Wine Making

Wine Introduction,
History,
Types & Classification,
Manufacturing,
Bottling, and Labeling & Shipping of wine

 

Definition of wine: 
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, produced by the fermentation of freshly gathered grapes.

Classification of colour: Both black grapes and white or green grapes are used for the production of all wines,
White wine:, The skin is removed for white wines, which gives a golden colour
Rose wines: Part of the skin is removed before fermentation, which gives a  Rose colour.
Red wines: the black skin is retained to develop a Ruby colour / Burgundy colour

Classification of taste: The amount of sugar and acid present in the grapes determine the taste of the wine,
Sweet wine: if the sugar content is more than the acid content in the wine it is classified as ‘Sweet Wine’.

Dry wine: if the acid content is more than the sugar content in the wine it is classified as ‘Dry Wine’.

Board categories of wine: wines are classified and divided into the following:

Table wines/ Natural wines, Still wines: These wines can be served for any course of a meal, they are natural and no spirit is added to the wine during the manufacturing process, the alcoholic content is around 14% in volume
They can be,     Red wines,      White wines,      Rose wines.

E.g.: Claret [Bordeaux]
        Sautern,
        Hocks
        Mossels
        Shianti, etc.

Fortified wines:

The alcoholic content is increased by the addition of spirits, mostly Brandy.
They are usually blended ones, i.e. the content of these bottles do not come from the same vineyard or the same year.
They can be produced from wines of different vineyards of different years, blended together to improve their taste & flavour.
They are served before meals or after meals, as Aperitifs, for increasing the appetite or for a digestive purpose after meals
The reason for the fortification with Brandy or other Wines are:
To produce wine suitable to the palate,
To allow it to travel safely/ safe transport,
to give it, its individual characteristics.

E.g. Sherry,     Marsala,      Port,       Madeira,       Campari, etc

Sparkling wines:: Special care is taken from the harvesting to the storing process.
They are manufactured by selected grapes, and a second fermentation is done in the bottles of the sparkling wines by additional grape sugar and selected yeast, which gives them the extra effervescence and natural gas in the bottle.

They have a sparkling golden colour.
They can be served with any part of a course of a meal; The main principle is Champagne, which can be drunk with any kind of food.

E.g. Asti,
       Sparkling Hock
       Sparkling Burgundy,
       Sparkling Mossels.

Vintage wines: Due to ideal weather conditions in a certain year, the crop that is exceptionally good is declared as ‘Vintage year’ and wine produced in that year is called Vintage Wine. They bear the Vintage Year, & date, of the bottling process on the label,
E.g. Port,
       Champagne, etc.

Aromatic Wines: These wines are prepared by the addition of Brandy or neutral spirits and flavoured with Herbs, Barks and other seasonings.

Qualities of wines: There are 3 classes of wines:
They classified into: Great Wines, Fine Wines & Ordinary Wines, These classes go well with the European Wines

Great wines: Some vineyards in Bordeaux & Burgundy regions of France & Rhineland of Germany, give exceptionally good quality, which are outstanding and classes apart, they are made by judicious mingling of experience & science put together, they have an inestimable luck of coming from vineyards, which are tended by experts.
These wines are made and treated with a sort of loyal care, which the reputation of the wines inspires. They are sold at higher prices and are3 very expensive.
Great care is taken to maintain their reputation, So much so, that, when the weather is bad and the crop is not upto their standards, no wine is sold under the name of the vineyard or their brand, for this reason each year a slightly different list is made, excluding some of the list given and including others in the list.
To make the final choice is the task of the experts. Almost 20 wines are classified as Great wines.

Fine wines: Lower than the great wines are a large array of wines which are of very good quality. These are wines which a common man can afford to buy and drink fairly and frequently. These vary in quality, and they narrowly escape the regulations to the ordinary wines of the 4^th division.

Standard wines: The European wines are at the mercy of the weather of the year and vary from year to year. If the climate which are more equable and scientific control is paramount, the wine produced vary little from year to year, they can always be relied upon to be good, but will not be having that outstanding quality of great wines or fine wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhine, Such are the wines of Australia, USA, Canada and Cape

There are some British made wines chiefly Port, Sherry types of good quality.

