Winery; Classification ofActivitiesFinger Lakes Winery is a small. family-run operation in...

1.

 Trimming:

At the end of a growing season, the vines arc trimmed, which helps prepare them for the next harvest.

2.

Tying:

The vines are tied onto wires to help protect them from the cold, (This also occurs at the end of the season.)

3.

Hilling:

Dirt is piled up around the roots to help protect them from frost.

4.

Conditioning:

After the snowmelts in the spring. dirt is leveled back from the roots.

5.

Untying:

The vines are untied from the wires to allow them freedom to grow during the spring and summer months,

6.

Chemical spraying:

The vines are sprayed in the spring to protect them from disease and insects

7.

Harvesting:

All of the grapes of both varieties are picked by hand to minimize damage,

8.

Stemming and crushing:

Batches of grapes are hand-loaded into a machine, which gently removes the stems and mildly crushes them,

9.

Pressing:

After removal from the stemmer/crusher, the juice runs freely from the grapes.

10.

Filtering:

The grapes are crushed mechanically to render more juice from them,

11.

Fermentation:

The riesling grape juice is placed in stainless steel tanks for fermentation, The chardonnay grape juice undergoes a two-stage fermentation process in oak barrels.

12.

Aging:

The riesling wines are aged in the stainless steel tanks for approximately a year, The chardonnays are aged in the oak barrels for about two years,

13.

Bottling:

A machine bottles the wine and corks the bottles

14.

Labeling:

Each bottle is manually labeled with the name of the vintner, vintage, and variety.

15.

Packing:

The bottles are manually packed in 12-bottle cases.

16.

Case labeling:

The cases are hand-stamped with the same information that the bottles received.

17.

Shipping:

The wine is shipped to wine distributors and retailers, mainly in central New York, Generally, about 100 cases are shipped at a time,

18.

Maintenance on buildings:

This is done during the slow winter months,

19.

Maintenance on equipment:

This is done when needed, and on a routine basis for preventive maintenance.