Recently, when doing a survey, it was found that many famous farmers, especially the ranked houses in Bordeaux, will mention a word when talking about the brewing process: Gravity Flow Winemaking, what is this process? New trends? And which wineries use it? What does it do? What are the future trends? Let's take a look.~
1. What is gravity artesian flow method? How does it work? What does it do?
The making of a bottle of wine requires many different estration steps. These processes require a constant transfer of wine. The more common practice is to pump grape juice or wine from one container to another with a water pump.
It is not that this method is not possible, but in this process, the external forces and operating restrictions from the pump will inevitably have a certain impact on the quality of the wine, such as the loss of flavor substances, oxidation caused by contact with air, etc. Therefore, in order to better protect the grapes, some famous villages will begin to consider a gentler gravity method.
To sum it up in a plain saying: "The water goes down." Traditional wine cellars generally have only one floor, and the power level of the machine power of the water pump is generally transferred between the wine and liquid. However, the gravity artesian method is to adjust the structure of the wine cellar so that it has at least 2 floors or steps above, forming a height drop, so that the wine can naturally flow from high to low under the action of gravity, without any pump pumping.
In general, the grapes are located at the highest level, and the juice flowing out after fragmentation and destemming naturally flows to the next layer of fermentation and pressing, and the fermented wine flows to the next layer of aging, and after the aging is completed, it is transferred to the next layer of bottling and labeling. But how to design, depends on the winery.
In general, gravity artesian method reduces human intervention, machine intervention and oxygen contact, and can more completely retain the original flavor of the grapes, thus faithfully showing the terroir characteristics of the plots of the appellation, and at the same time, the extraction of flavors, tannins and other substances is also more gentle.
2. Which wineries use gravity artesian method?
If gravity artesian method is to be used, the cellar needs to be rebuilt, which is very expensive, and the brewing team needs to go up and down the floors/stairs all the time, which is quite a test of patience and physical strength. The best cellar locations are generally built on hillsides, or valleys, with natural drop advantages.
For example, Chile's "Four Wine Kings" are also the creators of full-score wine - Clos Apalta is built on the hillside, thanks to its geographical advantage of being surrounded by mountains on three sides.
It is reported that the gravity cellar of Sapphire Hall cost 11 million US dollars and took 6 years to build. The cellar is divided into five floors, three of which blend into the mass of granite under the Andes.
The gravitational artesian method, although it seems to have only gained popularity in recent years, has actually existed in Australia as early as the 19th century.
As early as 1888, the Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Valley of Australia has been using gravity artesian method for more than 100 years. Château Sportfeld is now the most iconic winery in the Barossa Valley, winning numerous awards. In 2010, the winery renovated the cellar again, investing $1 million to complete the final gravity cellar.
In addition to Australia, there is also a precedent in the United States. Back in 2006, California's Chardonnay Lynmar Estate, which was named one of the 26th place in the Wine Enthusiast's 100 and scored a high score of 97, also used gravity artesian method. The winemaker said: "At present, the winery and the cellar have been built. Although this project minimizes oxidation effects and human damage, it is not suitable for every winery, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. "One of the advantages of this winery is that it is also located in a river valley , the Russian River Valley.
In France, gravity artesian methods are mostly present in column-level houses, such as:
Cos d' Estournel
It was the first winery in Bordeaux to be 100% gravity self-flowing. Most of the winery vineyards are located on steep slopes with varying slopes of up to 69 feet (about 22 meters), with a slope of 25 meters at its highest and 3 metres at its lowest. This natural geographical advantage led the winery to decide to invest heavily in the construction of a 100% gravity self-contained cellar. The cellar was built to produce the 2008 vintage, but the winery had purchased the equipment as early as the preparation of the 2005 vintage, so the 2005 vintage was also made with these equipment. The entire cellar is divided into 3 main steps, starting with the grapes, then the wine, and finally the bottling.
Chateau Mouton Rothschild
Its gravity cellar was built in 2013. The cellar is approximately 70 metres long and has 2 floors with 44 oak barrels and 20 stainless steel tanks, designed with science and technology, harmoniously blending oak barrels and stainless steel tank elements, just like the winemaking tradition of Château Mouton – the fusion of the two brings a wonderful and harmonious taste.
In addition to the above two, Chateau Lynch Bages and Chateau Pontet-Canet, Chateau D'Issan, Chateau du Tertre, Chateau Pape Clement and Chateau Malartic-Lagravieere), Chateau De Fieuzal, Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey, etc. are also used.
Clermont's Gravity Cellar
It can be found that most of the wineries in France that use the gravitational artesian method are located at the top of the pyramid. This also shows that the gravity artesian flow method has become an important choice for high-quality wines brewed by famous wines.
In Italy, Solaia, one of the "four Yas", and Massetto, the "king of wine", are also one of them.
3. How does the industry view gravity artesian flow method?
In an article on the wine website Wine Enthusiast, 5 wineries from the United States and Canada expressed their views on the quality of finished wines by gravity artesian method, and 3 of them were selected to see.
Stratus Vineyards is one of the few "completely pumpless" wineries in the world. Jean-Laurent Groux, winemaker at the winery, said: "Without the use of mechanical pumps, it avoids shaking, squeezing and oxidation of the grapes, thus ensuring the purity of the fruit, eliminating astringency and bad flavors, and maintaining aromatic and refreshing taste. ”
To this end, Château Cloud built a four-storey production hall where gravity transports the harvested fruit by hand into a fermentation tank on the bottom floor, minimizing oxygen exposure and ventilation during the process. Jean-Laurent Groux says: "The use of gravity is closely linked to the production of high-quality wines. ”
The CEO of Palmaz Vineyards in the United States said: "We have adopted high technology to make winemaking more gentle. During the aging process, the tannin molecules in the wine will form a precipitate through polymerization, which will make the texture and taste of the wine more rounded and smooth. However, the use of mechanical pumps can cause damage to the grapes, limiting or even degrading the polymerization of tannins. If you keep using a mechanical pump, the wine will not be rested and the ability to age in the bottle will be limited. ”
To this end, the winery has built a full 18-story gravity brewing system underground, which can form a height difference and reduce the damage to the grapes, but also reduce the power consumption and retain every drop of wine intact.
"We are currently the only certified net zero water distillery in California, and we save 1.5 million gallons of water each year to reuse for irrigation."
Stoutridge Winery in the United States also decided to abandon mechanical brewing for 2 main reasons: "One is that it is more environmentally friendly, there is no power loss, and there is no need to treat it with hot water and detergents." The second is that it can make more refreshing wines. ”
summary
As a new winemaking trend, the emergence of gravity artesian flow method can drive the rise of wine quality, but it is not yet fully popularized, after all, the cost is expensive and it is not suitable for every winery. And look at its future development~