Monday, November 10, 2008

Wine Hands


The last of the cabernet arrived last week and marked the end of the harvest season here in Northern California. One by one the tanks are being emptied of their extended maceration inhabitants and my hands are stained purple. I think it's permanent. We are still performing many punch down and pump-over techniques like the one above referred to as a delestage (del-ess-TAHJ). This benefits the wine by exposing it to oxygen and separating seeds, ultimately resulting in smoother tannins.

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