Fermentation takes place when the yeast in the grape juice converts the residual sugar into alcohol. Wine, heat and carbon dioxide are byproducts of fermentation. The fermentation process is controlled by Winemaker Ben using the jacked tank’s propylene glycol system to cool the juice. Much like bread making, yeast performs faster when heated. Wine is also finished by a process called Cold Stabilization where our Winemaker uses the cooling system to remove tartaric acid which can form crystal in white wine.

A tank of wine is held at 26 to 28 degrees F until the Tartaric acid, or cream of tartar as it is commonly called, forms crystals on the sides and bottoms of the tank. The cold stable wine is racked or pumped into another tank leaving behind the frozen tartaric acid.

From this point the wine can be aged in oak barrels, stainless tanks or bottled.

Our bottling line will package over 2 cases a minute. At the beginning the clean empty bottles are placed on the line where they are gripped by the neck and inverted, rinsed with hot water, returned to the line and filled with an inert gas before being filled by one of the eight fillers. The corker squeezes the cork and inserts it into the bottle, pulls a vacuum and then releases the cork.  

The bottle then proceeds down the line and a capsule is placed on the top of the bottle, which is then labeled and packed in a case of 12 ready for consumption after a brief rest.