Harvest 2010 - Plunging

As our pinot noir fermentations progress our winery team have begun their twice daily job of hand-plunging. During fermentation the grape-skins naturally rise to the surface forming a dense cap. It is important to plunge to release the heat that builds up during fermentation and to wet the cap and mix the skins through the ferment. This ensures that flavour and colour from the skins is evenly extracted.

This pinot noir from the Leah Block in the Home Vineyard has been through a 5-day cold soak before the tank was warmed and the juice allowed to naturally begin fermentation. This ferment only began yesterday but you can already see the bubbles of CO2 formed by the fermentation.