The Process Of Manufacturing Wine

Wine, which is a drink we all know and love, is produced from grapes by crushing and then fermenting them. Once the fruit ferments, the sugar within the fruit will turn into alcohol. The wine will display a different color, taste, and aroma depending on the type of fruit that it was made from.

Wine is divided into three main categories – fortified, sparkling, and table. Wine is known as fortified when a bit of brandy is added into it to enrich the alcohol. Wine is deemed as sparkling when it has the right level of C02. Table wine is typically a blend of a few varieties of grapes.

Normally, grapes are the preferred ingredients for making wine. They contain a delicate balance of acid and sugar, which can’t be found in any other type of fruit. To use grapes with wine though, you need to know the exact harvest season. If you don’t pick the grapes during the right time, your wine will suffer due to the level of increases in sugar and a lack of acid.

During the beginning stages of wine making, the grapes or other fruit is crushed by a destemmer / crusher into a must. The “must” is then cold soak to extract the natural colors and flavors. At that point yeast is introduced and the fermentation process is under way. During this part of the process, the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol and CO2. Once fermentation is complete the “must” is pumped to a press where all the juice is extracted.

Next, is the settling and secondary fermentation. Settling involves the yeast cells and other cellulose material naturally drifting to the bottom of the barrel or tank. Aging is next, which is where the wine is racked to French or American oak barrels (or stainless steel tanks for white wines) for months – sometimes even years. Once the wine has been aged to perfection it is bottled.

When the wine is bottled, it is cellar aged for at least a year to get rid of “bottle shock” and to let the natural flavors come through.

Once you have bought a bottle of wine, you should always make sure you store it in the right place. The most appropriate places to store wine is a wine cellar or cooler, or anywhere else that has the right humidity and temperature. No matter where you store your wine at, you should always make sure that temperature stays around 55 – 60 degrees F.

Never store the wine in an area where the temperature fluctuates or where sunlight may reach it, as it can harm the wine. A humidity level of around 60% is also important, in order to keep the cork moist. If the temperature is too low, it can also harm the wine. When you buy your wine, you should always make sure that you store it in the right location. Wine that is properly stored and taken care of can be truly amazing once you drink it – making it more than worth the time and effort. Salut!!