1. Crushing, pressing, and fermentation. On arrival at the winery, the grapes are weighed, the sugar and acid content are checked, as well as the pH, in our lab. (It is a balance among these elements that determines when grapes are ready to be harvested.)

NOTE: We have two harvest periods: one in late-June when our Florida hybrids ripen and one in mid-August when the Muscadines ripen. Each of these harvest periods may last from one to three weeks.

* Crushing and pressing activities are done outside on our crush deck. As the grapes are emptied into the hopper of the crusher-stemmer. A set of paddles in the crusher-stemmer separates the stems from the grapes and serrated rollers break the skin so juice can flow. To this point, red and white grapes are handled alike.

* The crushed grapes are called "must" and white must is pumped directly from the crusher to the press. The job of the press is to squeeze the grapes to remove as much juice as possible but not so hard as to break grape seeds which can add bitterness and astringency to the wine.

NOTE: Each ton of Muscadine grapes yields approximately 165 gallons of wine, which equals 64 cases of wine or 833 bottles. Hybrids will yield roughly 160 gallons, equaling 67 cases or 807 bottles.

* The Winemaker then inoculates the juice with yeast and adds sugar and the fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature. Our practice is to ferment at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This requires two to eight weeks. The relatively low temperature and resultant slow fermentation helps preserve the fruity flavor and delicate aromas of the white grapes. The wine is "racked" several times during the fermentation and again when fermentation is complete. At that time the wine is racked into storage tanks.

The tall tanks with the cooling jackets were especially designed for working with red grapes. They are mounted on "stilts" so that the press can be placed underneath them. The other large tanks in the fermentation cellar are 5,000 gallons each, and can be used for storage or white wine fermentation.

* Red grapes are handled a bit differently. After crushing, they are pumped together with their skins and seeds directly to a fermenting tank. The must is then inoculated with yeast and sugar is added if needed. When the desired color and flavor is achieved (usually 48 hours), the fermenting wine is drawn off, the "cap" is pressed and both are combined in a fermenter to finish their fermentation. All wines are fermented to complete dryness here.

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2. Yeasts. There are hundreds of varieties of yeast which feed off fruit sugars. They convert sugar into energy for growth and reproduction, giving off alcohol and CO2. We still rely on this natural process to produce bread, cheese, beer and wine.

NOTE: We use Pasteur Champagne (which is a general purpose yeast) for our primary fermentation.

* Any fermentation creates heat naturally. This, if uncontrolled, would ruin the wine.

* Since the fermentation breaks down the sugar into equal parts of alcohol and carbon dioxide, grapes containing 24 percent fruit sugar will yield a wine containing 12 percent alcohol. In order to achieve 12 percent alcohol content in our finished wine, we must add sugar prior to fermentation to raise the fruit sugar to 24 percent. Pure cane sugar is used to do this.

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3. Bottling. Both white and red wines are bottled within six to twelve months of harvest to retain all their grape character, freshness, and crispness.

* One of the most important bottling processes is sealing the bottle. Without a good seal, wine may leak from the bottle or oxygen enter the bottle, which can and will in both cases, result in spoilage. To seal the bottle, we use a natural cork. Cork is the bark of a tree which grows in the western Mediterranean. Its texture, color and density can vary widely (even from the same tree). Consequently, there are many different grades of corks available. At Lakeridge, we use a very high grade of cork called "extra-first".

NOTE: A bottle is inspected by no less than seven persons on its way from the original factory case, through the bottling and corking process to the finished case.

* Each bottle receives a final inspection and is then cased to rest for at least a month prior to release. We can bottle about 1500 cases per day.

* The testing and record keeping spans the entire life of the wine and serves a number of purposes. First, much of it is required by the federal government. More important, though, it helps us to produce consistent wines from year to year, to monitor quality control, to record for future reference the effects of different treatment techniques on the wine, and even to compare how different pruning techniques in the vineyard may effect the quality of the grapes and wine we make from them.

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4. Aging. All wines, if properly stored, tend to improve somewhat with age. Generally speaking, there is too much emphasis placed on aging wine. Every wine has its natural life span: it improves during youth, reaches its' prime, and declines in old age. This pattern varies just as wines vary. Many wines are better when young. All table wines lose their freshness and fruitiness if kept too long. In general, 75 percent of the wine produced in the world is as good when a year old as it is ever likely to be and will only deteriorate, not improve, after its third birthday. We recommend that our wines be consumed within three years. Our light, fresh style does not require aging.