Wine Diaries

1. Wine Diaries “Wine Diaries” is a series of posts through which we will explore the basics of wine to help you know more and appreciate more of that drink the next time you have it in your hand! They say one should age like a good wine “ fruity and classy.” WINOLOGY INTRO: What is Wine after all? Wine is a collector’s fantasy and a sommelier’s dream. Wine is an immortal alcoholic beverage used as a companion to match and accentuate the fine feasting experience of scrumptious delicacies across the world.

2. Wine is a by-product of the catalyst- Fermented wine grapes and other fruits. By the virtue of their natural characteristic, grapes ferment with zero iotas of added sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Unlike table grapes, wine grapes used in the creation of wines are smaller, sweeter and have lots of seeds. WINOLOGY INTRO: How do you make this heavenly spirit? Best Wines are relished when they have the apt amalgamation of acidity, sweetness, alcohol, tannin and aroma compounds produced during the process of fermentation. To activate the perfect wine-serving experience, the key is to ensure the right temperature. Let’s take you through the recipe for wine so that next time someone raises a question about wine production, you can raise your hand. Harvesting Harvesting is the first and the most important step where the finest varieties of grapes are selected according to their tannin, acidity and floor content. A perfect balance of these components makes the grapes suitable to produce wine. It’s not as easy as it sounds because weather plays an enormous role in the harvesting of grapes. Harvesting can be initiated either technically or by hand but many prefer to do it by hand. After the harvesting, the grapes are sorted in fine bunches after picking out the rotten ones. Crushing & Pressing After selecting a fine bunch, the grapes are crushed after being de-stemmed. Stomping is conducted mechanically to produce something, which is called the “must”. It is grape juice, which contains seeds, skins and solids. In the case of white wine, to prevent unwanted colour and tannins from soaking into the grapes, the winemaker quickly crushes and presses the grapes to separate the grapes from their components. For red wine, it’s left as it is to retain the flavour and the tannins.

3. Picture Credit: Pexels Fermentation Now comes fermentation, which has a cycle of 10- 30 days. Wild yeasts in the air naturally help in the fermentation of the Must within a span of 6-12 hours. Some winemakers don’t opt for this and add commercial yeast to ensure good consistency. The process is continued till sugar is transformed into alcohol. Now, what we have is a dry wine. Clarification As the name suggests, clarification involves removing solids like tannins, proteins and dead yeast cells. The resulting wine is then put into a vessel or a steel tank or a barrel. Post clarification, winemakers do the filtration where outside substances are added to capture the bigger particles in the wine. The resulting filtered wine is then prepared for bottling. Ageing/Bottling A winemaker has two options, which include either bottling the wine or forwarding it for ageing, Wines are bottled with a cork or a screw cap. On the other hand, ageing is done in barrels or steel tanks, which prevents any oxygen exposure, resulting in a smoother version of wine. To stay in touch with us, follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. Source URL - https://altvibes.com/blog/%f0%9f%8d%b7wine-diaries/