2021 Vinification Flashcards
What is vinification
(what is beginning and end)
The transformation of grapes into wine
Begins with delivery of grape to the winery and ends when the fermented wine is raked off its lees
How long does the vinification process take?
How long do most reds ferment?
Ho long can it take to ferment Sauternes?
Vinification can take between 1 week and 3 months
Fermentation of reds averages 10 to 15 days
Sauternes can ferment for 3 months
What does the rate of fermentation depend upon?
temperature
What is the byproduct of alcoholic fermentation
Heat
Carbon dioxide
Water
Alcohol
Why are most fermentation vessels open?
To let CO2 escape
Otherwise it becomes sparkling wine
Winemaker’s choices
1-Destemming
2- Crush or press
3- Must adjust = acidification, chapitalization, Sulphidication
4- Yeast selection (indigenous or selective)
5- Fermentation practices. (Temp, timing etc.)
6- Malolactic secondary fermentation
7- Clarifying, Filter and fining
8- Stabilization (addition of sugar to prevent fermentation of residual sugar)
9- Aging practices
What grape produces a wine that doesn’t age and why?
What is the wine style and from where?
What is the winemaking style called?
Gamay
Cru Beaujolais like Morgon
There’s hardly any tannin, so the grape is whole cluster press (no destemming)
Preferably soft pressing with stems (crushing would ruin)
Carbonic maceration with Whole cluster press
CHOICE MADE BEFORE PRESSING (OR CRUSHING)
1-Destemming and how and when is it done?
2-Cluster-Press and how and when is it done?
3- Exception to the destemming rule
1-Destemming
•Removal of stems (woody, harsh, rough) from grape.
•Either mechanically through coil destemmer machine or less often by hand
USUALLY all grapes are destemmed UNLESS grapes lack tannin and character
2-Whole cluster press
•Product more aggressive & bitter (more tannin)
•Could age better if grape lacks tannin
3-While cluster press is done with varietals low in tannin
Ex: Gamay known for lacking tannin so Beaujolais Nouveaux like Morgan use whole cluster press
Ex: Pinot Noir the ones that need more structure
Ex: Burgundy (Pinot noir)
In dessert wines when the grape is raisinated they are de-stemmed by hand
Pressing vs Crushing, and when most frequently used
PRESSING is soft and disposes of skins and seeds - WHITE
Most whites pressed since not extracting tannins
Pressing is elegant, delicate - used with fine wines and the best grown grapes
CRUSHING is harder and retains skins and seeds for maceration- RED
Most reds crushed to extract tannins
Crushing gets more extraction, but in danger of crushing woody seeds making it inelegant
Crushing is also often used to compensate for bad fruit in vineyard
White grapes are ordinarily pressed without stems with gentle expanding bladder inside a vessel.
•Exception = bad white grape fruit crushed to give more substance
Red grapes are generally crushed (so skins burst) so it can ferment with with seeds, pulp, skins for maximum extraction of expression
The fermented wine that runs off is called free run. The remaining sediment is called pomace
After fermentation, the sediment (pomace) is pressed, and the resulting wine is secondary quality
What is free run?
What is press wine?
Free-run = After fermentation on the skins, free-run is juice that runs off without pressure being applied.
This is considered to be the highest quality juice and most valuable
Press-wine = Wine pressed out of the pomace after fermentation. It is rarely, if never, added to the free-run and is secondary in quality due to its harsh tannis
Must vs Pommace
Must = Freshly pressed juice containing seeds, skins and stems. The sediment from pulp, skin and seeds remaining after fermentation
Pommace = The solid portion of the must
What is Press Wine and describe it
Wine that comes from pressing the pomace (sediment of skins, seeds and pulp) of a wine batch. This happens after the free-run is let out.
It is considered a secondary wine since it is harsh tannins. Sometimes it is added back into the free-run wine - common practice in Bordeaux
What are some additional uses of pomace
1- pressed to extract secondary wine
2-dried into briquettes and sold as fuel
3- tartare extracted from it for use in pharmaceutical industry and food industry (baking powder and cream of tartar)
4-compost in vineyard as fertilizer
5-sold to distilleries to make GRAPPA (Italy) MARC (France)
What is it called when the stems are pressed along with the grapes
Whole cluster press
MUST ADJUST and what are 3 types?
