# 02 Process Step 2 — Fermentation: Ancestral — Método Alquímico

## Process Summary

**Single continuous fermentation** in deposit, transferred mid-fermentation to bottle. Indigenous yeast only. No SO₂. No temperature intervention beyond natural cellar ambient (14–16°C). The fermentation that begins in the 100L stainless deposit is the same fermentation that creates the perlage in the bottle.

## Process Stages

1. **Day 0:** Clean must at 8–10°C after débourbage
2. **Day 1:** Natural ramp to 14–16°C; indigenous fermentation initiates
3. **Day 1–3:** Non-Saccharomyces lead (Hanseniaspora, Lachancea, Candida)
4. **Day 3–7:** Indigenous *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* establishes dominance
5. **Day 7–14:** Active fermentation; density drops from ~1089 g/L
6. **Day 14–21:** Critical monitoring window — density check 2–3×/day as bottling target approaches
7. **Bottling point (target density 1008–1010 g/L):** still-fermenting cloudy wine transferred immediately to sparkling bottles, crown-capped
8. **In-bottle fermentation completes** over subsequent weeks; CO₂ trapped; pressure develops to 6.0 bar

## Five Levers of Control (this step)

- **Time:** Bottled at exactly 24 g/L residual sugar — the critical control
- **Temperature:** 14–16°C deposit; cool start preserves esters and selects indigenous succession
- **Oxygen:** Strictly anaerobic deposit; master lever for high-pH AAB control
- **Extraction:** Zero (whole-cluster press already done)
- **Vessel:** 100L stainless "siempre lleno" deposit, then sealed bottle

## Assets

| Filename | Description | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| [Trepat in the tank flowing](/wine-portfolio/process/trepat-tank-flow.mp4) | Video — must flowing into deposit | Start |
| `fermentation process` | Video — active fermentation in tank | Active |
| `fermentation_process_ bubbles` | Video — fermentation bubbles (early CO₂ release) | Active |
| `Plot_of_fermentation process` | Diagram — fermentation plot/process | Documentation |
| `pooping wine into deposit` | Video — wine entering deposit | Transfer |
| `Trepat 1 and 2` | Photo — Trepat T1 and T2 (referenced for chronovarietal context) | Documentation |
| `Trepat 1 and 2 in the bottles before fermentation` | Photo — Trepat in pre-fermentation state | Documentation |
| `taking samples` | Photo — sampling for analysis | Monitoring |
| `taking_samples_microbiology` | Photo — microbiology sampling | Monitoring |
| `Taking samples for microbiology` | Video — microbiology sampling | Monitoring |