GoFermentor – Our Newest Technology in Fermenting Reds

Technology is always changing, and winemaking is no exception. Since I started making wine, I have been fermenting my reds in the same way. I run them through the crusher destemmer into an open top bin. Then let them ferment, punching down (pushing down the skins) once or twice a day.

That all changes this year, and I am so excited! This year, we will be fermenting our red wine in bags! Really big bags! Each bag will hold 150 gallons of juice and skin. “Why would you ferment in a bag?”, you might say. There are three main reasons why I love this new system.

GoFermentor

First, this system will do an automatic punch down. I no longer have to take the paddle and push down the skins (a surprisingly hard job). The bag actually has two chambers. The system will inflate one of the chambers when I want to do a punch down to squeeze the skins, break them up, and submerge them in the juice. Second, the bag will keep oxygen away from the juice. This isn’t so critical in the beginning of the fermentation, because the yeast will use up the oxygen. But at the end, as the yeast are dying, oxygen can be detrimental to the wine, and open top bins have no way to keep the oxygen away. Theses closed bags will seal the wine off from the oxygen. Third, because the bags are sealed, there will be no fruit flies. Anyone who has taken our tour in September, and seen our red wine fermentation, has seen thousands of fruit flies. These bags will seal off the wine, and keep out the fruit flies. This will make for a cleaner tank room which will make everyone at the winery happy! Overall, I think that my new fermentation setup will really be a big step forward for increasing the quality of our wines!

-William