All the ferments for the 2016 pinot noirs (777, 115, Pommard and Wadenswil) wrapped up in mid-October, so Bells Up winemaker Dave and our consulting winemaker Erica pressed everything on October 18. Here’s some photos from the day, taken by John Toso of A Frame in Time Photography, who came out with Diane Nemarnik of Nemarniki Vineyards (the grower of our Pommard and Wadenswil) to help that day.
Dave and Erica line up the first fermenter with the press.
Dave, in the fermenter, buckets over the must into the press.
Erica provides moral support as Dave moves from bucket to shovel.
Look at that color! Look at that grimace!
Erica gets ready to dump Dave into the press…
Erica checks the level of wine in the barrel as the pressed wine is pumped from the press reservoir into each barrel.
Tasting break…
As always, we do our primary fermentations for the red wines at ADEA Wine Company in Gaston; here’s a shot of some of the pressed wine and of the ginormous press they have.
Dave works on powerwashing an emptied fermenter.
Erica adjusts settings on the press.
John and Diane left after the exciting stuff was over; Sara managed to show up just as the cleaning was in full swing. And, because she can never resist taking photos of Dave CLEANING stuff, here’s some great photos of Dave spraying down all the equipment.
Pressed wine. Amazing color!
Dave, spraying out another fermenter.
Pressing finished, it’s time to clean out the press itself. Here Dave sprays out the reservoir.
And, finally, the concrete deck gets a thorough spray down.
The barrels containing 2016’s wines are all now back at the Bells Up estate winery and tasting room. Stop by and visit them soon!
