|
A basement where years ago there was a
grocery store has been transformed into the wine cellar of Ranchelle.
This cellar is located in the village of Poggio Murella, just
two km from the vineyards. It has been equipped with everything
you need to make wine in a natural way. At harvest times the
hand plucked grapes are put into the destemmer which is placed
directly on the tubs, in order to avoid the use of a pump. Thus
the squashed grapes fall by gravity into the tubs where the
fermentation takes place. At the end of fermentation (which
can take up to four weeks) the must and the grape skins are
transferred with buckets into an old manual winepress and pressed
gently. The obtained juice is transferred by using a pneumatic
membrane pump into the different vats, primarily regenerated
oak barrels, but also steel vats and fiberglass containers.
This pneumatic membrane pump is also used for racking, alternatively
the racking is done by gravity by raising the vats with a lifter.
All fermentations are done with wild yeasts and the wines ripen
without any enological additive. Sulfur dioxide has been replaced
by nitrogen, an inert gas, which is used to protect the wines
from unwanted contact with oxygen during racking and bottling.
The wines are aged for 10 months in 500 liter used oak barrels,
and another 6 months in bottles before they leave the cellar.
|
