The document provides details about Jannine Rickards' experience as assistant winemaker at Ata Rangi winery during the 2010 vintage. It discusses the winery crew, the winemaking processes for various wines including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and some of Jannine's responsibilities such as pressing reds and winery operations. Safety during pressing reds is also highlighted.

1. WINE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE REPORT
WSC7.11
Jannine Rickards
2001000368
VINTAGE 2010
ATA RANGI
The winery crew 2010 ‘The Dream Team’
Clockwise from centre front: Helen Masters (Winemaker), Clive Paton (the man behind Ata
Rangi), Pete (chief of all equipment and machinery), Jannine (that’s me, assistant winemaker),
Greg (very enthusiastic engineer and problem solver from Oregon), Barb (extremely reliable,
hardworking multi-taska from the south), and Alex (just too good to be true Aussie boy that
knows his stuff).

2. Ata Rangi
Puruatanga Road
P O Box 43
Martinborough, 5741
NEW ZEALAND
PHONE: + 64 6 306 9570
FAX: +64 6 306 9523
wines@atarangi.co.nz
www.atarangi.co.nz

3. MARTINBOROUGH
Martinborough in the scheme of things

4. ATA RANGI VINEYARDS
Vineyards of Ata Rangi on the Martinborough Terrace

5. WINEMAKER and supervisor
Helen Masters
helen@atarangi.co.nz
06 306 9570 ext 4
Helen Masters (Head Winemaker) and myself
MY INVOLVEMENT
Assistant winemaker
My involvement in the winemaking at Ata Rangi covers all processes aside actual bottling which is
efficiently completed by the team at Martinborough Winemaking Services. I have been with the
company for four and half years and four of those as Assistant Winemaker for Helen Masters the
Head Winemaker. The two of us make up the entire winemaking team however we utilise Olly
Masters (the previous Winemaker for Ata Rangi and now technical consultant) along with Clive
Paton (owner and also previous winemaker for the company) when finalising blends or getting an
extra opinion on a lab trial.

6. VINEYARD CREW
Left: Gerry Rotman (Vineyard Manager) checking pickers
work in the Lismore vineyard.
Above: Bill selecting a bunch of Pinot Noir
Below: smiles all round
At Ata Rangi enormous effort is put into the vineyards to
get the best fruit quality possible, as it is essential to have
sound, healthy, ripe fruit to make great wines.

7. WINES OF ATA RANGI
Below is a description of some of the wines made by Ata Rangi and the processing steps of there
production at harvest.
SAUVIGNON BLANC
Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc is made in a riper spectrum style from lower cropped vines, depending
on the block anywhere from 1.5 - 5.0 tonne/acre. The juice has some skin contact for extraction of
phenolics and varietal aromatics and is fermented with a variety of yeasts (10% barrel fermented in
old oak) the wine has extended lees contact post fermentation to enhance texture and weight.
Ata Rangi Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - 94 Points
Helen Masters' ideal Sauvignon is neither herbaceous nor tropical, but strikes a balance in
between. She has perfectly nailed this style in 2008, with its concentrated citrus, gooseberry
and asparagus flavours, excellent minerality and persistent chalky finish. It's a very classy
expression of the variety.
Tyson Stelzer, Australia's WBM 100, April 09

8. Sauvignon vines behind the winery, 1st grapes of the 2010 harvest
Hand harvested
↓

9. Destemmed and crushed to press
• Press filled with CO2 gas
• Additions of 30mg/L SO2 and 2g/L Lafazym Extract for aromatic extraction from the skins
Sauvignon ready to be weighed and processed
↓
Skin contact time varies
• depends on time taken to harvest and process
↓
Pressed and pumped to chilled tank
• Via heat exchange unit depending on temperature of fruit at harvest
• Tank filled with inert gas for protection from oxidation
↓
Settled for 2days

