New Era Vineyard’s philosophy on winemaking is one of minimal intervention, which allows the individual terroir of our fruit to express itself through our wines. New Era applies a range of wine making techniques: from the Old World where tradition and the role of terroir lead and the winemaker’s intervention is managed in a minimalist fashion to that of the New World where science and the role of the winemaker are more often emphasized. This approach produces wines that express their origins and the individual and distinctive terroir of New Era Vineyards as well as enhancing the true expression of fruit from the variety.
Our approach to winemaking includes the use of small batch open fermenters with temperature controls, the gentle use of hand plunging to extract maximum colour and flavour while minimising the breakdown of skins and development of extractive and bitter characters, extended fermentation and the process of maceration which enhances flavour, body and mouth-feel as well as strengthening the colour. These practices also have the added benefit of adding complexity and life expectancy to the wine by developing more complex tannins that will soften over a longer period of time. Bob and Iain also utilise a combination of cold soaking and post ferment maceration in conjunction with both wild and inoculated ferments.
Minimal additions of chemicals and preservatives during the winemaking process ensure the wines truly express the terroir of the vineyard and unique seasonal conditions experienced throughout the growing period. The gentle use of a basket press allows the wine to be pressed off skins delicately into a combination of French and American oak where it is aged for up to 24 months. During this aging process the wine is gently racked a number of times: a process that softens tannins clarifies the wine and enhances aromatic qualities. To maintain maximum terroir, all of our red wines are bottled without fining and filtration.