Well oiled

We took a walk around the village this afternoon, where vendanges is in full swing and it’s great to see the activity.

There is a pressoir in the centre of the village, and we were invited in to see the two new presses which had been installed. The grapes are loaded from a platform into the top of each of the pneumatic presses. A balloon inside carefully expands and presses the juice from the grapes.

The juice is first rested in tanks, to get rid of any initial, settling sediment, then pumped into the vats to ferment.

The grape skins and stalks are collected in hoppers, and then sent away to be made into alcohol for other uses, such as medicines or cosmetics.

The boxes, used to collect the grapes and to fill the presses, all get washed and stacked, ready to be taken back up to the vineyard.

It’s all a very well oiled machine.