| WINEMAKING
- WHITES |
| Sparkling
base wine is the first of the white wines to be made during vintage.
Fruit for the Mt William Macedon is picked at 10.5° Be' and around
10.5 T/A with the pH usually somewhere 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 into 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 8°C. After
settling, the juice is racked off into a clean tank and the temperature
brought up to 16°C and inoculated with EC1118 yeast. Once primary
fermentation commences, the temperature is closely watched and kept
as close to 18°C 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 at 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 15°C - 16°C 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 contact 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
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 17°C, inoculation with EC1118 takes
place. Once again, the temperature during fermentation is closely
watched and held as close to 18°C 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 malolactic
fermentation takes place during Spring. Prior to bottling the Chardonnay
is stabilised and filtered, which usually takes place not long before
the next vintage. |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
