Wine Punch Down

You can always recognize a winemaker during harvest by the purple arm he has for weeks on end. During wines initial fermentation, a solid cap forms from skin, seed and stem solids rising to the top. This cap must be broken a 2 to 4 times a day to increase extraction of color, aroma and flavor. To push down this cap, some winemakers use a large potato masher looking tool. The old school smart one’s use their hand, which in turn, helps the fermenting juice but dyes their arm in the process.