Corsica: Vinification

Almost 70% of all Corsican wine is made by co-operatives, which, like some of the smaller wineries, took advantage of eu grants available for the installation of modern stainless steel vats and refrigeration equipment. White wines are usually therefore fermented at between 18 and 20 °C (64–8 °F), and clean-tasting rosés are made by saignée and cool fermentation. malolactic conversion is usually suppressed for whites and rosés. Red winemaking is relatively traditional with fermentation temperatures regularly rising to 30 °C, followed by malolactic conversion. The use of oak was still relatively limited but increasing in the early 21st century, although Vermentino subjected to barrel fermentation and lees stirring can yield good results, and wines such as the Cuvée des Gouverneurs from Orenga de Gaffory and Clos du Cardinal from Domaine Peraldi showed respectively that Niellucciu and Sciacarellu respond well to ageing in oak.