Red grapes are crushed and the skins and juice are left in contact.  The must is inoculated immediately after crushing with a specially selected yeast strain.  The colour and tannin in the red wine is derived mainly from the skins, fermentation encourages the sufficient extraction of colour and tannin.

At Jane Brook two distinct methods for this are employed.  The traditional open red fermenters, which are plunged by hand 3 - 4 times per day to submerge the "cap" back under the fermenting juice.  A mobile refrigerated coil maintains the temperature between 18 -22 degrees Celsius.  Alternatively, fermentation can take place in refrigerated stainless steel draining tanks where the juice is pumped over the fermentation at least three times per day.

The fermentation can take between four to six days, and, pressing out usually takes place at a Baume` of 2 - 4 degrees, depending of the degree of colour extraction.  The fermentation is completed to dryness in stainless steel.

At the completion of the fermentation the wine is racked of gross lees, then inoculated for malolactic fermentation.  This malolactic fermentation can occur naturally but is usually induced at most modern wineries.  Once the wine has gone through malolactic fermentation the wine is then bacterially stable and will not re- ferment when bottled and cause off flavours and odours. 

After malolactic fermentation the wine is racked as necessary before being pumped into selected oak barrels for ageing for between 11 - 18 months.  During this time the wine is racked out of the barrels, the wine analysed, barrels cleaned and the wine racked back into barrels.  Whilst in barrels the barrels are carefully monitored for leaks and are regularly topped up with similar wine to prevent oxidation.  Small losses can occur through the pores of the oak during this process, this evaporation loss is sometimes called the "Angels share". The wine is then aged in bottle for a short time prior to release to eager consumers.

Barrels
We use a variety of different oak barrels in our wine making process. The style of wine influences the type of oak used and the ageing period in the oak. The most popular barrel used at Jane Brook is the barrique, with a storage capacity of 227 litres. French and American oak barriques are purchased regularly to ensure the fresh and complex characters of oak are imparted to our wines.