Both the Pinot Noirs and Cabernets are made in one ton open vat fermenters.  Fruit is brought in from the vineyard in 400kg bins and tipped onto the loading chute/sorting tray into the crusher destemmer.  The fermenting pots are placed underneath the crusher and filled to about the 800kg mark to allow for the rise in the cap when fermentation takes off.

Around 10% of whole bunches are tipped into the bottom of the fermentation vat prior to the crushed fruit topping up.  This creates a form of Carbonic Maceration, whereby the whole bunches are kept anaerobic until finally being pressed out, releasing a freshness of flavour to the ferment.  The fermenting pots are moved away via forklift to a corner of the winery and replaced with an empty one.

Once the macerated fruit is in the vat, the usual tests for sugar, pH and acid are carried out with any adjustment for pH done at this stage.  It is then gassed with CO₂ and covered with plastic wrap for 24 hours to allow for the breaking down and imparting of colour from the skins.  After this period on skins, the temperature is checked and when around 17⁰C the must is inoculated with yeast culture.  Primary fermentation begins to take hold after around 24 hours and will continue to bubble along for approximately 10 days.  Temperature is held to around the 22⁰C level during ferment to ensure the development of cooler, intensive flavours that will ensure complexity and further development in the bottle.

At the end of primary ferment, the vats are again covered with plastic wrap for 3 to 4 days to allow the CO₂ to evolve.  Vats are tipped into the press and the skins pressed out, with the new wine  being pumped into French Oak where it will stay for approximately 18 months prior to bottling.  During this 18 month period, there are three racking out processes carried out.  This is the process of pumping the wine out of the barrel, but leaving the sludge of sediment which lays in the bottom.  The barrels are then washed out and the wine returned with any adjustment that is required being made to SO₂ levels.

The first racking out usually takes place within 4 weeks from going into barrel.  This eliminates the heavy deposits on the bottom of the barrel, which can cause detrimental flavours and odours if left there.  In Spring, malolactic or secondary fermentation takes place, where malic acid is converted to lactic acid, giving a softness and flavour complexity to the wine.

Once the wine has had sufficient time in oak, it is pumped out of barrel into stainless steel tank, protein stabilised, filtered and bottled.  The newly bottled reds usually spend 4 to 8 weeks in crates prior to labelling and packaging and then its out to the restaurants, cafes and wine bars.

Sparkling base wine is the first of the white wines to be made during vintage.  Fruit for the Mt William Macedon is picked at 10.5⁰ Be’ and around 10.5 T/A with the pH usually somewhere around 2.9 to 3.0.  The whole bunches of Chardonnay are tipped via forklift onto the loading chute/sorting tray where any bird damaged or inferior bunches are picked out before being loaded in the press.  This whole bunch pressing yields us 600L of juice per ton of fruit for sparkling base and the remaining 100L – 200L of pressings are pumped into a separate tank for processing as a secondary table wine.

The Chardonnay juice with 30ppm SO₂ and pectic enzyme added, settles in tank for 24 hours at a temperature of around 8⁰C.  After settling, the juice is racked off into a clean tank and the temperature brought up to 16⁰C and inoculated with EC1118 yeast.   Once primary fermentation commences, the temperature is closely watched and kept as close to 18⁰C as possible under refrigeration.  This ferment usually takes 12 to 14 days to complete.  This wine is always kept in stainless steel and does not see any oak treatment or malolactic fermentation.

After fermentation is well and truly complete, the wine is heat and cold stabilised and then shipped off to Cope-Williams Winery at Romsey for bottling.  This bottled juvenile Macedon returns to Mt William where it sits on yeast lees in our cool room for 3 years prior to being shipped back to Cope-Williams for riddling and disgorging.  Consequently, from the time the bunches of Chardonnay enter the winery, the product of that fruit does not enter the market for a least 3 years as Mt William Macedon.

Riesling is probably the most nerve-racking white wine we make and demands great care and vigilance in the process.  This variety is also whole bunch pressed with particular attention to addition of SO₂ and anaerobic conditions, as the Riesling has very delicate floral aromas to impart and if these are lost, the end result is a bland white wine.

The juice is extracted and pumped into stainless steel insulated tanks where it settles for 48 hours.  After settling, the juice is racked off into a clean tank and fermentation commences.  Temperature is kept to a cool 14⁰C – 15⁰C to retain the delicate qualities and ferment usually takes around 12 - 14 days.  On completion of the fermentation, the wine is immediately racked off the yeast lees and into a clean tank.  To retain as much freshness and flavour quality as possible, heat and cold stabilisations are both carried out as soon as time permits and the wine is filtered and bottled.  It is not unreasonable to have the Riesling ready for sale 3 months from picking.

Our barrel fermented Chardonnay is usually the next white wine to be made.  In this process, the Chardonnay fruit is brought into the winery and tipped onto the sorting tray, as is all the fruit.  Defective bunches are picked out and the fruit is then pushed into the crusher destemmer where the macerated berries fall into the press.  Some skin content is required here to extract flavours and complexities.  Each press load takes about 4 hours to process and yields 750L of premium juice.  SO₂ at 30ppm and pectic enzymes are added, then the juice is pumped into the tank for settling for 48 hours.

As with the Riesling, the clean juice is then racked into a clean tank and when the temperature is around 17⁰C, inoculation with EC1118 takes place.  Once again, the temperature during fermentation is closely watched and held as close to 18⁰C as possible in an effort to retain delicate flavours and complexities.  On completion of primary fermentation, the wine is pumped into French oak barrels.

Contrary to the handling of red wine in barrel, the Chardonnay is not racked off during its 9 months in oak.  Every two weeks the barrels are topped up and at the same time the contents are stirred up with a stainless steel rod.  This brings the yeast lees laying on the bottom of the barrel up into the wine, enhancing flavour and complexity.  Levels of SO₂ are checked also at this time and malolatic fermentation takes place during  Spring.  Prior to bottling the Chardonnay is stabilised and filtered, which usually takes place not long before the next vintage.