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From Vine to Wine

Despite its mystique, the basic technique for making wine is relatively simple. Grapes are picked from the vine, separated from their stems and crushed (in more sanitary conditions than we learned from Lucille Ball). Whites are usually pressed and then fermented while red grapes are sent, with their skins, straight to fermentation. The skins impart not only the rich color of red wine but the astringency (or tannins) that create much of its character. (Rosé wines are generally left to ferment with skins for short periods of time.) Yeast is naturally present on grape skins, though additional yeast may be added to assist in the conversion of sugar to alcohol; the driest wines have no residual sugar left. After fermentation, the skins are removed from red wine grapes.

Once the wine settles, winemakers remove the sediment. Red wines and fuller-bodied whites age in oak barrels where they absorb vanilla, butter and smoky flavors from the wood. Wines are then filtered (if desired) and bottled on their own or blended with other grapes. This being said, the art of making wine is infinitely more complex. The soil, the sunlight, rainfall, exposure to pestilence, molds, the time of year that grapes are harvested, the time of day that grapes are harvested, the length of time the wine ferments, the temperature at which it’s stored, the containers in which it’s held…the list of variables is nearly endless. This is why we’re pleased with a good bottle of wine and why we cherish a great bottle of wine.