Basket Pressing Muscat from a Winemaker's View

Muscat, a fruit forward, floral varietal. Sometimes elegant, sometimes fun, sometimes bubbly and sometimes sweet. Still and classically done in Alsace, France. Fun and bubbly in Italy as Asti Spumante, dark and a 'sticky' dessert wine in Australia. Different clones grown all over offer different flavours and versatility. Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains or Muscat of Alexandria is to be considered the highest and most noble of the clones.

It's the first grape we harvest at the winery, its floral notes and tropical fruit you can smell in the vineyard once it's ripe. It's hand harvested, and it's loaded whole cluster into a 1 tonne basket press. Pressed to about 1.5 bars of pressure.

The juice is pumped into tank, and left to settle off the heavy hard lees for about 24hrs before getting racked/transferred into its fermentation vessel.

Cheers!