Winery
Dortish red wine is produced here, using traditional brewing materials, using grapes from the Abbey's vineyard and water from the estate's stream.
Crush House
This single storey stone building is dominated by a great wooden vat standing upon supports. Once picked, the grapes are thrown into the vat and crushed into a pulp, usually by the monks dancing upon them! The sugar, water, and acidity from the grapes mix with the tannin from the skins and stalks to form grape juice, or Must, which is drained from the great wooden vat and transferred to the Vat House.
Vat House
This single storey stone building contains several large wooden containers standing on brick ovens. Here the Must is transferred from the Crush House to the wooden containers to allow alcoholic fermentation. As Dortish weather is unreliable, the juice is heated to kick off the fermentation, then left for two to three weeks. It is during this first fermentation period that the grape juice must be turned frequently to prevent wild yeast from pickling the liquid, creating a vinegar-like taste. The VAT House is connected directly to the Standing House.
Standing House
This large, single storey stone warehouse, containing several large wooden barrels. Here the wine to transferred to mature, allow it to mellow out before being bottled. Red wines have especially high tannin contents, making the wine undrinkable. If the wine is allowed to settle however, the bitterness decreases. The character of the wine is fully influenced during this period. The container used in maturation, the length of the process and the temperature all affect the flavour of the wine.
Many reds develop strong characters from long maturation times in newly constructed wooden barrels that impart their flavours into the juice; the abbey red barrels are traditionally made from oak and apple. Reds are known to mature for up to three or four years.
The storage that does take place is done in tanks or barrels. During this mellowing process, any leftover sediment in the juice settles to the bottom of the barrels. Clarification is the final step in maturation and is required before bottling takes place.
Bottle House
This small single storey stone building is connected directly to the Standing House, and is the location where wine is bottled. Determining the perfect moment when a wine is ready for bottling requires much skill. The more a wine is allowed to mature, the more character it can develop.
Once the wine has been bottled, it is stored in the cellars on the Tasting House.
Tasting House
A small, cool dark single storey stone house, where the wine is tasted and sold. There are steps leading down to extensive cellars beneath this building, where wine is stored.
