These photos were taken Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Although the harvest finished more than a week ago we will be pressing grapes for another 2 to 3 weeks. These are wines that are being kept with the skins from 4 to 6 weeks after the end of fermentation. Small lots that winemaker Bruce McGuire thinks will benefit from extended contact.

Winemakers call this extended maceration. The decision to press is by taste. The astringent flavors after fermentation are in the forward part of the mouth — the decision to press is when the astringency softens and is felt at the back of the mouth. Not all wines benefit from extended maceration, those that do, are more complex, darker and richer.

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