10. ↓
Racked to clean tank and barrels
• depends on volume and block if barrel ferment to occur
↓
Warmed to 14/15 degrees Celsius and inoculated
• some of the yeasts used VIN7, QA23, VL3, FermiCru 4F9, CKS102 with dynastart at
10-20g/hL depending on block (most of the vineyards no fermentation nutrient was added
because YAN results and vineyards show sufficient health)
↓
Fermentation monitored for temperature and brix movements daily
↓
Post fermentation lees contact (stirred with pump)
• wine and lees tasted to check no reduction developing
↓
Racked off heavy lees
• Addition of 50mg/L SO2
↓
Blending
Inside the press destemmed and crushed Sauvignon Blanc grapes on skin contact

11. PINOT NOIR
Ata Rangi produces two Pinot noirs the ‘Ata Rangi’ and ‘Crimson’. The ‘Ata Rangi’ Pinot is the
flagship wine for which Ata Rangi is known for. Receiving accolades in the early 90’s and having
been known to consistently produce wine of exceptional quality each year, despite seasonal
variations. The ‘Crimson’ Pinot is also well reputed as a serious wine although it is a younger vine
version and tends to have less palate depth when compared to the ‘Ata Rangi’.
Pinot Noir on the vine
CRIMSON
• generally made from younger vines <15years of age
• with a higher percentage of Dijon clones (more recent plantings)
• generally has more front palate fruit sweetness and less length and tannin then the ‘Ata
Rangi’
ATA RANGI
• older blocks of original plantings nearing 30years of age
• more of these blocks are Abel, Clone 5/ Pommard and 10/5 with a smaller percentage of
Dijon
• a more structured and savoury complex wine with seriously fine but powerful tannin

12. During harvest at Ata Rangi the pinot noir is generally all processed and fermented in a similar
fashion. Differences will come down to specific vineyard, fruit quality factors and tank space
logistics in the larger vintages.
Hand harvested
• sorted by picking staff in the vineyard for various quality factors
*e.g. botrytis or mealy bug and leaf roller caterpillar damage or bird peck damage
• picked into buckets and brought to winery in 300kg bins
↓
Tipped onto sorting table –double checks quality of pick
↓
Destemmed
↓
Crushed in must pump
↓
Pumped to 5T fermenter (filled with CO2 and cooling on)
5 tonne fermenters with sloping floor
↓
Chilled via must pump to 10/11 degrees Celsius
↓
Cold soak 5 – 8 days

13. Juice rotating via pump through heat exchanger to cool for cold soaks

14. Tasting off post cooling of must
Monitored daily for temperature and fermenter checked for signs fermentation
↓
Warmed and natural fermentation kicks in
• Inoculated fermentation may happen if fruit quality was compromised due to bird peck or
botrytis
↓
Daily monitoring of fermentation temperature, Brix movements and pH shifts
• Adjustments made as necessary to temperature and pH
• Manual punch downs 2-3 times daily depending on temperature and stage of ferment

15. Always lots of strong men around for punch downs

16. • ferments tasted daily
↓
Post ferment maceration
• wines tasted daily for tannin development
↓
Pressed to settling tank for 2days
• press fractions tasted at each increase of pressure during the press cycle, press cuts made go
to separate barrels
↓
Racked to barrels
• filled with CO2
• 25% new oak
• 30% spring malolactic (separate part of winery)
*part of the Pinot Noir goes through malolactic fermentation in the spring while the rest is inoculated
and warmed to finish malolactic by September – November with Chr Hansen Oenococcus oeni

17. The barrel room at Ata Rangi
↓
Regular topping and monitoring of malolactic fermentation with Erbshol enzymatic test kit and
analysis from Pacific Rim Oenology Services Marlborough
↓
Addition of 50mg/L SO2 at end of malolactic
↓
Each barrel tasted several times before final decisions made on whether the barrel makes Crimson or
Ata Rangi.
↓
Racked to tank
↓
Blending/ fining trials/ bottling
*the Ata Rangi blend spends 4 months in tank and older oak as a blend before being bottled in July
and is unfiltered
*the Crimson wine is filtered and bottled before harvest

18. Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir 2008, 97/100
Complete and comforting from the very outset, Ata Rangi has delivered another benchmark pinot
noir full of all the gently woven complexity and allure that sets the variety apart from most others.
Like a tiny piece of Vosne-Romanee came to Martinborough; light, fragrant notes, fresh rose petals,
a dusting of sweet spices and super-pure cherry fruits waft around the glass in regal formation. The
palate is deliciously capricious at this young stage, for the first impression is of lightness and sheer
elegance; it falls on the palate with feather-like impact then builds and builds and builds. It layers
fine pastry-like sheets of tannin and arrives at a fine crescendo of flavour and pure pinot noir,
leaving a comet-like trail in its wake. This is impeccably crafted; fine, powerful and truly
worthy of Grand Cru status.
Nick Stock, Penguin Australia Good Wine Guide 201
Recognition of contribution to NZ Pinot Noir given at Pinot 2010 conference in Wellington

19. CHARDONNAY
Two of my favourite wines to be involved with at Ata Rangi are the Chardonnays; Petrie and
Craighall. They are two very different styles of chardonnay, both which I enjoy, and through these
wines I have come to see how site, clone and vine age contribute to consistency of final product.
PETRIE
The Petrie chardonnay comes from a contract grower John Petrie, the vines are located further up the
Wairarapa at East Taratahi near to Masterton. The site has a similar gravel terrace profile as the
vineyards in Martinborough but a slightly thicker top soil/ silt layer is present. The site also at a
slightly higher elevation and the fruit ripens later in the season compared to the Craighall. The
clones are 15 and 6, vine age approx 15 years. The wine is generally very vibrant and fresh with
citrus and floral notes dominating the nose and a chalky, mineral palate.
CRAIGHALL
The Craighall block is located across from the winery on free draining terrace, the vines are own
rooted (no rootstock) 26 years old and of the Mendoza clone. Mendoza typically has smaller
clusters then other chardonnay clones and is prone to hen and chicken (millerandage). The vineyard
is very low cropping, typically at 1.3 tonne to the acre. It is very sheltered from the winds but prone
to frost. The craighall fruit is usually some of the first fruit to be harvested and has great intensity
and concentration due to its small clusters and low cropping rate.
Mendoza chardonnay from the Craighall block

20. Helen and Clive can rely on the Craighall vineyard to produce a reliable and consistent high quality
of fruit. Ata Rangi has been making chardonnay from this block for 25 years and the vine age it has
definitely assists with quality of the fruit. After tasting through a 10 year vertical of Craighall last
year and seeing/ tasting the fruit and wine from this block for the last 5 vintages myself, it is clearly
visible to see that good vineyard management and careful monitoring in the wine production side
can give amazing expression of site or ‘terroir’.
Hand harvested
↓
Whole bunch pressed
• addition of 30mg/L SO2 at press tray with CO2 gas blanket
Press being loaded with whole clusters of chardonnay
↓

21. Pumped straight to barrel from press tray with high solid content
• 20-25% new oak mixture of 225L barriques and 300L hogsheads
Chardonnay barrels being filled straight from the press tray
↓
Indigenous yeast fermentation kicks in
↓
At <2g/L R/S inoculated with CHR Hansen Oenococcus oeni for malolactic fermentation (mlf)
↓
Barrel stirring /Battonage weekly then fortnightly towards end of mlf
• similar as the Petrie, each bbl tasted separately and treated accordingly
• Addition of SO2 at 50mg/L
↓
Topped fortnightly until racking in January
• approximately 9months on yeast solids/lees
↓
Racked to tank
↓
Stabilisation and fining trials
↓
Filtering and bottling

