Fruit Processing

The Choice

What is Fruit Processing?

Fruit processing is the first series of decisions a winemaker makes after harvest. It begins with how the grapes are picked, transported and sorted, before continuing through destemming, crushing, pressing and preparing the fruit for fermentation.

These early choices determine the quality of the fruit entering the winery and influence everything that follows. Every decision, from removing damaged grapes to leaving whole bunches intact, shapes how the vineyard will express itself in the finished wine. This is where the vineyard begins its transformation into wine.

Its consequence

Why does it matter?

The quality of a wine can never exceed the quality of the fruit that enters the fermentation tank. Not every grape ripens perfectly, and even in exceptional vineyards there may be damaged, diseased or underripe berries mixed with healthy fruit. The way grapes are harvested, transported and processed determines whether they arrive fresh and intact or bruised and beginning to oxidise.

Once the fruit has been selected, the winemaker decides how it should be prepared. Some wines benefit from immediate pressing to preserve freshness, while others gain colour, flavour and structure through greater skin contact or whole bunch fermentation. The first few hours after harvest are among the most important in the entire winemaking process.

What does it do to the wine?

Fruit processing establishes the foundation for the wine's style.

Careful harvesting and sorting improve purity and consistency.
Gentle handling preserves freshness and delicate aromas.
Whole bunches can add perfume, freshness and fine tannins.
Skin contact extracts colour, flavour and tannins.
Different pressing and preparation techniques influence texture, richness and structure.

Long before fermentation begins, many of the wine's defining characteristics are already being shaped.

Common Fruit Processing Choices

Harvest Method

Machine Harvesting

Machines gently shake the vines so the grapes fall into collection bins.

This method is fast, efficient and cost-effective, making it ideal for large vineyards or when fruit needs to be harvested quickly. Modern harvesters are remarkably sophisticated, although they remain less selective than careful hand harvesting.

Hand Harvesting into Bins

Grapes are picked by hand into larger harvesting bins.

This allows pickers to reject obviously damaged bunches in the vineyard while maintaining good efficiency. It is widely used for premium wines.

Hand Harvesting into Small Crates

Grapes are carefully placed into shallow crates to prevent crushing under their own weight.

Keeping the bunches intact helps protect delicate aromas and reduces oxidation before the fruit reaches the winery. This method is commonly used for the highest-quality wines.

In practice

Sorting

Selecting what deserves to continue, bunch by bunch or berry by berry.

Manual Sorting

Workers inspect every bunch or berry by hand.

Leaves, stems, damaged fruit and underripe grapes are removed. Human judgement allows careful selection and helps ensure that only the best fruit continues to fermentation.

Optical Sorting

High-speed cameras and sensors inspect every individual berry as it moves along the line.

The system can reject grapes based on colour, size and shape with extraordinary precision, producing highly consistent results.

In practice

Preparing the Fruit

With the fruit selected, the winemaker decides how it meets fermentation, from whole bunches left intact to juice pressed clear.

Whole Bunch

Entire grape bunches, including the stems, are used during fermentation.

This technique can add lifted floral aromas, freshness and fine tannins. It is commonly used with varieties such as Pinot Noir and Syrah.

Destemming

The berries are separated from their stems before fermentation.

Removing the stems reduces bitterness and allows the wine to focus on pure fruit expression.

Crushing

The berries are gently broken open to release their juice.

Some winemakers crush immediately, while others leave many berries intact to create a slower, gentler extraction.

Whole Berry

The stems are removed, but most berries remain unbroken.

As fermentation progresses, the intact berries release their juice gradually, often producing wines with vibrant fruit and a silky texture.

Skin Contact

The juice is left in contact with the grape skins before or during fermentation.

For white wines, this can increase flavour, texture and complexity. For red wines, skin contact is essential, extracting colour, tannins and much of the wine's flavour.

Pressing

The grapes are gently pressed to separate the juice from the skins and seeds.

White wines are usually pressed before fermentation, while red wines are generally pressed after fermentation to retain colour and tannins.

Juice Settling

After pressing, the juice is allowed to rest so that small particles settle to the bottom of the tank.

Some winemakers ferment very clear juice to produce clean, vibrant wines, while others retain more natural solids to build richness and texture.

In the world of Aurenloch

Fruit Processing is one of the Choices.

The Forces have shaped the vineyard for an entire growing season. Now the winemaker decides what continues the journey.Which grapes are selected? Which are left behind? Should the fruit remain whole, be crushed, or be pressed immediately?

These first decisions establish the direction of the wine long before fermentation begins. They are the bridge between nature's work in the vineyard and the craftsmanship of the cellar.