Karl’s Scepter was the nickname given by the cellar hands to the hand plunger used to mix red grapes during fermentation. Hand plunging is tough work, so when a young winemaker named Karl made the cellar hands plunge his ferments twice as often as all the rest, he became rather unpopular.
However, the 2011 vintage was cool and wet, which led to many thin and light red wines. But not Karl’s wines. His wines shone, all because of his pig-headed overuse of 'Karl’s Scepter.'
Our wines continue to be made in this same manner. By working the grapes harder during fermentation we are able to extract additional colour and character which results in a more deeply flavoured and rich wine.
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