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As pointed out by professional winemakers, choosing the right fermentation vessel can help preserve and even enhance the natural characteristics of the wine you want to make. Find out more in the following sections of this article. Depending on the style of wine you want to make, and the varietal of grape you are working with, you have a few choices in terms of fermentation vessels. And when you're working with small batch winemaking, it is critical that you make the right choice. For white wines, it's important that you ferment in the type of vessel that will help you achieve the style you want. For reds, on the other hand, it's a little more straight forward. Read on for a more in-depth explanation. Traditional Oak Barrels vs. Stainless Steel Tanks According to Crushpad winemaker Chris Nelson, the type of fermentation vessel you choose depends on the variety – red or white – and the style of wine you want to make. “In general, with white wine you have a little more options,” Nelson explains. “If you want to make a very smooth, but crisp wine with a mineral quality to it, you can use a stainless steel tank. […] If you want to get a little more structure into your wine, especially if you want to get more tannins and mouth-feel, you’ll want go for an oak barrel.” Using Smaller Fermentation Bins for Making Custom Red Wine Chris Nelson provides details on how to make wine from red wine grape varietals: “With red grapes, it’s a little different – they come in, they’re destemmed and then they are sorted into a fermentation bin. Inside these smaller containers, once fermentation starts, the yeast produces CO2, which pushes all the grapes towards the top, forming a cap. To make sure the grapes will ferment evenly, winemakers need to punch down this cap and mix the content every day.” Nelson also discloses why the team at Crushpad favors this method of producing red wine: “The reason we use fermentation bins is because […] that way our customers can get the exact style of wine that they want.” Roto-Fermenters – An Innovative Way to Maximize Extraction in Oak Barrels As revealed by the experienced winemaker, the Crushpad team has been experimenting with a type of roto-fermenter – a rotary wooden barrel fitted with a door that’s designed to close hermetically. After filling the modified barrel with grapes, winemakers can seal the door and spin the barrel around at regular intervals using a specially designed wheel system. Doing so enables them to mix the composition evenly, thus ensuring a more thorough fermentation process and a better extraction rate. In conclusion, with white wines, after primary fermentation there’s the option to barrel the wine down – which means you can take your custom wine and put it into barrels to age and mature – or you can keep it in stainless steel tanks to let it finish. With red wines, after fermentation everything gets pressed and then barreled down, allowing each wine to age properly before winemakers can begin bottling it. As described earlier, choosing the type of vessel that’s best suited for your wine is partly dictated by the varietal of grape you are working with, partly a matter of personal preference, so whenever possible, don’t hesitate to experiment with your own ideas as well! For more resources about custom wine or about winemaking or even about how to make wine, please review these links.
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