Typical vatting method

Faced with a glass of red Rioja and others of rosé and white we might think simply that these come from red grapes, from a mixture of red and white grapes or white grapes, respectively. Winemaking is not so simple, and is certainly not so in the Rioja. The colour of the wines depends both on the colour contributed by the grape and the system of vatting.

Vatting is the placing of grapes in containers (between five to fifty thousand kilogrammes) for fermenting. The wineproducer cuts the bunches of grapes from the vine. Each of these units, or clusters, is made up of the stem, or skeleton of the bunch, and the grapes which adhere to it. Each grape consists of three parts:

1. A film or skin which is colourless in white varieties but for the reds it'the origin of their colour.

2. Colourless pulp or sugared mass. Also colourless for red Rioja varieties.

3. Seeds or pips.

Of these there are two parts which are practically inert, or mostly negative for wine. These are the stems and pips. Based on these notions we can understand the vatting of Rioja grapes and the wines which derive from them.

"Typical vatting": The whole cluster of grapes is thrown into the vat. The pulp ferments with the skins, stems and pips producing red wine, basically from red grapes.

"Classical" vatting: The stems are removed. The pulp, skins and pips are transferred to the vats. Sometimes, the grape is scarcely damaged, only the stem is removed. This is known as destemming. On other occasions, in addition to removing the stem, the grape is crushed. This method is used for red wines only.

"Vatting for rosés": The stems are removed, the grapes are pressed and the pulp, skin and pips are left together for a few hours so that they give some colour to the liquid. Afterwards, the skins and pips are removed and the pale-coloured must ferments. Rosés can be made with a red grape or a mixture of red and white grapes. In this case the contact with the skins is adjusted in accordance with the state of ripeness in order to obtain the desired colour.

"Vatting for white wines": The stems are removed. At a later stage the skins and seeds are also removed. In the Rioja this method is only used for white grapes.

Now we will describe the "typical" vatting method, a tradition which dates back many centuries in the Rioja. This is the artisanal vatting method and no doubt the most primitive. It consists of throwing whole bunches into the "lagos" or stone vats, they are open containers of stone, cement or oak with a capacity of one or two thousand "cántaras" (from 23,000 to 46,000 Kg). In these containers, the accumulated grapes undergo fermentation.

• Vineyard which is usually in the vicinity of the winery.
• The tubs of grapes are taken to the winery, which they enter through a window.
• From the stone vats, the must-wine is transferred to second fermentation vats.
• The grapes fall from the window to the "lago", or stone vat, where they undergo fermentation.
• The solid parts go from the vat to the press, obtaining press wine and pomace.

The process applied in a Rioja bodega can be briefly described with a cross section chart of one of its installations. Now we shall see what happens in the stone vats. The accumulated grapes fill 80% of the volume of the vat. At the end of five days the mass of grape-clusters begins to heat up to 8 degrees above the initial temperature. After another five days the wineproducer can observe that the level of grapes begins to fall and that foam rises from the corners of the vat. This is the moment for devatting or drawing off. To do this, a tap or "canilla" is opened and the first wine called "lágrima" or "tear" flows out. It is the weakest in terms of alcohol content and colour and also has the highest acidity. Once this wine has been drained out, the wineproducer enters the vat, turning over the grapes, at first gently and then stirring with a pitchfork, while another wine flows, the "medio" or "corazón"; it has an intense, smooth colour and a higher alcohol content.

This is the best quality wine. The wineproducer continues turning over the grapes until the skins are completely dry. This solid residue is removed through the lower door and then goes on to the press where any remaining moisture is squeezed out.

These wines removed from the stone vats still contain sugar and continue to ferment in underground oak casks.

It is said that every 21,000 to 23,000 Kg of grapes, according to the juiciness of the harvested grapes, produces one thousand "cántaras" (3,500 gallons) of wine. Each Rioja "cántara" contains 16 litres. So from every 22,000 Kg of grapes, an average of 16,000 litres of wine are obtained, which break down into:

"Lágrima"....................5,000 litres
"Corazón"....................9,000 litres
"Repisado"...................1,500 litres
"Prensado".....................500 litres

Fermentation of whole bunches is not current in Spain. It is known that a similar method is applied in the Rhône valley of France. It is a very curious process which scientifically is called intracellular fermentation. In our daily life we have been able to observe that when fruit is kept for more than a day in a closed plastic bag for example, this fruit goes bad; it becomes soft, looses its sweetness and produces something sour. It is a general phenomenon affecting sugared products which, in a closed atmosphere, become saturated with CO2 from the atmosphere. Each cell of the fruit decomposes and produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. Wineproducers from the Rioja Alavesa and many others from the Rioja Alta and Tudelilla have used this process for centuries.

After five days the stone vat has an atmosphere full of carbon dioxide. The grapes swell due to internal fermentation until, some days later, they split and their pulp, which at first was pale and sweet, becomes fluid, coloured and with a high alcohol content. The phenomena which occur in each grape are numerous. The most important can be summed up as follows:

• The sugar of the grape changes into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
• The colour from the skin begins to move towards the centre of the grape, colouring the pulp.
• The malic acid, which is responsible for the greenness of the grape, disappears, and changes into another acid; lactic acid. It is curious that within the grape there is (naturally) malic acid which apples contain. This changes into lactic acid, associated with sour milk. For this reason, some good wines of the Rioja have an aroma which reminds one of cheese.

Within the vat, fermentation is not total, as only about eight degrees of alcohol are produced. Afterwards, on drawing off the "lágrima", "corazón", "repisado" and "press", fermentation continues in tubs but this time with the help of yeast, as in the case of normal fermentation.

DAY 1	DAY 5	DAY 10	DAY 12
The recently filled vat contains dry grapes with a few litres of must at the bottom.	The grape has swollen and increased in volume in the vat. At the bottom, there a few thousand litres of must.	The mass of wet grapes drops a little and foam rises at the edges. The liquid which has come out of the grapes now amounts to about 5.000 litres.	After the "lágrima" and "corazón" have been drawn off, the winemaker treads on the skins and flattens them. Afterwards, the door of the vat is opened and the "pasta" is removed