The Merlot grapes are harvested by machine and the grapes crushed at their winery in the Central Valley within 3 hours of picking. This minimises any fars of oxidation and bruising. The juice and skins are macerated together during the warm ( 22 degrees C ) ferment on skins in tanks with th wine finishing before racking into a series of tanks where any adjustments are made before final filtering and bottling in early Spring