Candid Wines | Pressing and Fermenting Chardonnay

I find this fascinating. The first thing we noticed about Fred's wines when we tasted them
in Illinois is their clarity. The seem to be perfectly clear, but also broad and full. They do
not look like this, and yet from this thick, soupy, unfermented starting point comes a clear,
elegant Chardonnay.

This is the pressed juice filling the fermentation tank as it is pumped from the catch pan
under the press. Fred will let this juice sit over night and then inoculate it with a cultured
yeast to start fermentation. From here, he will pump it into a mix of wooden barrels, most
of which have already been used to make one or two wines. A small percentage of the
barrels will be new.

Over time, as the yeast eats the sugar and many of the solids in the wine settle to the
bottom, the wine will become more and more clear. In fact, even as it sits in this tank
overnight, a significant layer of solids settles to the bottom.

Next up, the transfer to the barrels.

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