
Outdoor Fermentation
Next is the wonders of fermentation. Traditionally this has always been performed under the roof of a winery building, where conditions are controlled and monitored. For Forager wines, this has been shunned in favour of allowing the fruit to ferment outside in the vineyard. When we did our first vintage, we knew we were pioneering this unique technique in New Zealand, and were excited by the potential results. This wild process allows the naturally microbial life of the vineyard environment to perform the fermentation. Without the use of temperature control the young wine will be open to the seasonal weather influence – sometimes fermenting warmer, and sometimes cooler depending on the year. After resting on skins in the vineyard for up to a month, the wine is pressed to fine grained French oak barrels for 15 months of carefully monitored aging before the bottling. Our own considered approach to making site-driven wine confidently speaks of its place.