22. WINERY OPERATIONS
In the four years I have been at Ata Rangi as Assistant Winemaker, I have gained the necessary
skills required to complete all winemaking operations that a smaller scale operation requires. (See
above list) However, below are details on three cellar operations, pressing of reds, barrelling down
and winery equipment sanitation that I am responsible for during the harvest period.
PRESSING REDS
The pressing of red wine ferments is a critical process. Most important is decision of when to press.
Tasting the ferments daily and observing and discussing the development of the tannins with the
winemaker is the most interesting part to the process. Having a familiarity with the various blocks in
the vineyard, by having seen the wines for five harvests now definitely helps in understanding what
each block is capable of. Usually it depends on vine age and clone but seasonal conditions will have
an impact on the post ferment maceration and tannin extraction.
2006 – great harvest following a brilliant summer, good fruit quality and ripeness - classic year for
Ata Rangi. Ripe tannins, reasonably long macerations post fermentation. Very little press cuts made
2007 – major frost in November 06 and poor flowering in December left the vineyard with a
seriously small crop on most blocks. Uneven ripening was an issue even though summer was warm
and settled. Smaller lot fermentations and not long post ferment macerations due to quite skinsy/
smoky tannins. Press cycle cut earlier then normal so not to over extract these dark overt tannins.
2008 – great summer, reasonable crop, even ripening in the vineyard. Very little press cuts made
long post ferment macerations.
2009 – really hot summer, reasonable crop, solid tannin in wines long post ferment macerations not
necessary but a couple of old vine ferments had extended post fermentation maceration.
2010 - very cool and wet summer, great conditions at harvest but more fragile tannin concentration,
far less post ferment maceration time on skins and earlier and more press cuts made to avoid green
snotty tannin extraction.

23. Ferments for tasting after daily analysis in the morning
• Draining of wine off skins via pump and 1 inch lines to a settling tank in the barrel room
(filled with CO2)
• Careful dumping of skins into movable stainless bin
• Tipped into press with forklift
*approximately 3 bins to empty a 5 tonne fermenter
• Monitoring of the press cycle, once the press is loaded and the red press cycle has started it is
important that the draining of the press tray is consistent as myself or Helen need to taste the
press tray at each increase of pressure, particularly from 0.6bar as this is when harder and
greener tannins can be detected. At some stage one of us will make a decision on a press cut
and pump the rest of the wine to a separate press barrel.
My role in dropping and pressing of red ferments was to oversee and perform the pumping of wine
off the skins, to ensure the safety of staff during the process of digging the tank out, loading of the
press and monitoring of the press cycle.

24. Volunteer Jo digging out her first 5 tonne fermenter while I oversee the process
SAFETY
Pressing of reds is a hazardous process, mostly during the digging out of the fermenter, which
requires somebody to be in the tank manually shovelling the skins into the bin. Excessive CO2 can
render someone unconscious in seconds. At Ata Rangi it is imperative that two people complete the
process and that nobody opens the tank door or is left in a fermenter without a safety back up person
outside the tank at all times.
Most of our tanks have a 10% sloping floor which helps with the dropping of skins into the bin,
however the initial opening of the door can be dangerous if the tank has not been drained of wine
properly, it also makes for a slippery slope for the person digging the tank out.

25. BARRELLING DOWN OF RED WINE
The barrelling down of pressed reds is important at Ata Rangi. This is because we have a rather
difficult barrel room to work in. It is essential that the barrels are stacked in a way that makes them
easily accessible for racking with our equipment later in the year. We tend to leave the wine on
gross lees in barrel and not rack unless there is a need to do so.
The right amount of new oak for each batch and detecting ‘healthy’ barrels for filling is also of high
importance.
*volatile acidity in oak left to long empty can be an issue so myself or Helen need to check each
barrel prior to preparation by smelling the barrel for any ethyl acetate aromas.
• Barrels chosen for filling
• prepared with a warm water rinse ensuring no residual sulphur sticks are in the barrel (this
could lead to reduction issues with the wine by the development of H2S)
• secured into place
• gassed with CO2
• wine checked for pH (usually day before and any adjustments made then)
• wine racked off gross lees into barrels (new oak first)
• gross lees put on compost pile for vineyard
• barrels labelled with batch name

