There is a buzz in the cellar now as Atlas Peak has harvested 90 % of the grapes for the vintage. We currently have twenty tanks filled with grapes at one stage or another right now. Grapes are either cold soaking, just starting to ferment, fermenting happily, or finished with fermentation and spending some time on the skins in what is called extended maceration. Extended maceration is a winemaking term that means that the young wine is allowed to remain in contact with the skins. This time on the skins softens the wine, ensures that the fermentation is complete and allows a process called malolactic fermentation to get a begin.
We are also starting to drain and press tanks of Cabernet as we see fit. Tanks that are selected for draining are drained the night before to allow us to collect as much free run wine as possible. Then we dig the skins out of the tank and press out any remaing wine. For the first time Atlas Peak will begin using a basket press to gently press the red skins. Wine that has been drained and pressed off the skins has also started to go to barrels as well. The free run wine and the press wine are held in separate barrel lots. Atlas Peak wines will see a combination of new and one year old french oak. The wine will spend between 12 and 18 months as it matures into finished wine. We still have a long way to go before we make it to bottle.
This is my favorite time of the year. When you walk through the cellar it is filled with the sweet smell of fermneting juice and it is bustling with activity.
Darren Procsal
Darren Procsal
Winemaker
Atlas Peak
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