overpass and on a rather non-descript city street. But with estate vineyards such as Garys' and the Franscionis' other properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands, it doesn't matter too much where those grapes are vinified—that's been proven many times over by other wineries using the same fruit. And for Gary Franscioni, a devout San Francisco Giants fan, the winery being within walking distance of the Giant's home at AT&T Park probably is another perk that didn't go unnoticed when the family was looking at buildings in the city. One may even have been able to hear the roar of the crowd in the stadium as the Giants went on to win one of several recent World Series championships. Nadalié "Cooperage is Our Craft" Ad - 4.5" x 7.5" Proof 3 Adam Franscioni stands next to one of the winery's open-top tanks supplied by JVNW.