A portion of each vintage’s freshly destemmed grapes and their juices are carefully loaded into French Oak barrels whose heads have been removed. After replacing the head, filled barrels are laid on a rack that allows them to be rolled several times daily to ensure the cap stays moist and barrel extraction is even. Unlike stainless steel, the wood is porous which micro-oxygenates the wine during the cold maceration and fermentation. Typically, two full barrels of fruit result in one barrel of wine. This extremely labor-intensive method imparts another layer of tannin integration and texture leading to a softer mouthfeel.