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Winemaking 101: A Beginner’s Guide

3/9/2016

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Ever wonder how your favorite Penns Woods Winery vino ends up in your glass? Winemaking is part art, part science and part of our DNA. The pursuit of the perfect wine is what drives us every single day.

Our storied history starts with our president and winemaker Gino Razzi. His passion begins with selecting award-winning varietals to plant and is evident through every step of the process. He’s instilled that love into the entire team—and it shows in your glass.
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We’re bursting with pride over our vineyards, but some of the real magic occurs when the grapes are picked and sent on their journey to greatness. We asked our vineyard manager and assistant winemaker Davide Creato to brag a bit and give you, our thirsty friends, the inside scoop on how we craft wine.

5 Steps to Making Wonderful Wines

1. Harvesting

First and foremost, we harvest by hand—because it’s the right thing to do. We begin very early in the morning and harvest as fast as possible so that the fruit stays as chilled as possible for immediate production. We harvest in smaller, 20-pound lugs (yellow collection buckets) so the grapes stay intact until we choose to crush them. We crush and process all our grapes the same day as harvest.
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When to pick? When the grapes are perfect. We look at and consider the levels of Brix (sugar content), pH and acidity—and we taste the fruit, too. We start testing whites twice each week in the beginning of August and then more frequently as we get closer to the harvest; our reds get the same treatment starting in early September.

2. Crushing and Pressing

Crushing sounds so … rough. In reality, crushing is a very gentle process in our state-of-the-art crushing and de-stemming machine. It expertly removes all stems and pops the berries to prepare for pressing.

At Penns Woods, our pressing is done entirely oxygen-free with a bag press and nitrogen gas to protect the juice from oxidation. This results in pure, delicious grape juice we send on its way to fermentation.

3. Fermentation

Fermentation occurs in a temperature-controlled environment in stainless steel tanks. Depending on the varietal, yeasts are added to turn sugars into alcohol. The process is stopped when we achieve the right sugar and alcohol level for each type of wine.

4. Clarification

This step removes solids from the wine. At Penns Woods, we let the wine clarify on its own throughout the winter, adding extracts of coal to give Mother Nature a hand and settle some of the sediments we want to remove. This happens in our refrigeration systems, but we also take advantage of the Northeast’s cold winter days and throw open the door of our winery to cool our tanks.  ​

5. Aging and Bottling

We’re proud to use only 100 percent French oak barrels for all our red wines. The roughly 55-gallon barrels expertly age our reds anywhere from 12–24 months. Our whites are aged and stored in stainless steel for a shorter period of time, again depending on the type. We also bottle-age as appropriate, for as little as six weeks and as long as one year.
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We keep an eye on different things for different wines throughout the aging process and taste-test to make sure the profile is perfect. Only then do we send the wine for filtering and bottling, another process accomplished without the wine ever coming into contact with oxygen. And then, it’s off to you.

We take great care, from start to finish, to make sure our wines are just what Gino envisioned when he started Penns Woods Winery. Living up to his exacting standards means we produce high-quality wines with superior taste. Visit our tasting room to find your next favorite vino. Salute!

Penns Woods Winery is a family-run Pennsylvania winery. With more than 40 years of experience in the wine business, winemaker Gino Razzi and his daughter, Carley Mack, produce award-winning wines from Pennsylvania-grown grapes. Penns Woods wines can be found in restaurants throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. Stop in to your local state store and pick from a limited selection of wines, or visit our tasting room for the full offering. The tasting room in Chadds Ford provides an all-around vineyard experience and hosts live music, food and wine pairings and other exciting events each weekend. Score Penns Woods Winery news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter today!
​
--Nina Malone
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    Go behind the scenes with the Penns Woods Winery team in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. 


    Meet our family, learn about our winemaking process and vineyards and discover all the delicious details about your favorite award-winning Pennsylvania wines.

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SPECIAL HOURS & SERVICE CHANGES
*We close at 4:30pm on the First Friday of each month for our Wine Club Happy Hour
​
UPCOMING EVENTS
March
Every weekend: Wine & Cupcake Pairing 
17th: St. Patty's at Penns Woods
19th: Brunch Board Workshop - SOLD OUT
23rd & 24th: Three Wines Blind

April
Every weekend: Live Music on the Lawn!
2nd: Spring Wreath Workshop
7th: Wine Club Happy Hour - SOLD OUT
8th: Annual Children's Egg Hunt - SOLD OUT
12th: Spring Wine Dinner at Fava Ristorante
13th: Sip Behind the Scenes at Newlin Grist Mill
20th: Wine Education Series: Wine 101
21st: Annual Earth Day Clean Up
28th: Candlemaking Workshop
30th: Spring Member Day 
​​HOUSE POLICIES
  • No alcohol other than that produced by Penns Woods Winery is permitted by law on Penns Woods property. ALL COOLERS ARE SUBJECT TO RANDOM CHECK.​​​
  • An automatic 18% gratuity will be added to any tabs left open at the end of operating hours.
  • Children are not permitted indoors. 
  • Pets are not permitted indoors (with exception to service animals). 
JANUARY - MARCH HOURS 
Monday
: CLOSED
​Tuesday: 12:00 - 5:30pm
Wednesday: 12:00 - 5:30pm
Thursday: 12:00 - 5:30pm
Friday: 11:00 - 6:00pm
Saturday: 11:00 - 6:00pm
Sunday: 11:00 - 6:00pm

APRIL - OCTOBER HOURS
Monday
: 11:00 - 6:00pm
​Tuesday: 11:00 - 6:00pm
Wednesday: 11:00 - 6:00pm
Thursday: 11:00 - 8:00pm
Friday: 11:00 - 8:00pm
Saturday: 11:00 - 7:00pm
Sunday: 11:00 - 6:00pm
​CLOSED
Easter Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day
New Years Day
CLOSED on ​Mondays January-March
CONTACT US
124 Beaver Valley Road
​Chadds Ford, PA 19317 

On Rt. 202 just 1/2 mile from the 
DE/ PA State Line 
www.pennswoodswinery.com
Phone: 610.459.0808 
Email: info@pennswoodswinery.com

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  • HOME
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Awards & Press
    • Blog
  • Visit
    • Reservations
    • Penns Woods Weekly Menu
    • PRE-ORDER a Charcuterie Board
  • EVENTS & MUSIC
    • Events
    • Live Music Schedule
    • Private Events
    • Derby at the Vineyard
  • WINE CLUB
    • Membership Details and FAQs
  • Wine & Shop
    • Our Wines
    • GIFT CARDS
    • WINE PLACEMENTS
  • FAQ