26. CLEANING OF TANKS AND EQUIPMENT
Operational Control of General Sanitising
1. Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is to describe the basic requirements for the sanitising of;
a) plant;
b) tanks;
c) transfer lines.
2. Related documents:
a) Chemical data/ information sheets.
3. General records from sanitising
For environmental management purposes it is important that the following data is collected.
a) The total volume of H2O used. (can be obtained on water metre which records
volume of inflow)
b) The amount of each different type of sanitise used (calculated from annual stock
purchases)
c) Any additions of NaOH or Na2CO3 or citric to the wet stock (that used for circulating
during cleaning/sanitising).
Note: It is difficult to state exact amounts of chemical to use when sanitising equipment. It will
vary largely during the year; common sense of winery staff is thus required.
General Wash Instructions Guide
Item Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Set 4
Buckets, bungs, jugs etc Ensure allScrub with aRinse with water andRinse with water and
product is rinsedPeroxycarb. Solution then rinse with aallow to drain
off weak citric solution
1/3 cup to a 20 litreto neutralise
bucket of warm
water
Lines and Pumps Connect lines toFlush through aFlush lines withFlush lines with water
-Always clean if peroxycarb if it pump warm Peroxycarbwater and then flush
has been more then 3 days since soln with a weak citric
they were last used. solution to neutralise
-If you have pumped wine then 1/3 cup to a 20 litre
want to pump juice bucket of warm
- if moving wine that has been water
filtered
- if for any reason pumps/lines recirculate for 5 mins
have been used on a defective
product (taint, micro issue
-rinse only, if moving from Juice
to wine
Tanks Remove allWater blast toFlush with water andFlush with water
solids such asremove any solidsthen flush with a
If the following steps do not remove

27. stubborn tartrate only then may lees – checkand tartrate. weak citric solution
caustic be used, followed by a citric with winemaker to neutralise
flush where theseSet up spray ball and
ENSURE STAFF ARE AWARE OF THE
should bepump and spray tank
HAZARDOUS NATURE OF dumped with a peroxycarb
CAUSTIC AND ARE soln. (1/3 cup to 20
PROVIDED WITH THE litres or stronger if
APPROPRIATE SAFTY
GEAR!!
required)
Recirculate for 5-10
mins
Other equipment such as press,
destemmer
See individual instructions section
5 and 6 of this manual
These are the cleaning guidelines I wrote for updating the ISO14001 manual last year.
Most of the cleaning is done with sodium percarbonate also known as ‘peroxcarb’ which is much
less damaging to the environment then caustic and doesn’t have the same hazards to staff. i.e.
doesn’t cause severe burns to the skin. Scrubbing with green kitchen scrub pads or using the
pressure washer on hot 90degree usually removes stubborn mess.
It is my responsibility to ensure vintage staff be familiar with our cleaning processes and to check
that cleaning is performed to our specifications
Generally I feel that the above procedures are effective and do not need improvement. However
when I worked in California I did observe much more strict regulations regarding digging out of
tanks for pressing reds. It was essential there that I sign an agreement before entering every tank
stating that I did so at my own risk and that I was aware that excess CO 2 could kill me and that the
winery was not liable for any costs relating to my possible death (only in America right!) However
then when I worked a harvest in Burgundy I was exposed to the other end of the spectrum where
very casual old school mentality still holds place and in fact an intern down the road from where I
worked did die in a fermenter from the CO2! So I definitely think that stricter regulations can be of
serious benefit in the wine industry here. Perhaps just the fans above large fermenters to blow out
CO2 or the CO2 meters that were used in the Sates could be introduced. However common sense
needs to prevail and measures such as these might only be useful in larger facilities that have higher
numbers of staff working and the ratio of supervisors to staff is more stretched.

