Growers delivering their grapes to the Winery
Day 2: September 3, 2023
Winery: Cantine Pliniana
Primary Varietal (about 90%): Primitivo
The delivery process:
- Large and small quantity growers deliver their grapes to the winery. These grapes are transported in big trucks (from larger growers) to small three-wheelers “tuk-tuk” (from smaller growers).
- Upon entry into the winery facility, the vehicle with the grapes is weighed. After the grapes have been delivered, the vehicle is weighed again. The difference in weight indicates the amount of grapes delivered.
- Then a specialized machine is inserted into the bed of grapes in the delivery vehicle. It crushes a small quantity of grapes and extracts the juice from them. Several samples are gathered from random locations in the bed of grapes. The extracted juice samples are sent to an instrument that measures the level of sugar in Brix.
- For Primitivo DOC, the juice must be 23 Brix or greater (which roughly translates to 13.5-13.6% alcohol)
- The juice that has a Brix level of 22.5 or less is used to make wine that is classified as IGP. This is more of an “everyday” wine that is released early and exhibits a fresh taste with lower alcohol content.
- The grapes are dumped into a large sub-terranean machine. The centrifuge in the machine separates the stems and leaves from the yield and shoots the them into a different area. The berries are then transferred via pipes to the production area in the winery.
