Bodegas Tionio, S.A.

The grapes are picked by hand, and transported to the winery in small 45-pound crates. There, they undergo a strict selection process, where trained personnel separate any grapes that are not in optimum condition. After de-stemming and crushing, the grapes undergo a pre-fermentation cold maceration period of between four and six days at 43-46°F in order to emphasize the primary aromas of the grape. After this process, the alcoholic fermentation and maceration get underway, varying with each vintage, but never taking less than 25 days. After maceration, 20% of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrels, with the remainder doing so in stainless steel tanks. This phase usually takes some 30 days. The wine is then racked and put into barrels (with a maximum barrel age of two years). A total of 10% of our barrels are made from American oak, while the rest is French oak. The aging process lasts around 14 months for Tionio and six months for Austum. Finally, the wine is lightly filtered, maintaining its full complexity, and subsequently bottled. The bottled wines are kept in our cellars to mature until they are ready to be released to the market.