28. Open fermenters are still risky, but not as dangerous to dig out as the closed lid tanks

29. HEALTH AND SAFETY
Eleanor Dodd is largely responsible for keeping Ata Rangi in compliance with OSH and our Health
and Safety regulations. She organises our regular OSH meetings every few months to address any
issues within the business and holds all relating paperwork in her office, including the Accident
Register Book. Gerry Rotman (the vineyard manager) and I are the certified First Aid Officers for
the business and ensure that first aid kits are well equipped to deal with any medical emergencies
that may arise. It is also our responsibility to ensure that temporary staff members within our areas
are familiar with the appropriate protocol relating to there work environments. For example
emergency exist procedures and chemical spill procedure. We also need to go through basic training
and make staff members aware of hazards relating to there work environment, like the locations of
cleaning chemicals or sprays and where the appropriate protective gear is located.
Here is a list of things that I will go through with staff in the winery pre harvest:
• Location of protective gloves, eyewear, and gas masks for when sulphuring empty barrels
• Location of spare steel cap boots and wet weather gear
• Beware hazard signs for wet and slippery floors
• Location of hoses and wash down areas for spills
• Location of first aid kits and location of medical centre and phones
• Training in use of winery equipment, forklifts, tractors
• Ensuring they are aware of there surroundings and the possible dangers that could exist

30. RECORD KEEPING
ISO14001
This standard assists us in implementing, maintaining and improving our environmental
management systems by ensuring we comply with environmental laws and regulations. The
ISO14001 is a very important part of our record keeping and the folders have information on all of
our procedures relating to winemaking; including cleaning protocol, staff training, waste water
systems, product data sheets, corrective action sheet data for any issues we might encounter.
Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand
SWNZ is a system set up to ensure that vineyards and wineries within NZ comply with a set
framework. This is to assist the NZ wine industry in having a sustainable impact on the clean and
green environment that is NZ. Wineries apart of SWNZ are required to met certain criteria and need
to be constantly accessing there procedures and finding ways to lessen the impact they have on the
environment. To assist us with both ISO 14001 and SWNZ at Ata Rangi we have a Project Folder
for environmental improvement which contains data and research on various environmental issues
that we want to improve. The most recent two projects include looking at lighter weight glass
packaging and recycling of our own glass back into the vineyard.
New Zealand Winegrowers Wine standards Management plan
Part of complying with the new wine standards management plan is to complete a pre vintage
checklist which is my responsibility. It includes updating material safety data sheets on all non-food
cleaning products and recording all winemaking additives by sourcing certificates of analysis and
data sheets. Lot numbers of all products are recorded for traceability so that if an issue were to occur
we can trace the product back to its original source and locate the problem. The Code of Practise
allows Ata Rangi to show that they comply with all legal requirements regarding to wine production
in NZ.
Carbon Neutral
Ata Rangi is currently working towards becoming carbon neutral accredited, we have set ourselves
two years to complete the required information and gain this status.
Ata Rangi purchased 300acres of native bush, scrub and farmland bordering the Aorangi Forest Park
in the Haurangi Ranges in 2001. Now known as the Ata Rangi ‘bush block’ located out towards
the south coast of the Wairarapa. There Clive Paton and staff, family and friends have been
involved in the re-establishing of the native forest, in particular the native Rata, which is where
Crimson Pinot Noir stems from and sales from the wine also contribute towards Project Crimson.
Project Crimson a nationwide project focused on the protection and reestablishment of native
Pohutakawa and Rata within NZ.
Environmental Policy
A copy of our Environmental Policy can be found at the website below
http://www.atarangi.co.nz/users/Image/PDFs/2008/AtaRAngiEnvironmentPolicyJune2010.pdf