<h1>DOMAINE BERTAGNA</h1> <br> <h2>Wine Making</h2> <br> <h3>The Vineyard</h3> Our vineyards are mainly located on the Côtes de Nuits. They are all to be found on fairly steep slopes enabling excellent drainage and as they face eastwards, they thus enjoy the advantages of early morning sunshine.\n\nHere the vineyards lie on Bathonien limestone with scattered calcareous clay soils. It is this geological diversity which is at the origin of the magic of Burgundy where vineyards, in some cases only a few metres apart, can have completely different taste profiles, this is commonly referred to as ‘Terroir’. \n\nAs with most European wine regions, their development is closely linked to the Church. Wine growing in Burgundy can be traced back to Roman times but it is the powerful Cistercian monks who, from their base in Citeaux, began in the 14th century to plant vineyards in Vougeot and later constructed the magnificent Château to house their presses. Following the French revolution, the land belonging to the church and to nobility was broken up. This explains the social tissue still in evidence today where most Domains are made up of small parcels of vineyard in any number of different villages rather than one large holding surrounding the winery as is common in most other wine regions. <br> <h3>Wine Making Process</h3> At each stage of wine making, we strive to bring out the perfect balance of a vintage.\nAt Domaine Bertagna, vinification takes place in full respect to Burgundy traditions whilst, all the same, calling on new techniques which are specially thought out and adapted.\n\nThe wine making process takes place with just as much care as the work in the vineyards.\n\nThe emphasis of this work is put on respect for raw materials, the grapes, the fruits of our passion: strict sorting, the right dose of pigeage to extract colour, aromas and tannins for the future wines. Also by respecting the specific activity of the natural micro organisms. The result gives vintages as close to the authenticity and the pureness of their specific appellations. <br> <h3>Cellar Ageing</h3> The choice of barrels or "pièce" is meticulous. As all of our wines are made from single vineyard sites and are single variety (monocépage), Pinot Noir for the reds and Chardonnay for the whites, the influence of barrel ageing on the finished wines becomes even more important.\n\nThe selection and mix of barrels must not only underline the specific characteristics of each Appellation but also variation of vintage and help underscore the typical style of Domaine Bertagna. The choice of oak i.e. What forest does the wood originate from and the influence of the grain of the wood, which in turn, reacts differently with the wine during the 18 months or so that the wine is ageing. At Bertagna, we use only the finest grain French oak barrels which originate from trees which are over 200 years old, principally from the forests of the Vosges, Tronçais and Bertranges. It is critical that once harvested the wood is correctly stored and air dried for a long period, two to three years minimum.\n\nDuring the barrel making process, the staves are toasted over oak chipping fires, charring the inside of the barrel and thus altering the structure of the wood. This consequently influences directly the taste and aroma profiles of the finished wine. Most commonly one wine would be aged in a selection of barrels from differing origins and toasting, add to this a certain percentage of barrels which have previously been used and one begins to understand the numerous possible combinations from which we can decide how best to age each wine. <br><br> <a href="the_domaine.php">The Domaine</a> <a href="wine_making.php">Wine_Making</a> <a href="domaine_bertagna_across_four_seasons.php">Domaine Bertagna across four Seasons</a> <a href="wines_of_the_domaine.php">Wines of the Domaine</a> <a href="contact_us.php">Contatc Us</a> <a href="news.php">News</a> <a href="../pages-fr/index2.php">Version Française</a> <a href="../pages-de/index2.php">deutsche Version</a> <br> <a href="http://www.vinium.com/">Creation Vinium Business & Design</a>