2010 Crush - Sauvignon Blanc

We had perfect weather this morning - cool and overcast - for the Sauv Blanc crush. We got one ton of the 43.5 tons picked (Benzinger Winery gets the rest) which should yield about 70 cases for our Shone Farm label. I was surprised at how much "prep time" goes into the operation - sanitizing all the equipment (Hopper, Press, Settling Tank, hoses) with a hydrogen peroxide-type solution and citric acid wash took a good hour. The grapes were crushed in a big, rotating stainless cylinder with a"bag" inside that inflates to press the grapes up against the sides; juice falls through slits into a big bin below, and it is immediately pumped into a settling tank for the night where it will receive some bentonite (removes proteins and helps to clarify the wine); tomorrow it will be pumped into barrels for fermentation.