Grape Beginnings provides the wine enthusiast with a "hands-on" opportunity to learn the art and science of Premium-Quality winemaking in a clean, "State-of-the-Art" Winemaking Facility. The complete Winemaking process runs approximately 9-months and is basically broken down into 4 fun-filled "sessions" that are about 1-2 hours each.
Your fresh ultra-premium wine grapes usually arrive between the 2nd week of September and the end of October (for the California & Italian grape season) or late April/early May (for the Chilean & Argentina grape season) and are crushed and destemmed using professional crusher/destemmer equipment just like the ones used at the giant wineries throughout the world. The "must" (crushed grapes) is pumped into a fermentor and inoculated with a specific yeast strain for the commencement of primary fermentation.
Approximately a week after the “crush” you will return to the winery to Press. You will begin by transferring the “free run” wine into your premium-oak wine barrel. The “must” is then loaded into one of our easy to use hydraulic presses where the “press juice” is extracted and then also transferred into your barrel. The transformation of grapes into wine continues as the aging and settling process now begins.
After a few months, you will return to “Rack your wine”. Racking is simply the process where the wine is pumped out of the barrel and into another container. The “Lees”(or Sediment) is washed from the barrel and the wine is then reintroduced into the fresh barrel where the final aging process continues. The barrel is then “topped off” and placed back into storage. Racking is typically done for California and Italian wines in February and March whereas Chilean and Argentinean wines are racked in July and August, depending on various conditions.
The last step! It's time to put your wine into bottles and adhere your own label. Now you can "kick back" and enjoy the fruits of your labor. There is a feeling of pride that comes from making your own "Private-Label wine". A wine that you can open with friends or family and be sure that everyone will enjoy!
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