NEWSLETTERS | Classic Clippings

Pruning 1997

ROTARY FERMENTATION

In one of those little wine guide books presently on the market, the author states (kindly) that The Wilson Vineyard uses a minimum of technological interference in the wine making process. Another also (kindly) makes the inference that our practices are conservative.

I don't agree with them, but will reciprocate the kindness by admitting that it must be hard for them to get around to every winery in the country.

For the 1997 vintage, we installed a Velo rotary fermenter. Rotary fermenters have been around for a few years but not in the size options to be of interest to the small winemaker. They work much like a concrete delivery truck in gently churning the fermenting grapes.

Our little Velo has a 5000 litre capacity. It is the first of its type in Australia. The rotary fermenter has advantages over conventional fermenters by giving greater and quicker extraction of skin components in red wines. There is also the advantage of better temperature control.

On the matter of whether it would allow us to make a better wine we did not have to wait long to be convinced - this is the way to make cabernet! As for cost, we did an interesting exercise. We looked at the cost over ten years, and the compared cost of the amount of wine through this fermenter, with the same amount having metallic foil on the labels. It was cheaper to have the metallic glitz in the winery!