Deadlines are being kept as the flooring of Delicata’s 1.2 million Euro red wine tank farm development project goes into its final phase when tiling commenced earlier this week. This follows the erection of the 1000 square metre roof a couple of months ago and the laying of tonnes and tonnes of concrete and tarmac to both the inside fermentation area and the outside grape receiving bay.

The site, which is adjacent to the winery’s no.1 fermentation hall, will be completed in time for this years harvest and will give the winery valuable extra space. The laying of the 31,000 tiles should take approximately 4 weeks and on completion the specialised red wine tanks can be put in place ready to receive their first batch of 2009 grapes for fermentation in mid August. The state-of-the-art stainless steel, temperature controlled tanks, made specifically for the vinification of quality red wines arrived at the winery last July. They have already been thoroughly tested and in some cases used to ferment Delicata’s 2008 D.O.K. red wines.

The actual space taken up by the project will increase the size of the winery by 2100 sq meters, approx one third of the existing footprint. In the outside area this will include a new grape receiving area including a weigh-bridge and a second laboratory, specifically for grape analysis and improved quality control measures.

The new hall runs alongside some of the company’s existing fermentation tanks. A parapet between the two areas will also act as a viewing platform for visitors to watch the grape crushing process from. The development also includes additional office space and specialised wine making rooms as well as a new press house.