Aglianico Crush 2020
Aglianico crush for 2020 is happening! Crushing the red grapes is just like crushing the white grapes. We are just not going to press right away.
Time to Start Aglianico Crush 2020
It is a great day to crush some grapes! Merrill is picking out leaves and stems and Louisa is scooping the grapes. The white drum that is off to the side of the crusher collects the leaves and stems that are thrown out.
Just like with the whites, the auger carries the grapes to the crushing wheels. There are some stems and leaves that need to be separated out but not a whole bunch. The guys did a good job harvesting the fruit clean!
There's the juice. It looks like there are not many stems and leaves in the mix so that is great! If there are a lot of stems and leaves, they can impart a "green" flavor to the wine so that is why we separate them out.
Since we are done with Aglianico crush for 2020, we have to wait and let them ferment.
Now for the Fermenting
We let the juice and skin mix sit, covered in bins. While they are fermenting, the skins get pushed to the top creating a thick layer, called the cap. During fermentation, the cap needs to be punched down daily, that way the skins stay all nice and mixed in with the juice.
The reason for keeping the juice on the skins is that the skins give the red wine its dark color and bold flavor. We cover the bins so that the fruit flies can't get to them. They are such pesky things! After fermenting, comes pressing.
While you wait for the pressing post, be sure to check out the links below!