Rutherglen production and business Flashcards
(6 cards)
Rutherglen pressing + fermentation
partly shrivelled = difficult to extract the concentrated juice by solely pressing immediately on receipt at the winery = crushed, fermentation started on skins = helps break down the pulp + release sugar and flavours
Pectolytic enzymes may be added - increase juice extraction
Extraction During Fermentation
- Methods: punch down, pump over, rotary fermenters
- Goal: extract colour, flavour, little tannin (better solubility in higher abv)
Once the must reaches 1–2% abv juice quickly drained
skins pressed
press liquid combined with free-run
then fortified to around 17.5% abv.
Rutherglen: fortification, adjustments
Here’s the condensed, structured version:
Fortification
- Fortified to \~17.5% abv
- Spirit: neutral, min. 96% abv
- preserves Muscat character
- high strength = low volume → minimal flavour dilution
Post-Fortification Adjustments
- Clarification: racking or light filtration
- pH adjustments
- Fining for protein stability
- Purpose: avoid deposits & off-flavours during maturation
Maturation Rutherglen
Storage & Maturation Vessels
- Neutral, very old oak casks
- no new oak flavours/tannins
- Size varies:
- Large (1,300–9,000L): slow oxidation
- Small (180–500L): faster, more concentration/oxidation
Maturation Method
- Static: most common
- Some use modified solera/fractional blending
- Remove portion → refill with younger wine
- Less systematic than Sherry
Maturation Conditions
- Oxidative (no biological/maderisation)
- Warm warehouses = faster ageing
- Tin roofs = hot summers
- Top of warehouse = warmer → quicker maturation
- Some areas insulated for cooler temps = slower, fresher
- Evaporation → sugar, acid, abv ↑
- Low humidity (<70%) → water lost faster than alcohol → abv ↑
-
Topping options:
- Frequent = fresher
- Infrequent = more oxidative
Blending Rutherglen
Blending
- Most wines are non-vintage (NV)
- Blend young + old for freshness + complexity
- Solera-like systems used by some
- Blending maintains house style
- Fresher style: less-ripe grapes, cooler storage, shorter ageing
- Final sweetness adjusted by blending different RS levels
Production model, players - Rutherglen
few producers
majority belong to Muscat of Rutherglen Network
Most made entirely from estate-grown fruit, but some winemakers buy a small amount of fruit from growers.
Fortified wine category in Rutherglen
The Australian fortified wine category is tiny.
All fortified styles (not only RM) account for 2% Australian wine sold globally (22 million litres).
of these, only 3% is exported (710k litres)
