CARMIM

At the vineyard:

• Grape production
• Setting-up of the vineyard
• Fertilisation
• Phytosanitary treatments
• Pruning

Harvest:

• Monitoring of aging
• Grape picking

At the Winery:

• The Receipt of grapes is controlled and managed by a reception programme which passes from one stage to another through the optical reading of the member’s card.

Grape reception facility

• Entry of vehicles into the facility before the weighing machines
• Reading of the member’s card at the self-service point, gathering of sample, measurement of likely alcohol content and gross weight, issuing of receipt slip by the self-service point – entry weighing machine.
• Entry, waiting and exit of vehicles from the respective queue in accordance with the information on the slip – facility after the weighing machines. The vehicle shall only leave the queue when the traffic light goes green, in other words, when the unloading of grapes is carried out from more than one vehicle at the grape receiving bin vis-à-vis the parameterised queue.

Grape receiving bins: there are 8 grape receiving bins, 4 at the New Winery (VQPRD wines) and 4 at the Old Winery (regional wines).

• Reading of member’s card
• Unloading of grapes into the grape receiving bin
• Transport of grapes carried out by the worm-geared machine to the stripper-crusher
• Stripping and crushing of the grapes with the exit of the stalks which are transported by a conveyor belt to a trailer where they are stored.
• Transport of the wine pulp by impulse pump to the interior of the winery.

Fermentation Areas: there are two fermentation areas at the New Winery, one for whites and the other for reds.

Fermentation zone for whites

Maceration vats: Place where a contact is made between the films and the liquid at 10º C for 10 hours so as to extract the maximum quantity possible of aromas from the film.

Presses: Place to which the white pulp are sent so as to carry out the separation of the solid parts (transported by conveyor belts to transport vehicles and sold).

Decanting deposits: in which the clarification of the must is carried out.

Fermentation vats: in which the fermentation of whites is carried out at a controlled temperature ( 16 – 18 º C ) and after adding selected yeasts. On average, fermentation shall last for 12 days.

In the case of the wine Régia Colheita, the must ferments in new oak barrels (New Winery Cellar).

After fermentation, the white wine is tasted, batched and stabilised in physical, chemical and biological terms (Stabilisation Area at the Old Winery).

After stabilisation, it is bottled, with the exception of Régia Colheita which ages in the barrels for 4 months.

Fermentation zone for reds

Fermentation vats: in which fermentation is carried out at a controlled temperature ( 25 – 27 º C ) and pumping over (leaching out the grape skins in the upper part of the vat with liquid pumped from the lower part of the deposit, so as to extract the maximum amount of aromas and polyphenols that these contain). Fermentation lasts 7 days on average, and a more or less prolonged period of post-fermentative maceration can be carried out depending on the characteristics of the grapes.

Transport of the fermented pulp to the presses using peristaltic pumps.

Presses: in which the separation of solids, marcs is carried out (transported by conveyor belts to transport vehicles and sold).

The red wine is sent from the presses to the finishing deposits at the New Winery Cellar.

New Winery Cellar

Finishing Deposits: in which the red wine which has just been fermented is subject to malolactic fermentation (biological deacidification of the wine and the production of other types of aromas ).

The red wine, after malolactic fermentation, is tasted and decisions are taken as to its destination:

Batches of young wine which are stabilised ( Stabilisation Zone of the Old Winery) and subsequently bottled.

Aging in barrels: (Old winery cellars) and/or in the bottle (Area for Aging in the Bottle in the Cellar of the New Winery).

Bottling

Final treatment room of the wine intended for bottling in which the samples are gathered for the final product quality control.

Bottling plant

Area of products for bottling (Bottles, capsules, Labels).

Bottling lines: 2 bottling lines assembled in parallel.

Bottling sequence:

• Placement of empty bottles on the conveyor belt ( robot )
• Rinsing of bottle
• Corking
• Labelling
• Palletisation

Bottled products area.