2017 Margaret River Vintage is here!!!

Hooray! The 2017 Margaret River Vintage is finally here after a not so summery Summer!

Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product.

VINTAGE 2017

The sun is shining and the grapes are ready to be picked! Vintage 2017 is in full swing after a long cool Summer here in the region. Most producers started picking in the first week of March, with white grapes being picked and trucked around the region to be crushed and fermented. Check out the delicious sauvignon blanc grapes Richo picked from Fermoy Estate on a full day tour last week!

After the harvest, the grapes are taken into a winery and prepared for primary ferment. At this stage red wine making diverges from white wine making. Red wine is made from the must (pulp) of red or black grapes and fermentation occurs together with the grape skins, which give the wine its color. White wine is made by fermenting juice which is made by pressing crushed grapes to extract a juice; the skins are removed and play no further role. Occasionally white wine is made from red grapes; this is done by extracting their juice with minimal contact with the grapes’ skins.

DID YOU KNOW:

Rose is made either made from red grapes where the juice is allowed to stay in contact with the dark skins long enough to pick up a pinkish color or by blending red wine with white wine!!