Episode 3: Welcome to the Outdoor Grape Reception Area | Japanese Wines

We are now entering our outdoor grape reception area with a platform from which to view the process of destemming and crushing of grapes. This area is very busy during the harvest season from the beginning of September through to the end of October. From November to August, we present a short 2 to 3 minute video of what happens here during the harvest season. Although we process around 550 metric tons of grapes here at Château Mercian, Katsunuma Winery, not all the grapes come from Katsunuma. Some of the grapes are actually grown in other prefectures such as nearby Nagano. More than 10 varieties of grapes are processed at this facility. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are the last to be processed in late October, while Bailey Alicante A, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay grapes are among the first to be processed from the end of August to the beginning of September. On the far left you will see red wine fermentation tanks. In order to circulate the grape skins that tend to float to the top of the tanks, the tanks are rotated 4 turns to the right and then 3 turns to the left at least once a day. In addition, in order to introduce oxygen to the fermenting red wine, about half the liquid is pumped out into a large tank and then pumped back in at the top each day. The process of fermenting the red wine takes from 7 to 10 days. Next, directly in front, you will see large bags suspended from the ceiling which deliver nitrogen gas to help reduce oxidation when crushing and pressing grapes for white wine. Red wine benefits from the introduction of oxygen during the fermentation process, white does not. The large machine in the middle (Bucher Vaslin) is a grape crusher and destemmer that can handle 10 metric tons! We also use smaller 5 ton, 3 ton and 1 ton machines.