Wine Making

SAMPLE DESCRIPTION OF A PROCESS: WINE MAKING
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes
the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide, and heat. Different
varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These
variations result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development
of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the grape's growing
environment, and the production process.
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection

of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The
science of winemaking is known as oenology. A winemaker may also be called a
vintner and the growing of grapes is viticulture.
Winemaking can be divided into two general categories: still wine production (without
carbonation) and sparkling wine production (with carbonation – natural or injected).
Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other plants.
HARVESTING
Harvesting or picking is certainly the first step in the actual wine making process.
Without fruit there would be no wine, and no fruit other than grapes can produce
annually a reliable amount of sugar to yield sufficient alcohol to preserve the resulting
beverage, nor have other fruits the requisite acids, esters and tannins to make
natural, stable wine on a consistent basis. For this reason and a host more, most
winemakers acknowledge that wine is made in the vineyard, at least figuratively.
The process of making fine wine requires that the grapes are harvested at a precise
time, preferably when physiologically ripe. A combination of science and old-
fashioned tasting usually go into determining when to harvest, with consultants,
winemakers, vineyard managers, and proprietors all having their say. Harvesting can
be done mechanically or by hand. However, many estates prefer to hand harvest, as
mechanical harvesters can often be too tough on the grapes and the vineyard. Once
the grapes arrive at the winery, reputable winemakers will sort the grape bunches,
culling out rotten or under-ripe fruit before crushing.
CRUSHING AND PRESSING
Crushing the whole clusters of fresh ripe grapes is traditionally the next step in the
wine making process. Today, mechanical crushers perform the time-honored tradition
of stomping or trodding the grapes into what is commonly referred to as must. For
thousands of years, it was men and women who performed the harvest dance in
barrels and presses that began grape juice's magical transformation from
concentrated sunlight and water held together in clusters of fruit to the most healthful
and mystical of all beverages - wine. As with anything in life, change involves
something lost and something gained. By using mechanical presses, much of the
romance and ritual has departed this stage of wine making, but one need not lament
too long due to the immense sanitary gain that mechanical pressing brings to wine
making. Mechanical pressing has also improved the quality and longevity of wine,
while reducing the winemaker's need for preservatives. Having said all this, it is
important to note that not all wine begins life in a crusher. Sometimes, winemakers
choose to allow fermentation to begin inside uncrushed whole grape clusters, allowing
the natural weight of the grapes and the onset of fermentation to burst the skins of
the grapes before pressing the uncrushed clusters.
Up until crushing and pressing the steps for making white wine and red wine are
essentially the same. However, if a winemaker is to make white wine, he or she will
quickly press the must after crushing in order to separate the juice from the skins,
seeds, and solids. By doing so unwanted color (which comes from the skin of the
grape, not the juice) and tannins cannot leach into the white wine. Essentially, white
wine is allowed very little skin contact, while red wine is left in contact with its skins
to garner color, flavor, and additional tannins during fermentation, which of course
is the next step.
FERMENTATION
Fermentation is indeed the magic at play in the making of wine. If left to its own
devices must or juice will begin fermenting naturally within 6-12 hours with the aid
of wild yeasts in the air. In very clean, well-established wineries and vineyards this
natural fermentation is a welcome phenomenon. However, for a variety of reasons,
many winemakers prefer to intervene at this stage by inoculating the natural must.
This means they will kill the wild and sometimes unpredictable natural yeasts and
then introduce a strain of yeast of personal choosing in order to more readily predict
the end result. Regardless of the chosen path, once fermentation begins, it normally
continues until all of the sugar is converted to alcohol and a dry wine is produced.
Fermentation can require anywhere from ten days to a month or more. The resulting
level of alcohol in a wine will vary from one locale to the next, due to the total sugar
content of the must. An alcohol level of 10% in cool climates versus a high of 15%
in warmer areas is considered normal. Sweet wine is produced when the fermentation
process stops before all of the sugar has been converted into alcohol. This is usually
a conscious, intentional decision on the part of the winemaker.
CLARIFICATION
Once fermentation is completed, the clarification process begins. Winemakers have

the option of racking or siphoning their wines from one tank or barrel to the next in
the hope of leaving the precipitates and solids called pomace in the bottom of the
fermenting tank. Filtering and fining may also be done at this stage. Filtration can be
done with everything from a course filter that catches only large solids to a sterile
filter pad that strips wine of all life. Fining occurs when substances are added to a
wine to clarify them. Often, winemakers will add egg whites, clay, or other
compounds to wine that will help precipitate dead yeast cells and other solids out of
a wine. These substances adhere to the unwanted solids and force them to the bottom
of the tank. The clarified wine is then racked into another vessel, where it is ready
for bottling or further aging.
AGING AND BOTTLING
The final stage of the wine making process involves the aging and bottling of wine.
After clarification, the winemaker has the choice of bottling a wine immediately, or
he can give a wine additional aging. Further aging can be done in the bottle, stainless
steel or ceramic tanks, large wooden ovals, or small barrels, commonly called
barriques. The choices and techniques employed in this final stage of the process are
nearly endless, as are the end results.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winemaking
https://www.winemonthclub.com/the-wine-making-process

Wine Making

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SAMPLE DESCRIPTION OF A PROCESS: WINE MAKING

Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection

CRUSHING AND PRESSING

Once fermentation is completed, the clarification process begins. Winemakers have

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