A FIRST FOR A VINEYARD IN SAINT EMILION

For the first time in Bordeaux, a wine will be vinified in a rotating barrel of 900 liters, the Roll-Fermentor® developed by Tonnellerie Vernou. Château Mayne-Blanc is the first winery in this area to use this tool, combining tradition and innovation to make wine during the 2008 harvest.

This 900 liter rotating cask is designed to vinify the high end red wines. Château Mayne-Blanc, a traditional family property, is managed by Charles BONCHEAU who chose this innovate product, which is a special large barrel resting on a steel support. It can be rotated according to the winemaker’s needs.

“This rotation replaces the traditional operation of pumping over. Here the grape is neither mixed nor crushed by a pump, and it is thus with gentle care that the winemaking can proceed with a single goal: always respecting the fruit.

This tool combines tradition and innovation for the first time in the winemaking of St. Emilion reds. It is a development will be eagerly followed by many winemakers from the wine growing and oenology world of the Bordeaux area.

NEW ZEALAND : STEVE BIRD AND « THE BIG BARREL »

The first wines from a Roll Fermentor were exported in 2006. Steve Bird uses 20 Roll Fermentors® which ensure an annual production of 24,000 bottles of his premium wine “The Big Barrel”. This top-of-the-line Pinot Noir is exclusively vinified with 9 & 12 HL Roll Fermentors and is 98% exported, mainly to the USA.