Harvest:
Harvest time is the defining moment in the winemaking process. Grapes are harvested during the cool morning hours and moved to the winery in open bins. At Siam Winery, all of the grapes are harvested by hand to ensure that only the best grapes arrive at the winery.
De-Stemmer/Crusher:
Grapes are transferred to a stemmer/crusher where the stems are removed and the grapes are crushed. Some grapes may bypass the stemmer/crusher and go directly to the press for whole berry pressing
Fermentation:
After crushing and de-stemming, the juice from the grapes is put into the fermentation vats, where alcoholic fermentation takes place (the conversion of sugar into alcohol and CO2). At Siam Winery, fermentation vats vary in size between 300 and 1200 gallons. Some wines are fermented in small oak barrels. Yeast is added to start fermentation
Ageing:
After fermentation, the wine is transferred or "racked" into a different vessel. In some instances, the wine is aged in stainless steel tanks. In other instances, the wine is put into oak barrels where it will continue its development until bottling. After barrel ageing and prior to bottling, the wines are fined and filtered to help stabilize and clarify them.
Bottling:
This is the last stage before the slow and relatively lengthy ageing process. Wines are bottled in a sterile environment, and sealed with a cork. At Siam Winery, the air is removed from the bottle's headspace immediately before the cork is inserted.