Soil for Viniculture: Soil for Viniculture is favourable in other countries like, Algeria, Tunisia, America, Wine producing started in these countries also.
Soil should be Light, Sandy, Gravely or Chalky , the variety of grapes differ from different soils
E.g. Dinot, Riesling, Palomino, obtained the finest from France, Hock [Germany] Sherry [Spain]

  Manufacture and processing of wine

Making of wine includes the following steps:

Care of vineyard, Harvesting of grapes, fermentation processes, and bottling maturing, etc.
Viniculture varies all over the world because of variation of sunshine, soil and rainfall.

Growing of grapes for superior quality demands skill and expertise.

The brief explanation of some key stages and practices that occurs during wine making are universal, only the ingredients, process and places differ.

In the weeks leading up to the harvest, the winemaker and the viticulturist will spend time in the vineyard, tasting grapes and checking the sugar and acid levels. The winemaker is the person, who will decide exactly which day to start the harvesting.
Delay after harvesting will endanger the grapes to oxidation and heat spoilage.

Harvesting: The proper time varies according to the climate of the region, but in general harvesting is done when grapes have developed the greatest possible amount of natural sugar. Tests to revel the amount of sugar are done and sugar content may vary from as 2% from day to day.

Vintners must be certain that the grape’s skins are covered with microscopic yeast organisms [Saccharomyces] which settles on the skin of the grapes as they ripen.

Pressing / Crushing:  Pressing are of 4 types:

Trodding: refers to crushing grapes by treading on them, grapes are placed in a large shallow tank and people tread on the grapes crushing them. They wear boots with spikes which prevents the crushing of pips [contain bitter oils].

Balloon press: consists of an expandable balloon which is fitted in the tank filled with grapes and an out-let is kept for the must. On being filled with air the balloon expands, crushing the grapes against the sides of the tank and squeezing out the juice.

Hydraulic press: it creates pressure in the tank and the grapes are crushed by the hydraulic pressure created by a machine.

Manual press: Works on the principle of a hydraulic press as the central disc descends on the grapes and crushes them.

Electrically operated press: consists of a roller with a plate fitted all around it. The grapes are crushed between the roller and the plate.

After the grapes are picked they are rushed to the press, sometimes stalks are pressed too, but they have strong tannin content and care should be taken that they do not add an astringent quality to the juice. Some vintners press stalks separately. The crushed grape juice is called ‘MUST’.

When grapes are crushed the yeast on the skins enter the must, which is now ready for fermentation,

Sulphuring: Sulphur dioxide is added early in the process to prevent air from oxidizing the wine and converting alcohol into vinegar. The air contains bacteria, [acetobactor] which is aerobic that lives in the presence of air.

Sulphur dioxide, is hungry for air and thereby takes out air from the must, to let yeast that is anaerobic [able to function in the absence of oxygen], it also forms a coating on the juice to prevent air entering into the juice. It also helps in killing wild yeast present on the skin of the grapes that may cause pre-mature or uncontrolled fermentation.

Some vintners like to spray their barrels 15 day before storing the wine to avoid moulds forming on the wine’s surface.

The amount of Sulphur dioxide is in subject to the government regulations of that particular country.

Fermentation:

Now the vats are half filled to let fermentation take place, [which is a violent action like boiling] as the must would spill over the edge of the vats, due to the explosive action which occurs when sugar is being converted to alcohol and carbon dioxide.

 Fermentation is caused by the action of yeast on the grape sugar, in the must and converts it into Ethanol or Ethyl alcohol And Carbonic gas/ Carbon dioxide.

The temperature is regulated as the fermentation should not be too slow or too fast.

Fermentation time is variable in different places, can be from 3 days [burgundy] to 1-2 weeks [Bordeaux]

Racking: when the fermentation bubbles subside, chemical tests are done for the sugar content, which usually is not more than 1%

Now the fermented must is known as ‘Lees’. The alcohol now reaches to 14% in content of the volume, where all the sugar is almost converted, and the remaining yeast, which is left in the must, will be killed by the high percentage of the alcohol.

The pulp and the yeast particles are removed and the wine is stored in air-tight wooden [oak] casks or barrels, where the sediment will be settled at the bottom of the casks, which are then transferred from cask to cask, to remove sediment that settles at the bottom each time.

In this process wine breathes in the casks as wood of the oak casks are porous, and some wine is absorbed by the casks and some of the wine also evaporates in the process of transferring from cask to cask, and this is corrected or topped up by adding more wine to the casks, this process is called ‘Ullage, this process takes 2-3 months

Fining /Filtration: This is a speedy way of clarifying the wine. Fining is a process of coating a sticky film or substance on the surface of the wine in the cask, which slowly sinks to the bottom, carrying with it all the foreign matter and the invisible particles, leaving the wine clear. The sticky substance used can be, Egg Whit [albumen], Gelatin,

Isinglass [bladder of a royal sturgeon] or Charcoal

Blending: Blending is an art; it requires considerable experience, judgment and sensitivity.

