Red Wine

Winemaking really is one of the oldest and most natural processes in the world. The yeast required to cause fermentation is naturally present on the skins of grapes and can react with the grape sugars when they are broken or crushed to produce alcohol (ethanol) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). The skill of the winemaker is to harness this natural phenomenon into the production of wine suitable for general consumption.

The process of wine making varies with the different styles of wine, and here we describe the process for the most common styles.

Preparation

The first step in making a decent red wine is to have the grapes perfectly ready to be picked. This means they need to be picked not only at the proper time in their life cycle, but also at the right time of day to ensure the acids and sugars are all in perfect balance. The grapes are picked either by hand which is very selective and careful and helps prevent bruising or are picked by machine which is less discriminate over quality and violently shakes the vine in order to loosen the grapes. The grapes are often first put into a cleaner that removes any insects and leaves. The winemaker may choose at this point to also de-stem the grapes. Although not necessary it may well be done if the winemaker wishes to avoid a high level of tannin in the wine.

Next, the grapes are put into a machine, which gently squeezes the juice out. The old image is of winemakers stomping naked in barrels. It still occurs in parts of Europe but is a relatively rare sight these days. Perhaps corns and verrucas didn’t add to the character of the wine??

Fermentation and Maceration
	The must is held in a stainless steel vat for crisper reds, or in oak barrels for more mellow reds. Oak is the traditional method and is still widely used, but stainless steel has the advantages of being easier to cool and easier to clean. In whichever container used, the sugars inside the grapes are turned into alcohol by yeasts. Some wineries use only the naturally occurring yeasts that are found with the grapes. Others have cultured yeasts that they use year after year. This fermentation process typically takes from 3-4 weeks. The length of maceration, the time during which the juice is left in the vat in contact with the grape skins, depends entirely on the level of tannin and depth of colour required in the final wine. The solids (skins and stems) in the mixture float to the top, where they are pushed back down into the mixture. In more traditional wineries it was often left to one of the workers to break up and submerge the cap of skins. You see, winemaking really is a glamorous occupation!!! The skins are removed from the mix when the liquid has achieved the right amount of flavour and colour from it. Temperature is very important during this stage – it also affects flavour and colour. Often cooling pipes filled with liquid or even garden hoses with holes in them are run around the vats, to help maintain the correct temperature.
When fermentation is complete, the first run off from the vat is called the vin de goutte. Next, the mixture is pressed and the vin de presse comes out, dark and tannic. These two are mixed proportionally for flavour, and the result is put into oak barrels.

Carbonic Maceration:

This process is an alternative fermentation method. It works on the principle of allowing the fruit to ferment spontaneously under a protective layer of CO2. The weight of the grapes lying on top of one another is enough to cause the grapes to crush and release their natural juices. This natural juice is known as the “free-run” and will usually result in a wine being much softer and less tannic/astringent than a wine fermented in the traditional way. A good example of this type of wine would be Beaujolais Nouveau. However, that’s not to imply that all carbonic maceration wines are rubbish!!!!!!

Pressing

Pressing is the next stage in the process and occurs after the “free-run” has been removed from the fermentation vat. Pressing involves literally pressing the remaining grape mass and collecting the liquid gained from squeezing the mass together. However, pressing is not always undertaken in red wine production, as the liquid removed can very often be high in tannin and colouring pigments. What the winemaker may want to do is add a small percentage of the pressed wine to the “free-run” in order to create a wine with added tannin, character and longevity.

Aging/Maturation

Aging can be done in barrels, or now you can cheat and do it in stainless steel vats with oak chips scattered along their bottoms – very naughty, but unfortunately quite legal and quite effective in some cases!! However, decent reds are almost always matured in oak. Oak imparts wood tannin characters and a certain vanilla flavour. For some reason this vanillin character combines wonderfully with red wine and can add an extra dimension to an already great wine.

Malolactic Fermentation

Often, during aging, a special bacteria is added which allows Malolactic fermentation to occur. This additional fermentation which is almost always encouraged in red wines, often noted with a “ML” on the barrel being used, converts the malic (sharp) acid into lactic (mild) acid and CO2. This process softens the general acidity of the wine and, once finished, adds to its complexity and stability.

Racking

Racking of the wine is simply the process of transferring the wine from its barrel to a new barrel, which has been kept clean and sterile. This process gently aerates the wine helping it to soften slightly and also allows the wine to be removed from its sediment that is lying on the bottom of the barrel. This is desirable, as not only does it help the wine achieve a bright appearance but also prevents the sediment imparting any bitter characters to the wine.

Fining

This is a slightly controversial area of winemaking and one that is likely to upset those who are vegetarian and vegan. You see, some of the items used to fine wine are not top of the non-meat eaters shopping list. Egg whites, and isinglass are perhaps the two that immediately spring to mind. Other less controversial fining agents are bentonite and casein. The basic purpose of fining is to remove any suspended matter which threatens cloudiness in the bottle. The fining agent is passed through the liquid sinking from the top to the bottom. As it passes through any particles remaining in the wine will adhere to the fining agent and fall to the bottom.

The wine is stored for anywhere from 9 months to 21/2 years to give it the correct amount of flavour. It is at the discretion of the winemaker for how long a wine remains in barrel. Only by tasting the wine regularly can a winemaker truly understand when the time is right to bottle the wine.

Damn!! That must be an awful life having to taste wines straight from the barrel on a regular basis. I bet winemakers hate their jobs!!

Filtration

The final option before bottling is whether to filter the wine. Various methods of filtering exist, and they all entail running wine through a medium that prevents particles of a certain size passing. Passing the wine through a fine filter should guarantee a wine its stability and brightness.

Filtration is another area of controversy although not one of the same level as that of fining. The reason is that there are those winemakers who believe wine should be filtered and those who believe it should not. Hardly controversial I here you say!! Well it depends on who you listen to as there are those who believe that removing anything from a wine is bad whilst others see it as an essential part of creating good wine.

Bottling

It is the final process of a wines life in the winery. Bottles need to be sterile and the wine itself needs to be completely stable. Even in this final stage the wine remains vulnerable to oxidation and contamination until the cork is sealed into the top. Mechanical bottling lines which account for 97% of modern bottling can bottle, cork, capsule label and box the wine under one roof.

Each bottle carries its own lot number on the label or imprinted on the bottle. This is done to aid product recall in the event of an emergency – Think anti-freeze and Austria and you can understand the paranoia!!!!!!

Finally, the bottles are aged even further, both by the winery but also by the retailer and the consumer all hoping to bring the wine to the perfect point for consumption.