Basic overview of the process of making wine

The Art of Winemaking

Basic Overview of the Process of Making Wine

Learning about how wine is made, and the delicate processes involved, can help you to appreciate the craft as well as understand how certain flavour profiles are developed and preserved.

Colour

The colour of the wine depends on the colour of the grapes – specifically, the skins.

For a white wine, the grapes will be brought into the winery to be crushed and pressed, and then the skins and juices will be separated so that the juice remains clear and doesn't take on any colour from the skins.

The process of making red wine is similar. However, the main difference is that the skins will be left in contact with the juice to give it the red colour and tannins.

White wine can be made from a mixture of white and black grapes, as the skins are always separated. However, red wine has to be made from black grapes to achieve the signature colour.

When it comes to rosé wine, there will have been a red grape within the blend to give it a slight hint of colour, but the skin and the juice won't have been left together for as long.

Fermentation

Once the grapes have been pressed, and the skins have either been separated or left in contact with the juice, you will have the grape must – or grape juice – which will be fermented. As we have covered already, fermentation is the process whereby yeast converts the sugar in the grapes into alcohol.

In order for fermentation to occur, the grape needs to be at a certain temperature – not too cold, and not too warm. The process of fermentation is what turns the grape must into wine.

Decisions and Bottling

At this point, the winemaker will decide how to progress with the wine, depending on the flavour they're aiming to achieve. Options could be:

• ageing the wine in an oak barrel for additional flavour and depth
• moving the wine to a stainless steel tank to age without additional flavour
• fining and filtering the wine to remove lees or grape pulp and skins.

Finally, once the winemaker is happy, the wine will be bottled.

Wine Has One Natural Ingredient

Throughout the process, the winemaker's main focus will be protecting and preserving the natural flavour of the grape. Ultimately, the aim is for the resulting wine to be a really good expression of the grape it's made from.

Sparkling Wine

This starts out just as a normal wine does, and is pressed and fermented in the same way. However, to achieve the sparkling quality, the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. To do this, the wine is bottled with a little additional yeast and sugar to kick-start the fermentation process, and then corked to seal in the bubbles.

Once the yeast has done its job, it will fall to the bottom of the bottle; this is when the wine will begin the age on its lees. Sometimes the wine can be left to age for years, to achieve a deliciously bready and nutty flavour.

Air and Temperature

Most wines will be aged at some point in a stainless steel tank. One reason for this is you can regulate the temperature and thus have a little bit more control over the fermentation process.

The other reason is these tanks allow you to keep the air away from the grape must. Oxidation will change the character of the wine, and you can lose some key aromas and flavours. By sealing it away from the air, you're able to better preserve the taste.