wine production steps

WINE MAKING PROCESS

The entire discussion of wine making will be done under Three heads.

1) Viticulture

2) Vinification

3) Care of wine

VITICULTURE

Area of growthà Grows best in the temperate zone . In Northern Hemisphere 30° to

50° latitude and in southern hemisphere 30° to 40°latitude . In India it grows the best in Nashik, Narayangaon, Hydrabad .There are around 25 million acres of vineyards world wide i.e 10 million hectares (1 heotare= 2.475 acres). The total wine harvest of the world in enough to oater to each and every inhabitant of the world with 8 bottles of wine a year.

SOIL→ It is generally acknowledged that the grapes grown in the poorest kind of soil which is even difficult to till produce better quality of wine than grapes grown in richer soil although a rich soil will produce grapes in more quality but the best composition of soil is considered to be combination of chalk or limestone, slate gravel (Coarse sand) and Schist (crumble form of granite)

CIMATE→ 1. The winter should be short and cold but not severely so, with good supply of rain.

2. The spring should be mild may be a little warmer with those beneficial showers of April.

3. The summer should be hot and long with nice balance of rain preferably in mild shower.

4. A daily average of sunshine is much preferable to the short scotching bursts.

5. The crucial month of SEPTEMBER. and OCTOMBER. Is best is best benefited b an Indian type of summer with little rain in between.

TEMPERATURE→ An annual average temperature of 10°c is considered ideal but when grapes are maturing 25°cis considered ideal. But the most ideal temperature for growth of vine is 25 to 28°c 60 to 80% of humidity is considered to be the best.


VINIFICATION

Harvesting→ They are ready to harvest the early autumn. The grapes are cut by a special type of scissor called as Secatues. The amount of sugar content in the grape is measured by a hand held Refractometer. The sugar content of the juice is known as “ Must Weight

Grading and Weighing à After the grapes are harvested they are taken to the Winery where they are graded as per specification and weighed. In California a rectangular container having wheel is use to transfer the grapes to the winery. This container is called as Gondola. The grapes have to be transferred to the winery as soon as possible to avoid oxidation and breaking up of the grapes in the container. In the winery the rotten and unnecessary grapes are separated from the good once. This process is known as the Epluchage.

Crushing à The crushing can be both manual and mechanical. In manual crushing people crush the grapes by their feet. In Spain in special studded boot is used for crushing the grapes. This boot is known as Zapators di Pisar. The studs are made in such manner that it prevents the seeds from getting crush.

a) Cylindrical or Horizontal Press

b) Hydraulic or Vertical Press

c) Pneumatic Press

d) Dragnet

Vatting à After all the must is taken out it is transferred to the vats where they are fermented. The vats once a time used to be made from wood, but now a days stainless steel vats, concrete vats and glass lined containers are used.

Chaptalization à The process of addition of cane sugar to the must to improve the alcohol potential is called as Chaptalization.

Fermentation à Fermentation is the action of the yeast on the sugar to convert it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The most ideal temp.for fermentation of white wine is 15° to 18°C and the most ideal temp. for the fermentation of red wines is around 29.4°C

Maceration à This is a part of fermentation. In case of red wine the skin is allowed to remain in contact with the must till the fermentation gets over. In case of rase wine the skin is allowed to remain in the must for around 24 hours. In case of white wine the skin is separated from the must as soon as possible.

Attemperators à These are the pipes entering into the vats in zigzag motion and coming out which carry cold water in them continuously and help in maintaining the temp. below 36°C.These pipes are called Attemperators. They are used only in case of wooden tanks. In case of stainless steel tanks the tanks are sprinkled with cold water to maintain the temperature.


CARE OF WINE

After the fermentation gets over the wine is made got they have to be aged. Before being bottled for consumption. Red wines are generally aged in wooden casks where as white wines are in stainless steel tanks. There is hole in the cask through which wine is poured into the cask. This hole is known as “ Bung”. The bung is stopped by a bung peg. The cask is then transferred to Chai.

Chai à The chai is above the ground arrangement for ageing and maturing of wine.Chai is a warehouse where the casks are stored.

Racking and Fining à Racking is the process of separating the wine from the solid material like grape skin, seeds and dead yeast etc. The wine is siphoned off from the top into the fresh cask. The wine along with some residue are at the bottom of the cask. Fining is process of addition of a proteinous material known as fining agent to the wine too remove the suspended particle from the wine. The different the fining agents which are used are egg white, bentonite clay Isinglass(Bladder of Sturgeon) Ox blood, gelatin, sparkolloid etc. This fining agent is beaten and whisked before being added to the wine. It forms a film on the surface of the wine which gradually sinks down to the bottom of the cask along with all the suspended particles.

Filtration à Filtration is done to get absolute clarity in the wine Cellulose, Vegetable charcoal etc. are used as filter beds.

Blending à Blending is a legitimate process to get a predetermined standard which the wine is known for in the market.

Filtration à After the wines are blended they are filtrated once again to render it absolutely clear.

Bottling à Wine is generally bottled in bottling plant. The bottling plants are fully automatic . wine is generally bottled in glass bottles and never in metallic bottles as it is going to react. As a general rule “ white wines are bottled in green color bottles, red wines are bottled in amber colored bottles and rose wines are bottled in transparent bottle “.

Corking à After the wines are bottled they are corked . Corks are made from the bark of the tree called as Quercus Suber. The best corks are produce in Portugal.

Labeling à Finally the bottle is labeled. Labeling is dressing Label containing the name of the wine, alcoholic strength, volume etc, is put on the wine bottle In Champagne bottle a metallic foil is put on the bottle covering the cark and the neck of the bottle. This is called “capsule.”