Cellar
Winemaking at the
Anthonij Rupert Cellar
Our grapes are handpicked in the cool morning hours, to ensure an optimum flavour concentration and natural acidity. Blocks are picked up to 2-3 times. Once picked our grapes are transported in refrigerated trucks, in 15kg lugboxes to avoid bruising. Kept in a cold room overnight at a temperature of 10℃ to ensure flavour retention. The grapes are then sorted to remove any leaves and then destemmed. They are then hand-sorted on a vibrating table, guaranteeing that only the best grapes are selected and that no stalks or green matter goes to the fermentation tanks.
For Oak Alcoholic Fermentation the best blocks of grapes are specially destemmed and transferred into 225L French Oak Barrels after sorting. The barrels are fitted with a cylindrical perforated plunger inserted through a hole at the one end of the barrel. These are then transferred to the fermentation room, which is kept at 24℃ and fermentation then starts naturally. The barrel is placed on a stand with wheels and is rotated every 4 hours to ensure thorough contact with the skins. The fermenting wine is checked everyday to make sure that fermentation is complete.
After alcoholic fermentation the resulting wine is drained into barrels and is called ‘free run wine’. The remaining skins (cap) are then transferred into the basket press and are slowly pressed. This results in ‘pressed wine’, which is kept in separate barrels. Further Malolactic Fermentation then occurs in the barrels in the temperature controlled barrel room. Malic Acid is then naturally converted into Lactic Acid and carefully monitored.
The End Result
French Oak Ageing
Wine is then aged for up to 2 years in French new Oak barrels and constantly tasted by the winemakers who then decide when they are ready for bottling after this period.
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We’ve made our full wine portfolio available for sale online. Selling directly from the farm we guarantee provenance and cellar door prices throughout. Wine club members receive discounts and exclusive offers.