WARNING:
Muscles required.
There is a point
in the wine-making process, after crush and when fermentation is just
beginning, that muscles are required. Not that they aren't required throughout
the rest of the year for basically everything that is done around here (lest I
am remiss)... but it is during this time that they are put to the test: can you
punch down with the professionals?
Since the
color and most of the flavor in red wines is derived from the skins, it is
important to extract as much as possible from fermentation. The creation of CO2
during fermentation causes the skins to rise, forming a cap. The cap needs to
be pushed down and broken up so that the color, flavor and tannins can be
extracted by the fermenting juice. The more aggressive you are about breaking
up the cap, the more wine will be extracted, dark and tannic. Other than
enhancing the flavor and a great upper body workout, here are reasons to punch
down:
-
During the
early stages of fermentation, it helps introduce oxygen to yeast cells,
helping them “kick start” fermentation
-
It helps keep harmful bacteria or mold that
could ruin your wine from forming
-
It helps
dissipate heat that naturally occurs during fermentation—left alone, the cap
can reach high temperatures
At Two
Mountain, like most wineries punching down by hand, we use what looks like a
life-size potato-masher to push the cap down, break it, and submerge it
again. Here, we punch-down at least twice per day (once in the morning and
once before bed). Each bin gets about a week and a half of punchdowns—which,
depending on when the bins come in, lasts from two to eight weeks. It is not an
easy task!
If you’ve
ever attempted to make a red wine at home, but the finished product lacked
color, taste, or astringency, changes are your wine could have benefited from
doing punch downs—something to keep in mind.
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