Granite Tanks
Using granite tanks in our winemaking is adding another dimension to our wine blends.
Recent additions to our winery are Granite tanks sourced from a stonemason in Germany. Our winemaking team have been experimenting using these tanks for fermentation and maturation for some of our wine parcels.
The Granite tanks are made from one giant solid slab of volcanic rock and French winemakers have been fermenting in them for centuries. Each tank is bespoke, weighing over 3 tonnes and holding around 750L of wine. Granite acts a little like oak barrels – it lets air in and they ever so slightly ‘sweat’, resulting in slight evaporation which adds concentration to the wine. This ensures the wine portion matured in granite is clean, bright and full of flavour.
They are excellent for storing and ageing wine. This is because these tanks have a natural ability to keep wine at a consistent low temperature. They also allow the wine to very slowly “breathe” which aids in the maturation process – almost like a natural form of micro-oxygenation.
We recently released a reserve Riesling wine in which a quarter of the blend was fermented and matured in granite tanks. It’s the use of granite which makes our new Gemstone Riesling special. It has added another dimension to the wine and as a result exhibits flinty, smokey notes.
We also use these tanks to store Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and they are excellent for white wine fermentation. The natural cooling ability of the tanks allows for slow fermentation at a consistent temperature, allowing excellent flavour development and wine texture.
For more info on the tanks see this article from stuff.co.nz here >