ÔMINA ROMANA'S 2022 HARVEST
by Maria Carla Magni
This year harvest started earlier than the previous years because of the strong and sustained heat wave that influenced early ripening of the grapes compared to their natural cycle, and this has occured in many areas of the country.
This factor triggered the pre-harvest as early as the first part of August, instead of the end of the month/beginning of September, as it usually happened the past years.
The first grapes harvested were the Merlot rosé, whose characteristics require an early maturation grapes that can maintain the right balance between acidity and freshness and ensure their floral aroma, a required featured of our rosé.
Then it was the turn of the Chardonnay grapes.
Immediately after harvesting, all grapes are taken to the cellar in the so-called "grape reception" section. The grapes are dropped from the tractor's tanks directly onto the vibrating conveyor for the initial sorting then they continue all the way to the rollers separating small impurities from the berries.
This passage provides the maximum mechanical selection of the best berries.
And then for all grape types incoming from the sorting converyor, dry ice is used to create what is known as a thermal shock; a successeful procedure that has always been used for the first treatment of grapes in the cellar.
The harvest went on with the grapes of Viognier that, with the Cesanese, turn out to be the most demanding vine and, in this case too, featured a special kind of maturation that required fast harvesting.
Let us keep in mind that such a hot year, marked by a lack of rain, brought as its only benefit the result of having perfectly healthy and therefore highly sustainable grapes, because certain plant protection treatments were avoided.
Luckily, the grapes that came into the cellar seemed to be already naturally sorted and the berries looked clean and neat, without leaves or stems that might have hindered their fermentation.
The fillings of barriques takes place with the utmost care and attention, as usual, to prevent oxygen from entering the barrique and avoid oxidation of the must.
- Alessio fills the barrique with CHARDONNAY -
In fact, the first must of the Bellone, another native variety like the Cesanese, was rather interesting. Crushed before entering the tank it showed already its brilliant yellow colour, as proof of the integrity of its original berries.
About 20% of the Bellone is part of the blend for our Hermes white label where the remaining percentages are Viognier, Incrocio Manzoni and Petit Manseng.
