1. Work experience report BY MICHELLE bOOTH WINERY INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
2. WINERY DESCRIPTION VILLA MARIA ESTATE LTD 118 Montgomerie Road, PO BOX 43 046, Mangere, Auckland Telephone (09) 255 0660 Fax (09) 255 0661 www.villamaria.co.nz visit the web site for map details WINEMAKER David Roper STUDENT Michelle Booth
3. VILLA MARIA AUCKLAND WINERY DESCRIPTION Large Corporate Winery Crushes over 1000 tonnes of grapes at vintage Focus is on premium Bordeaux style reds, Syrah and white varietals from the North Island Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Viognier and Gewürztraminer Finishing and bottling of all Villa Maria wine (including the Marlborough winery) Contract winemaking Contract bottling Winery operates 24/7 during vintage for 12 weeks from early March Villa Maria is New Zealand's most awarded winery There are 6 winemaker’s currently employed at the Villa Maria Auckland winery
4. Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Viognier I was involved in the production of this wine during vintage 2010 DESCRIPTION True to its variety this wine is heady with exotic aromatics, featuring honeysuckle, peach and nutmeg spice notes. The palate is unctuous with complimentary spicy barrel notes providing texture, complexity and length. This wine can be enjoyed now but will develop for up to five years with careful cellaring (www.villamaria.co.nz) The Viognier grape performs best in regions like the Hawkes Bay with warm temperatures, high sunshine hours and low rainfall. Grapes are grown on vertically-shoot-positioned vines planted on low vigour sites. Careful leaf and shoot plucking in conjunction with strict yield management is undertaken to ensure clean and ripe fruit is harvested in optimum condition. 2010 was an excellent growing season for Hawkes Bay Viognier grapes (www.villamaria.co.nz)
5. Winemaking Process For Villa Maria 2010 Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay ViognierThe processes I was involved in are marked in blue Hand pick fruit Crush/destem fruit to press, soak juice on skins 1-3 hours Press off to tank with cooling capabilities. Make press cut approx 550-600L/tonne keeping free run juice separate from pressings Adjust FSO2 up to 10ppm and cold settle juice Rack/warm settled juice taking light lees, leaving hard packed muddy juice bottoms. Warm to 15 deg C Small % of this juice put to used white barrels for natural fermentation Inoculate remainder of tank with Rhone yeast at 300ppm or 0.3g/l Once ferment dropped to 2 Baume and temp 19-20 deg C cool to 16 deg C Transfer ferment to 2-3yr old white French barrels maintaining ferment around 16-18 deg C Once Baume less than 1 let barrels warm up and run dry
6. Winemaking Process (continued) Natural ferment barrels often are inoculated for malolactic fermentation and lees stirred to soften acidity, build texture and weight Inoculated parcels are usually sulphured to retain the fruit aspect of Viognier Ideally wine remains in barrel for 6-8 months to integrate with subtle oak and develop texture Once blend decided barrels are gas racked to tank Wine is protein stabilised and fined using fish and egg products Wine is cold stabilised then sterile filtered right before bottling
7. FROM GRAPES TO WINE - VIOGNIER FRUIT RECEIVAL DESTEMING/CRUSHING PRESSING Cold Soaking Stems to Farmer SO2 TANK COLD SETTLING RACKING OFF GROSS LEES YEAST INOCULATION Tank Warmed 15 deg C SO2 Juice Adjustment Small Quantity BARREL AGING NATURAL BARREL FERMENTATION Malo and Lees stirring Gas Racking to Tank Fining and Cold Stabilisation BOTTLING Sterile Filtered Blending
8. WINEMAKERS PROFILEDavid Roper on the 2010 Hawkes Bay Viognier “This was a very good growing season especially from our Gisborne and Hawkes Bay vineyards”. “Good Viognier comes from low yielding vines, our best site (in the Gimblett Gravels) is particularly stony and devigourated meaning the vines are under stress and naturally only produce a small crop”. “This gives very concentrated fruit flavours in berries and skin. Viognier can have quite tannic tasting skins where some of the flavour comes from”. “2010 has the potential to be one of our best Viognier years, from Private Bin through to Cellar Selection and Single vineyard. However it is early days yet, we are blending a little earlier than we expected this year, the wine should be available in September”.
