Winemaking

From the determination of harvest date to the closure of bottles, the process of winemaking is a series of seemingly simple, but inter-related decisions that affect wine-style and the preservation of quality.

The idea of winemaking as something dissociated from grape-growing is a foreign concept at Lithostylis, where the continuum of viticulture-winemaking is an unbroken cycle of decision-making and philosophical ideals. A feedback loop, where one seasons lessons are fed back into the following seasons decision-making.

We prefer a ‘hands off’ philosophy to winemaking; avoiding movements, additions and subtractions, unless absolutely necessary. No habitual formulas or recipes, just a sensitive and responsive attitude to “what the wine is trying to say” or “who the wine wants to be”. Perhaps this stems from our other life as musicians, where the most fundamental skill is listening.

It has been said, time and again that “Great wine is made in the vineyard”, and that is certainly our philosophy, but added to that could be “Even great wine can be ruined in the winery”!

If viticulture could be likened to a musical performance, where listening/responding, intuition, experience and timing are essential, then winemaking is the recording process. As such, the quality of the performance cannot be improved by winemaking trickery, but the effectiveness of it’s preservation, determination of style and it’s longevity can.

We aim to capture the magic of our fruit by adapting our winemaking methodology to suit variations in site, seasonal conditions, variety and style. Winemaking techniques which are ideal for one wine may be inappropriate for the next, so formula’s are avoided.

See individual wine descriptions for more in-depth information on winemaking.