Winemaking

Below we briefly summarize the major steps in the Charnu Winery winemaking process.

  1. Picking

    Picking

    When the grapes are at their peak of flavor, we pick them by hand. This allows us to pick only the best clusters of grapes, and to remove any extransous material (leaves, stems, etc.) before the grapes are event taken to the winery. More on picking . . .

  2. Crush

    Crush

    When the grapes reach the winery, they are fed into a crusher/destemmer, which removes the stems and passes through only the grapes. The grapes are not actually "crushed" but just have their skins broken enough to let the juice begin to flow out. More on crush . . .

  3. Fermentation

    Fermentation

    The grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks until "dry" (all of the sugar has been converted to alcohol). During fermentation, the solid material (skins, seeds, etc.) tend to float to the top. Periodically this "cap" is "punched down" — broken up and mixed back with the liquid. This increases the intensity of the resulting wine. More on fermentation . . .

  4. Press

    Press

    When the wine is fully dry, it must be separated from the solid material. First we collect the "free run" juice that flows off on its own. The remaining wine is then separated out by squeezing the cake of wine and solid material gently using a computer-controlled hydraulic press. More on press . . .

  5. Barrel Aging

    Barrel Aging

    The wine is pumped into French oak barrels, where it rests for 18-24 months. During this time chemical reactions occur that make the wine more complex and flavorful. More on barrel aging . . .

  6. Bottling

    Bottling

    Once barrel aging is complete, the wine is bottled using a mobile bottling line (a complete bottling line built into a tractor trailer). This equipment fills the bottles, inserts the corks, adds the capsules and applies the labels. More on bottling . . .

  7. Bottle Aging

    Bottle Aging

    Even though the wine has aged for up to 2 years in barrel, we feel that further aging in bottle produces a better product at release. The bottled wine is kept in a temperature-controlled warehouse for 12-14 more months. More on bottle aging . . .