Winemaking

Wine is one of the most natural and simple food beverages on earth; it literally makes itself.  Yeast cells, one of the key components in the winemaking process, live on the outside of grape skins.  Once the skins are broken, the yeasts convert the natural sugars in the fruit to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, beginning the "magic" of fermentation.

All wines begin in the vineyard.  Soil, climate, weather and cultural practices directly affect the quality and character of the grapes. Harvest in California usually begins in late August to early September and may last through November depending on the weather and grape variety.  After harvest, grapes are placed in a destemmer/crusher, which separates the stems from the fruit and breaks up the berries.  The stems are then discarded leaving the "must," a combination of juice, seeds, pulp and skins.

While the processes of making red and white varietal wines, rosés and blush, sparkling wine/champagne, and dessert wines have a lot in common, after passing through the destemmer/crusher each type of wine requires different winemaking steps.