02 Vinification Flashcards
Steps of the winemaking process
- Harvest
- Sort (under-ripe, over-ripe, stems, animals)
- Crush
- Press & remove skins (white wine)
- Fermentation
- Press (red wine)
- Aging
- Fining / filtration
- Bottling / packaging
Crush pad decisions
- Sort (under-ripe, over-ripe, stems, animals)
- Destem (or not) - most destem, but ripe stems can add perfumy character
- Crushed or whole berry - crushed breaks fruit & lets juices escape, whole berry is used in carbonic masceration
- Pressing - whites & rose are pressed before fermentaiton, reds are pressed afterwards
Fermetnation vessels (shape & size)
Small vessels: more control over what goes in, smaller batches
Larger vessels: more goes in, have a consistent taste
Egg shape: fermentation takes place in the center & induces movement so the yeast never settles
Vessel material
Stainless steel
- Easy to clean, can control temperature
- Lets solids fall out before bottling
Wood
- Lets wine breathe more, extract flavors from wood
- Some evaporation increases concentration
- New vs. Old barrels - cost & level of extraction tradeoffs
Carbonic Maceration
- Tank filled with whole berries under CO2
- Intracellular fermentation (fermentation within the grape, so it bursts open)
- Berries at bottom are crushed & ferment normally
- Imparts a candied fruit characteristic
- Examples
–> Traditional style in Beaujolais
–> Sometiems seen in Syrah
–> Sometimes seen in Cabernet Franc in Loire
Winemaking additions
- SO2
- Chapitalization
- Acidification
- Water
Chapitalization
- Addition of sugar to must to increase final alcohol content of wine
- Common in cooler areas / vintages
- Low sugar content will be acidic, sugar helps yeast react and makea more rounded wine
Acidification
- Addition of acids to must or to a finished wine
- Common in warmer climates to get a balanced wine
SO2
- Traditional addition
- Natural winemaking ahs more wild flavors
- Keeps wine clean and fresh
- Let’s varietal characteristic show through
Water addition to grapes
- Common in warmer climates
- yeast dies at >16% alcoholic content
- Water dilutes & lets yeast continue fermentation
- Dilution can reduce acidity & sometimes additional acid needs to be added
Lees
- Autolysis: breakdown of yest cells to add complexity
- Gives richer, creamier texture
- Provides extra flavor
–> Bread dough
–> Yeast / Beer
–> Toast
–> Light floral
–> Nuts (blanched almonds, pine nuts, peanut shells) - Used in cool-climate growing to derive more expressive aromas & flavors
- Used on white and sparkling wines: e.g., Pinot Grigio & Muscadet, Champagne
Malolactic Fermentation
- Tart malic acids converted to softer tasting lactic acid
–> Malic acid is intense, astringent, and tastes of under-ripe green apple & sour candy - Common in red wines
- Imparts flavor & texture to white wines
–> butter (diacetyl)
–> cream
Cap Management
- Cap: big layer of grape skins at the top of the tank
- Goal: have cap soaked in wine to extract & get the most color / flavor
- Considerations
–> Level of Oxygen exposure
–> Temperature control - Masceration options
Cap management: Maceration options
- Pump Over: pump from bottom of tank onto top to extract flavor
- Punch down: big stick to push the wines down and to let them stay moist & extract flavor
Wine Faults
- TCA (damp cardboard)
- Sulfur Compounds (rotten eggs, onion, no fruit)
- Volatile Acidity (vinegary, hairspray)
- Ethyl Acetate (nailpolish)
- Bretanomyces (barnyard)
- Oxidation (nutty, bruised, no fresheness / brightness)
- Maderization (cooked, burnt sugars)
TCA
- Wine Fault
- Tastes like damp cardboard, dirty basement, old book
- Mold in contact with chlorine based chemical
- Typical problem with natural cork that has bacteria
Sulfur Compounds
- Wine Fault
- Sulfur dioxide: smells like match stick, rotten egg, shuts down fruit flavors
- Hydrogen Sulfide: lack of O2 during fermentation; gives an onion smell; can reduce by swirling wine with copper penny
Volatilie acidity
- Wine fault
- Intense aromas that are vinegary - like hairspray
Maderisation
- Wine Fault
- Flavors that are cooked - burnt sugar, toasted marshmallow
- Improper bottle storage
Fining
- To improve attractiveness of wine by clarifying
- Cold stabilization: process to preciptate out tartrate crystals
- Can use bentonite or egg whites
Filtration
- Helps with microbial stability to ensure no re-fermenting occurs in bottle
- Ensure yeast / other microbes are gone from the bottle by passing through a series of filters
Implications of barrel aging
- Evaporates excess water
- Oxidizes: white wines darken from pale yellow to gold, red wines lighten in color
- Textural changes: wine softens
- Flavors imparted: Vanilla, Oak, Taost, Spice, Coconut
French vs. American Oak
French - subleter aromas of vanilla, toast, & spice, cedar
American - bold, more itennse flavors of vanilla, baking spices, carmel, dill, & coconut
