Punchdowns!

Goldeneye Cellar Hyperlapse from PJ Alviso on Vimeo.

As I mentioned a few days back, punch downs are a very specific and important element of making fine Pinot Noir. As the cool hyperlapse of the Goldeneye cellar(courtesy of the industrious PJ Alviso) above shows, this is a time consuming process that puts us up close and personal with our wines. The team is using pneumatic punch down devices which use air pressure to get the job done. This cellar is also remarkable for a few reasons, the first being the presence of many mobile 3 ton fermenters. This gives Michael Fay, our GE winemaker, and his team the ability to ferment and press small lots of estate fruit separately. In addition, they can be moved easily around the winery and directly dumped into the press, which is very convenient. Another element of the excellent design of this cellar (courtesy of our COO and former GE winemaker Zach Rasmuson) is it’s remarkable flexibility. Everything you see in this picture can be moved in the off season, turning this fermentation hall into a barrel hall, bottled goods hall, or party hall.