Whites are whole bunch pressed in either a 400kg or a 1500kg air bag press. Fermenters are thermostat controlled for maximum aroma retention. Whites are filtered with a lenticular filter followed by a (sterile) membrane filter. Cold stabilisation is achieved by either cold storage for 3-4 weeks, by electrodialysis or reverse osmosis.
Reds are not filtered unless the client requests this. Beckingham Wines prefers to supply barrels as this makes barrel management easier.
Bottling is via a Borelli monobloc and uses screw caps.
Sparkling wine production is a specialty at Beckingham Wines. We can store your wine while on lees so that the wine doesn’t have to be taken away and then returned for disgorging. Riddling is done by one of two riddling robots. Disgorging is all done by hand.
We can fix a wide range of wine faults using reverse osmosis, electrodialysis and ion exchange technology. A 20-litre sample is the preferred volume for doing benchtop trials.
MAKING WHITE WINE:
The "must" is drained and pressed. Two fractions of juice are produced at this stage, "free run" and "pressings". Free run is the juice that drains freely from the press, while pressings is the juice obtained by mechanically squeezing the must. Both are clarified and the juice is ready for fermentation.
Yeast is added and the fermentation begins. The temperature is usually maintained at 13°C until all the sugar has been converted to alcohol (usually after 10-18 days). The wine is 'racked' (the clear portion on top is removed), clarified, filtered, and stored until bottling.
MAKING RED WINE:
Red wine is fermented at higher temperatures (25-30°C) than white wine.
The colour and flavour of red wine comes from the skins, therefore the skins must be kept in regular contact with the juice. Skin contact is achieved by plunging or circulating the juice so that the skins are mixed into the wine. This is known as 'maceration' and done over a 5 to 20 day period.
The wine is then pressed off the skins and after a few days the resultant wine is racked and clarified. Bacteria is added (Lactic Acid Bacteria) and a second fermentation begins, which converts lactic acid to malic acid.