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The grapes are first selected in the vineyards at harvest time, then again in the cellar on the selection table, where every single grape is checked one by one. The leaves, the ripe grapes, and all that which could lower the quality of the grapes are removed.
The grapes are plucked from the stems, pressed into must, and then poured into steel vats in a regulated temperature environment.
The must begins to ferment after a few hours. When the yeasts, naturally present in the grape skin, come into contact with the sugars of the grapes and oxygen they naturally begin to multiply and to turn the sugars into alcohol.
The must and the skins get mixed with rimontaggi or delestages (a natural oxygenation technique of the must that is accomplished through pouring the must from one vat to the other) multiple times during the day. At a constant temperature of 25 degrees, the fermentation process is slow: this way the best fragrances and flavours are developed.
The fermentation process with the skins can take eight to 15 days, depending on the vintage. Thereafter the liquid is allowed to rest, thus separating the wine from the so-called marc. The wine is then transferred into other stainless vats to complete the fermentation process.
The wet marc, instead, is pressed by a modern pneumatic press and becomes an excellent product for distillates.
Once the fermentation process has been completed, the wines, in the mild temperature of the cellar, naturally begin the malo-lactic fermentation process. During this process the wine rests in oxygen-free vats at 19 degrees so that the so-called malic acids can convert into lactic acids making the wine more mellow and agreeable.
Once the fermentation processes have finished the wine tends to stabilize. This, along with the cool temperatures of autumn, allows for a natural separation of wine and whatever sediments still present in the wine to settle on the bottom of the vats. Thus follows the sfecciature: that is, the removal of the sediments from the wine.
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