Precious Process

Winemakers of Somerset offers everything do-it-yourselfers need for success by the barrel.

By: Stuart Duncan

TIMEOFF PHOTOS/MARK CZAJKOWSKI

Jennifer Rems dumps a 16-pound crate of grapes in the crushing machine at Winemakers of Somerset.

   On a recent Monday morning, a large truck pulled into the courtyard at 12 Church St., just off Main Street in Bound Brook. It carried a perishable cargo of Chilean grapes — 20 tons of them, in a number of varieties, 16 pounds to a carton. Each carton was protected by several layers of wrapping. The spring season at Winemakers of Somerset had begun.
   There are a growing number of wineries throughout central New Jersey and Bucks County in Pennsylvania, but the two-story structure on Church Street is different. It offers a complete course in winemaking, from de-steming and pressing, months of careful aging and testing to the bottling, corking and labeling of one’s own personal vintage and, finally, the ultimate test — the tasting.

Three-year-old Erika Rems gets set to drop bunches of Carmenere grapes from Chile into the de-stemming and crushing device.

   The grapes are brought in three times during the year. Grapes from Chile are imported in March and April. Growing conditions, of course, dictate the actual dates, and this season the product was held up about 10 days when the sun refused to cooperate. Grapes from California arrive in September and October and about a month later, Washington State grapes ripen and are shipped.
   The "stomping" lasted only a moment or so and was designed to break the stems of the grapes, not press them. A machine now does the task with ease.
   It was Tony Guilano’s batch of wine being pressed and he hoisted his cartons for their trip into the screw-driven device that de-stems and crushes grapes into a large fermentation vat. Mr. Guilano attempted wine-making in his own garage last year and is well aware of the pitfalls that can haunt the unwary.

Brian Rems, owner and Erika’s dad, checks the sugar level of freshly crushed grapes with a reflectometer.

   Ahead lies months of "racking," a continual process of checking each barrel (53 gallons each) for the proper chemical analysis. In turn, this leads to a recommended maturation date, anywhere from six to 10 months, when bottling can begin. Each client chooses his or her corking and packaging materials and designs the label. Each barrel yields approximately 20 cases.
   The price for the course is $1,700 — slightly higher for white grapes — plus the cost of the barrel (new barrels are $375; used barrels are $175; renting one costs $125).

Customers design their own labels for the bottles.

   Some companies use the course for "team-building" efforts, with up to a half-dozen employees signing up.
   Brian Rems, who bought the building at a more-or-less bargain price after Hurricane Floyd devastated downtown Bound Brook, has redone the building so well that it has become a popular spot for wedding receptions and parties. The original site was a sewing factory, and in the redevelopment process, needles and pins are constantly being uncovered, punched into the floors.
   But client Tony Giulano doesn’t worry about that. His mind leaps forward to Christmastime next year. He figures that his barrel of wine will be ready for bottling just about that time.
For information about Winemakers of Somerset, 12 Church St., Bound Brook, call (732) 271-WINE. On the Web: www.njwinemakers.com