The cap is the solid ‘hat’ that the grape skins form at the top of the tanks during fermentation and maceration. The skins are lighter than the fermenting juice and float to the top. We either break down the cap and mix it back into the fermenting wine for optimal extraction by doing push-downs, or we pump the wine from the lower part of the tank up over the cap to soak the skins again and thus ensure the extraction of aroma, colour and tannins.