It is a natural way of improving wine quality.

Different vineyards which have been matured through different years, ensure a consistent quality. Many Bordeaux wines are blended. True champagne ia always made from a blend.

Bottling:  Bottling is done before the wine loses its bouquet fineness, quality and colour.

Colored Glass bottles are preferred to store wine, to prevent the light from ruining the wine, different shapes are used to distinguish different wines. Some wines are left for aging in the bottles.

Corking: wood from the cork tree similar to the oak tree is used for corking the bottles, the bark of a cork tree is used, as it turns spongy after aging for 40yrs, lately oak wood is used by processing it suitably.

Maturing /Ageing:  Some wine is matured in bottles and some wine mature in casks. Maturing takes place by allowing wine to rest in oak barrels, which enhances and adds another dimension to the taste and flavour of the wine greatly. The wooden casks are porous in nature and the wine evaporates gradually and needs to be topped up occasionally.

New barrels have a lot of flavour to impart to the wine. The older the barrel the lower the flavour imparted; some barrels are roasted for a different flavour.

Maturing is done in different rates in different house to house process.

Young wine improve with years, E.g.: Bordeaux, and burgundy, [2-3 years.]

                                                              Chablis, [18 months.]

In the process of maturing, wine mellows down and the harshness is gone from the taste.

Red wines benefit a lot by maturing, but creates lees or sediment in the bottles, which should be decanted before service.

Storage: wine storage is done in cool conditions approx. 50-65º F.  the store must be dark, as light can ruin the wine, lights should be used only when required. Wines stored in bottles should be stored on their sides,[horizontally] as the wine will touch the corks and keep them moist, if the corks dry they will become brittle and there is scope of the air entering in the bottle and oxidizing the wine. Wines must be moved as little as possible.

Labeling: labeling is like a Birth certificate to a wine. It is the only piece of information that can help you figure out, what is inside of the bottle of wine. After reading the label you will not have any doubts about what kind of a wine you are drinking or purchasing, or what the wine will be like.

Background information: Geological reference:

Name of the country and the region,[ precise location vin growth]

A traditional Chateau name, Eg. Chateau Margaux
Specific Appellation or exact vineyard, which is in Europe,

E.g. Appellation Pomerol Contrôleé,

Appellation Bordeaux Supérieure Contrôlee’

All the wine comes from the region stated.
In the USA or Australia there is 85% rule allowing upto15% of wine to come from another region

Vintage: In Europe vintage is not need for the table wines, as they can be drunk young.

If wine is declared as vintage 85% rule comes in.

Quality level: Wines in European Union [EU] must carry quality level description on the label E.g. in the ascending order:  
Vin de’ Table
                                 Vin de’ Pays
 VDQS, or Appellation Contrôlee’
 [Vins délimités de

qualitié Supérieure]
  AOC, [Institute national des Appellations d Orginé Contrôlee’]

All terms are used for French wines.

Spain, Italy, Germany and other countries have their own classification systems.

If made outside Europe, the word Wine must be written on the label in order to allow to enter the EU.[ European Union]

Volume of the bottle: This will state the amount of wine in the bottle.

Most common size:      75cl, full bottle

                                      37.5cl, half bottle,

                                      150cl, a magnum.

Alcohol strength: Stated as % of the volume in the bottle.
Name and Address of producer: E.g. Appellation Bordeaux Supérieure Contrôlee’

Bottling information:         Château bottled,

                                              Domaine bottled,

                                              Estate bottled.

Main French term used is:   Mise en boutéille and where it was bottled.

                                       E.g.     Mis en boutéille ax Chateau

In Italian the word used is:   Imbottigliato,

In Spanish the word used is: Embotellado.

Grape varieties information: This information will let the buyers know, what grape varieties have been used to make the wine.

 In Europe and Australia, a single variety need only be made from 85% of the stated grapes, remaining being made from another variety.

  Additional information:
Some governments require health warnings,

Pregnant mother’s alerts, [Do not drink when pregnant],

In USA, warns, wine contains sulfites [sic].

Australia has to declare any additives like So2 which has its own
code no. 220.

These are legally binding which have to include on a wine label.

Bottles have a lot more information listed with attractive labels to stand out for competition.