Carbonic Maceration

In red winemaking there is a procedure where grapes are not crushed. The process is called “Carbonic Maceration”, sometimes known as “whole bunch fermentation”. Whole grapes are put into a fermenter and covered with a blanket of CO2. The lack of oxygen forces the cell walls within the grape to break down, diffusing the colour from the skins into the juice and “intra-cellular” fermentation takes place. Because the skins, which usually give red wine its colour, are not crushed, none of the bitter components (tannins) are transferred into the finished wine. This process, used to make wines that are easier drinking and consumable earlier, has been around for hundreds of years and often used to make Beaujolais.