The creation of wine is an incredibly great harmony of fruit, time and knowledge. Reds, Whites and Sweet Dessert Wine productions all call for remarkably specific procedure that are touched on briefly in this particular post.
The world of red wines is a heady, plentiful and extraordinary world crammed with everything from the nuanced subtlety of a gentle South African Merlot to the peppery exuberance of Sangre de Toro, “Blood of the Bull” from Spain. Any place it originates from, the standard process to produce it hasn’t altered.
With red wines, grapes go through the first method of being de-stemmed. This is a procedure of removing the grapes from the shoots to which they are secured. As soon as a batch of grapes has been de-stemmed it can commence thetechnique in which they are positioned in the press.
They wine press is where they are pressed together into a paste which in turn releases the must (the juice of the fruit). The resulting paste (or pomace) and must blend must then spend time together in a cask. It is the span of time that the combination rests with the must in contact with the grape skin and pulp that determines the character of the finished wine.
The wine creator then establishes the proper sum of time for this mix to sit. When he determines the right amount of time has passed, the juice is drawn off and yeast is added to the juice to start the fermentation process. The remaining pomace is usually returned to the vineyard where it can now be used as a fertilizer.
Once the color and sugar content is determined to be right the cask valve is opened the very first juice, which is the best quality wine, is moved into different containers in which the fermentation method is finalized.
‘Pressed wines’, which are full of tannin, are made from the leftover solids. They have a strong color and are normally mixed with the first juice in countless different ways to develop wines of assorted strengths and flavors.
When the fermentation process is complete, the wine is either bottled straight away, or left to age.
The process for white wines begin much in the same way. When making white wine it is very important not to damage the grapes, so they are poured into the receiving bins as rapidly as feasible. Once they are all in the receiving bin, the grapes are then moved to the press where the “must” is separated from the skins and other solids.
At this point the solids are disregarded and the remaining “must” is somewhat refrigerated before being moved into a stainless steel vat where it is allowed to ferment. Care is taken to maintain the climate during fermenting which preserves the tender smells of the finished wine.
After the fermentation process is complete, the resulting wine is decanted taking care to avoid the sediment which collects at the bottom of the vat. After decanting, the wine is bottled and prepared to be sold, and is best consumed within 2 years.
Dessert wines are known for their rich sweetness which is why they are appreciated after a nice dinner. They are produced in quite a varied manner than the previous 2 talked about,
Dessert wines are produced in one of two ways. In the first technique, Botrytis Cinera, a fungus that develops very rapidly, is used. This changes the fruit and changes the color and also alters the acid elements and glucose levels. The second procedure is to disturb the fermentation procedure by adding alcohol. This procedure develops a strong, sweet wine where the grape is the significant taste.
Grapes used for sweet wines are of the white Moscatel and Garnacha assortments which, along with the production technique, leave the wine with a mushroom type aroma as the bottle is opened.
Since you have learned the basics in the production of 3 of the popular wines appreciated worldwide, head out and delight in some.