Story | Ivan Wong
A growing trend with winemakers is all about being more hands-off, letting nature or, more specifically, gravity refine their technique. It is thought that by removing machinery like pumps or motors from the process the yield will have better fragrance and flavours.
The wine estate was set up in 1731, and the modern vineyard established in the early 19th century maintains the original appeal.
Among the many vineyards now adopting this process is Bouchard Père & Fils, in Burgundy, France. The winemaker, which dates back to 1731, is embracing the natural gravity-flow winemaking philosophy, with the utmost respect for nature and it’s gift of superior climate and grape-growing terroir.
Gravity-flow winemaking has grape juice or fermented fluid flowing naturally downward from one vessel to the next. The product from each step flows through the entire process of crushing, fermenting/pressing, aging and bottling. After grapes are selected, de-stemmed and crushed, they flow to the fermenting barrels one level below. The bottom of each barrel is connected by a soft tube to a filtering barrel on the next level down.
After fermenting, the valve opens to let the liquid flow to the next level. The process goes on, with the liquid flowing from the filtration barrel after a period of settling, to the oak or stainless-steel casks one level below for aging. When it’s ready for bottling, the wine flows downward for another round of filtering and then is bottled.
The whole process uses gravity to enhance the wine’s delicate and wholesome flavours, with minimal loss of the grapes’ essence. Mother Nature strikes again.
