Beachaven Tour & History

Question 1

Welcome & History

Answer 1

• Established in 1986, by Judge Beach & son in law Ed Cooke
• Winery named after Judge Beach (William O. Beach)
• Ed & wife Louisa continued running Beachaven for 30yrs
• Current owners Wilson (Judge Beach’s grandson) & wife Becca
• Oldest family-owned winery in T.N.

Question 2

Property

Answer 2

-14 acres (3 of which are grapes/vines)

Main BLDG- Gift shop, Tasting bar, Small tank room, Glass room, Bottling room, & Champagne cellar

Large Tank Room- Includes wine lab

Upper Warehouse- Storage & bottled wine

Lower Warehouse- Holds over 130 barrels of aging wine (Wilson believes music ages the wine better in barrels so music is played 24/7)

Picnic & Music Area- Can bring food to enjoy w/ wine

Question 3

Grapes

Answer 3

We grow 3 different varieties:

1. Sunbelt
2. Catawba
3. Seyval Blanc

Question 4

Vines & Timeline

Answer 4

• Rose bushes at the end of each row

2 different lattice systems:
- Straight up
- Canopy

Timeline:
1. October-April: Dormant
2. April- Budbreak
3. May- Fruit Set
4. Late May- Maturing
5. August-October- Harvest

Question 5

Harvesting

Answer 5

• Harvest once a year
• Seyval Blanc (August: By hand)
• Sunbelt & Catawba (September: By mechanical harvester)

Question 6

Crushing & Pressing

Answer 6

• Grapes get separated from stems & lightly crushed
• Grapes get juice pressed from bladder press
• White wine gets juiced prior to fermentation
• Red wine gets juiced after fermentation (gets color from grape skin)

Question 7

Wine Making 1- Fermentation & Racking

Answer 7

Fermentation:

• Added yeast turns natural sugars into alcohol (process takes 10-14 days)

White Wines:
Ferments between temperatures of 55-60°F

Red Wines:
Ferments between temperatures of 65-80°F

Racking:
- Remove wine from TOP of dead yeast cells until clear

Fun Fact: Beer making uses a valve UNDER tank to let settlement come out from under beer

Question 8

Making Wine 2- Filtration

Answer 8

Filtering: 2 different filtrations

• Step Down Filtration (Occurs after fermentation, cold stabilization, day before bottling)
• Membrane Filtration (Day of bottling)

Question 9

Making Wine 3- Cold Stabilization & Aging

Answer 9

Cold Stabilization:
- Process of lowering the entire room to 28°F (or single tank at a time as needed)
-Collects “wine crystals” to be filtered out

Aging:
- 9 months for stainless steel tanks
- 18 months to 3 years for barrels