From the harvests...to the bottling

After the harvests( in about 2 weeks now), several steps are necessary for the different varieties of grapes :

• the white grapes (Sauvignon and Chardonnay) : we press it just after the harvests, and we pour the juice in 3 big vats into the floor; they can contain each 80hL.

            

• the red grapes (Gamay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc) : we put the red grapes with their skin into the vats thanks to the lift.

Then, we press most of them to make the rosé wine. Indeed, if red grapes are pressed just after the harvests, it becomes rosé.

On the contrary, if we wait for about 10 days, the juice becomes red because the skin had the time to give the colour red of the red wine. 

The different fermentations are done separately; this is only when we do the bottling that we blend the different varieties of grapes.

We only harvest by hand the Chardonnay, because we need to do it by hand for the Crémant de Loire (100% Chardonnay) . To be allowed to sell it as a Crémant de Loire, we are obliged to harvest it by hand.