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The first and crucial requirement for the production of premium wine is grapes of the highest quality, for which we must thank winegrowers. They planted the vine, guided its growth around a wire, pruned it frequently, protected it from diseases and harvested it at the right time. But, even when the first requirement is met, it’s not enough to produce quality wine, The second important requierement is quality cellaring, which is no less challenging: it wasn’t in the past and it certainly isn’t today, even though we live in a time of very advanced technology. The harvest itself takes place early in the morning (at the Trs winery we do it exclusively by hand) and then the grapes are brought to the cellar. The first phase then begins – destemming and crushing of the berries, afer which we get a mass called “masulj” (crushed grapes with the stems). The grapes are then pressed and the juice is separated from the berries before the boiling (n exceptional cases, when the cellar master wants to extract additional flavours and aromas, the separation process is skipped).
The process of harvesting, crushing, pressing and subsequent boiling should take as little time as possible. To obtain a white wine with a pure taste and smell, in addition to a short processing time, it is also important to protect the must from oxidation and to remove impurities. After pressing, the must is usually sulfurized to suppress undesirable microorganisms and accelerate the deposition of the various dirt particles. Then follows the sedimentation, which usually lasts about twenty hours. We also separate the lees with a flotation process (the process of separating solid particles from the must). The must is then poured into stainless steel barrels where it ferments with the prepared selected yeasts. The duration of boiling varies, because it depends on the temperature and sugar content of the must. White wines undergo what is known as still boiling, which takes place at a lower temperature of 10°C (50°F) to preserve the wine’s freshness and aroma.
There are a few differences in the production of red wine. It is made from grape varieties that contain anthocyanins – plant pigments that give the wine its signature red color. They are found in the skin of the berries. Red wine is obtained by boiling the “masulj” – meaning the juice and berries are boiled together. After destemming and crushing, the skin and seeds are not separated from the juice, but instead they remain immersed in the juice (a process called maceration) to extract colorants, tannins and aromas out of them. During the maceration, the boiling in stainless steel barrels comenses aswell. It lasts from a few days to 4 weeks. This year has given us a cold spring and a hot and dry summer but despite the delay that the cold weather has caused in vegetation, we expect an excellent harvest and healthy grapes. We marked the start of this year’s harvest today and we hope that we won’t lack the usual excellent results.
Finally, we would like to wish all our fellow winegrowers and winemakers a healthy and successful harvest.
