Can You Dig It?

One of the most important rites of passage of a harvest is to dig-out a tank for pressing. After spending weeks caring for the grapes as they go through their cold-soak and fermentation, nothing is more satisfying than crossing the fermentation vessel number off the punch-down list and knowing that the next day you will put that batch to rest - or at least to settling tank - where it can slip comfortably from the forefront of our minds.

The process is deceptively simple.

Upon arrival at the winery in the morning we are greeted by a stack of work orders which list the fermenters that need to be pressed. Today, for example, one of our five-ton fermenters (F210) was first in the queue. We start by opening the valves and draining off the free-run juice, or juice that we can gather without pressing. When the tank stops draining of its own accord, we slowly crank open the door and scrape the surrounding grape skins into a stainless steel bin. This is to clear an area for a person to descend into the tank and dig it out.

Safety is our number one concern at Domaine Serene. We all get to dig out at least one tank this harvest, and only after we have properly secured our safety harness, leash, and O2 meter. We also position a fan at the top of the fermenter to blow off any lurking CO2. Once all precautions are taken, only then are we permitted to descend into the depths of the skins. Armed with a food-grade plastic shovel and tank-only gum boots that are cleaned before and after each use, we are unleashed on the skins to usher them out of the tank in any way possible.

Personally, I favor a shovel-hand combo, while some others are strictly shovel advocates. The idea is to clear the tank of skins as quickly as possible, while leaving the lees and seeds behind. The skins are then dumped from the stainless bins into the press and then lightly squeezed to remove more juice without breaking any seeds and contributing unwanted green tannins to the wine. The pressed wine is stored separately from the free-run, and left to settle until it is racked and barreled.

The end is in sight! Today we began the first of our rackings off of heavy lees, and by weeks end we will have pressed off our last ferments and began barreling down. Our work days are getting shorter and morale is high; we've nearly completed what has turned out to be a fantastic vintage. – Written by Zach Bryant, Harvest Intern. Photos by Samantha Poehlman.