Wolf Blass Makers' Project Technique
Three key winemaking techniques are behind the new Wolf Blass Makers’ Project range. Chosen by the winemaking team for their ability to harness each grape variety’s natural flavours, tannins and acidity, the result is a collection of wines that are fresh, original and exceptionally drinkable.
When grapes are crushed into the press, the juice that drains freely from the skins is referred to as free-run. With no squeezing of the skins and seeds, only pure, fresh, vibrant juice is fermented. This technique, used to make the pinot grigio, produces wines with fresh, juicy flavours and a lovely acid balance.
Early pressing separates grape juice from its skins before the end of fermentation. The flavour and structure extracted is similar to traditional red wines but, by pressing early, a softer wine with fresh, bright fruit characters is created. This technique allows the pinot noir to retain its natural elegance and softens the shiraz grenache, enhancing berry flavours while preserving delicate spice and other varietal characters.
In partial whole-berry fermentation, rather than crushing all the grapes, the wine is fermented with a portion of whole berries. This encourages fermentation to take place inside the berry itself, which leads to robust, fuller fruit flavours with gentle complexities and spice characteristics. In the case of the Pinot Three and shiraz, it has resulted in wines with bright, fresh fruit characters and silky texture.
