Ever Wonder? How is Wine Made? Part 3

As discussed in the first two parts of this series, the wine making process begins with harvesting the grapes and then proceeds into fermentation. But, once the natural sugars in the grapes are converted to alcohol, the process isn’t over. The aging process is the third and final stage of wine making. And, it takes place in the winery and in the bottle.

Following fermentation, wines go into barrels, bottles, or storage tanks. Some wines will age for a few years before being released while others may age just a few weeks.

During this time, wines may undergo several processes. Sediment in the wine such as dead yeast cells, grape seeds, stems, pulp and tartrates (harmless tartaric acid crystals) may remain in a barrel or tank during and after fermentation. Immediately following fermentation, wine may be "racked" to remove this sediment or “lees.” Or, the wine may be aged for an extended period on the fine lees in what's called "sur lie" aging. Fine lees can enhance an aging wine with added richness, flavor and aroma complexity, and can also bind with excess tannins.

Fining is another technique used for clarifying wine using agents such as bentonite (powdered clay), isinglass (fish bladder), casein (milk protein), gelatin or egg whites, which combine with sediment particles and cause them to settle to the bottom, where they can be easily removed.

White wines are generally aged in vessels that preserve the grapes natural fruit flavors as much as possible. This is done by using stainless steel tanks, concrete tanks or neutral barrels (barrels than have been used for more than three vintages) which do not add oak flavors. But, Chardonnay is sometimes aged in new oak (up to three years old) to impart flavor and give it that “buttery” flavor.

Most red wines (and some white wines – especially Chardonnay) go through Malolactic conversion where sour acids (malic acid) are converted to less harsh, smoother acids (lactic acid).

Red wines are then typically aged in oak barrels. These may be new oak barrels (never before used) to impart bold oak flavors, a combination of new and neutral oak to add moderate oak flavors, or completely in neutral oak to impart no oak flavor.

Once the wines are through the aging process at the winery, the wine is bottled. Sometimes the wines are immediately sent to market while other wineries may choose to let their wines (usually reds) spend another year or two in the bottle before going to market.

So, wine making may seem easy, but to make a really good wine is quite difficult and involves multiple time-consuming processes.

The three parts of this series are meant as an overview of the winemaking process. Future blogs will deal with specifics in greater detail.

So, here to the wine makers who make it all possible. Cheers!

Ever Wonder? How is Wine Made? Part 2

Last time we began looking at the wine making process, starting with the grapes. While the grapes certainly are the most important ingredient in wine making, there is another very important ingredient - yeast. So, let’s take a look at the fermentation process.

Once the grapes are harvested and prepared for the wine making process, it time to turn the grape juice to wine. Large tanks are used in this process and here is where yeast is added.  It's the natural sugar in the juice of the grape that gets consumed by the live yeast. The bi-product of the yeast's consumption of sugar is alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2).  Remember that red wines have the juice and skins together in the fermentation tank and the production of CO2 causes all the skins to float to the top of the tank.  So winemaker's have to periodically 'punch down' the skins to intermix them with the juice or 'pump over' the juice as another means of keeping the skins mixed in with the juice. But regardless of the grape type, the fermentation process is relative quick, lasting typically from ten days to two weeks. And, another factor limiting the fermentation time is the life of the yeast. Depending on the strain of yeast, the fermentation process will stop once the alcohol level reaches levels of 16-18% when the yeast dies or after all the sugar is consumed.

Once fermentation is complete, white wines will be transferred to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels for aging. Red wine will then be separated from the skins and moved to vessels for aging. And, that’s where we’ll pick up next time - aging of wine. Cheers!

Did You Know that White Wine Can be Made from Red Wine Grapes?

Traditionally, white wine is made from ‘green’ grapes and red wine is made from ‘red’ grapes. But, did you know that white wines can be made from red wine grapes?

First, let’s take a quick look at how white and red wines are made. In the production of white wines, the grapes are pressed to extract the juice from the grapes. The juice may undergo additional processes to remove particles so that fermentation begins with clear juice. But, with red wines, the grape juice, skins and seeds are all present for fermentation. Then, the fermented red wine is drained from the tanks either by allowing the wine to freely drain, or by pressing the mixture to extract the wine.

The key to producing a red wine is the time that the red grapes and seeds spend soaking in the fermenting juice. If you simply were to press the red grapes, you’d find that the juice is nearly clear. It’s the skins that impart the color. So, to produce a white wine from a red wine grape, you simply don’t allow for any contact between the grape juice and the skins and seeds. That is, you simply follow the white wine-making process but using red grapes.

One of the most famous white wines that is made from red grapes is Champagne. Traditional Champagne is made from two red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (Pee-noh Mehr-n'yay)) and one white wine grape (Chardonnay). The Champagne is a white wine because the clear juice from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes are combined with the clear juice from the Chardonnay grape prior to fermentation with no skin contact.

And, other white wines are produced from red wine grapes. Interestingly enough one of the biggest red wine grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, is being made into a white wine. And that will be the subject of the next Behind the Cork™ wine of the week feature. Look for it! Cheers!

Ever Wonder? - What's that Stuff at the Bottom of Your Wine Glass?

Have you ever taken that last sip of wine only to find a nasty surprise either at the bottom of your glass or in your mouth? Sediment! It can be a very unpleasant discovery. But, luckily, it’s nothing to be worried about.

Sediment is a natural bi-product of the wine making process.

Wines are made from the juice of grapes. And, the skins of the grapes. And the seeds. And sometimes the stems. So, there are actually a lot of solids that are involved in wine making. That’s why, in some cases, you get some ugly particles in your wine glass.

It doesn’t just happen with red wines. White wines are susceptible too.

There’s a lot of chemistry involved in for formation of various types of sediment in wine. But, keeping it simple, these solids in your glass are mostly filtered out at the winery and are just microscopic when they leave the winery in the bottle.

But, age and temperature then act upon these microscopic particles to form the stuff you see in your wine glass.

Next time, I’ll get into a bit more detail on this topic. But, for now, don’t worry. This sediment is not harmful to consume. Cheers!

The Never Ending Search for Great Wine

A few years back as I started to become interested in wines, I was searching for a really great wine that I could dependably go back to time after time. While the search for a great wine was a fun adventure, it never seemed to converge on a wine that I could always go back to and enjoy as much as the first time.  As it turns out, that was just the start of the never ending search for a great wine.

Part of the reason that it's difficult, if not impossible, to find a consistently good wine year after year is the very nature of wine making.  Each year's harvest is different, with weather playing a huge role. The spring weather determines how many of the grapevine buds will turn into bunches of grapes. And the fall sun or rain determines how well the grapes will ripen. And not only is there the variability of the grape harvest, but there are all the factors that go into fermentation and aging of the wines.  All these variables make for ever-changes nuances in wines.

Then you come to understand that there's yet another factor.  As you make your way along the journey in search of a great wine, you get exposed to more and more wines. And in this process, your pallet changes.  What was once a really nice wine becomes a so-so wine. So you keep searching, trying to find that one really great wine.

And to this day, I'm sure that there has to be that one great wine out there. Somewhere.  So I'll keep searching. But I also realize that it's a never ending search for great wine.  Enjoy your search. Cheers!

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Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week -  Opolo Vineyard Summit Creek Cabernet Sauvignon ($20)

This wine from Paso Robles CA is a great find. Described as having defined tannins with flavors of cherry, blackberry, toasted almonds and vanilla this Cabernet is a winner.  A super wine to enjoy grilled meats, cheeses, or just by itself.  Check this one out!