Human aided manipulation of the must just prior to fermentation
1- Acidification
2- Chapitalization
3- Sulphidication
What is alcoholic fermentation and byproducts?
Yeasts convert to sugar to produce and produce 1-water 2-heat 3- ethyl alcohol 4- Carbon dioxide
Why is alcoholic fermentation temperature important?
Determines the outcome of a wine and the behavior
Old world vs new world must adjust
Old world = generally ‘don’t touch it’ highly regulated
(France allows for some chapitalization)
New world = juice is highly manipulated
What is wrong with lots of manipulation of the wine?
Strips the wine of its’ natural character and magic - tastes manipulates and less elegant
What is acidification?
What do they add?
How can you tell if a wine has been acidified?
Old world? California?
When does acidity level change in wine on its own?
Process decided by winemaker (must adjust) when the grape lacks acidity. Usually from overly hot temperatures.
Tartaric acid added (rarely citric acid)
Recognized by notes of aspirin - its’ spritzy
Not allowed in Europe
Used in very hot regions outside of europe
In CA the consumers like fat fruit bomb flavor, so they ripen the grape beyond their acidity level and need to add acid in powder form to compensate
Acidity level of a wine changes on its own; after fermentation process and after malolactic fermentation, and during aging, it lowers
1-CHAPITALIZATION what is it 2-Where known to happen? 3- Where forbidden? 4- What is different about Italy? 5-Why is chapitalization believed to be bad? 6-What is norm in France? 7-What region is heavy handed?
1- A choice made by winemakers (must adjust) by adding refined sugar (fructose) to the must before fermentation in order to produce more alcohol when the fruit is lacking in sugar
2- Usually happens in colder climate countries where grapes cannot achieve ripeness and most grape growing region of world
3- Forbidden in warm regions like CA, S.Africa, Chile
4-It is forbidden in Italy BUT they do allow adding sweet ‘same grape’ must instead of sugar. (Not different grape.)
5- The temptation for growers is to overproduce harvest & chapitalize to compensate for bad, weak wine
6- Allowed in France in smaller quantities (cold Bordeaux vintages for example)
7-Burgundy and Switzerland known to add sugar when not needed
Why is the trend of chapitalization changing?
1- It is bad for you (they use refined sugar in the form of fructose)
2-Global warming is warming up the growing regions
3- It spoils the wine - makes it feel and taste artificial
What is sulfidication?
Who uses it and what does it do for the wine?
What is the danger of sulfites?
Sulfidication is a choice the winemaker makes (must adjust) in which sulphur dioxide is added to the must
99% winemakers use it - wines that don’t use it spoil quickly
1-Astringent = kills bacteria and mold
2- Antioxidant = prevents it from aging and discoloring
3- Controls fermentation = it prevents wild yeasts from starting to ferment by inhibiting organisms from acting
Only problem is for people with asthma - they’re allergic
Sulfites do not give you headaches - drinking too much does
What are some common facts about sulfites;
4 Main uses:
When is it used in the winemaking process?
Population affected
Amounts in wine
Comparison in dried fruit
What: Antioxidant (preservative) Antiseptic - kills bacteria and mold Selective over yeasts Clarification
Sulfites are a natural result of winemaking whether added or not, but not enough to keep it fresh, so we add more
When used: before, during and after fermentation
1-Sulfites are used (sprayed)in the vineyard to avoid pests and disease - good growers don’t overdo or get wine faults.
2-Sulfites added during must adjust in 99% of wines.
3-Sulfites are added during stabilization once wine completed
1% of general population is affected by sulfites (asthmatics) but all wineries are required to label if they contain more than 10ppm (parts per million)
US Wine has no more than 350ppm
Organic wine has no more than 100ppm
Dried fruit contains 3,500ppm. - there is more sulfites in chocolate, tea, French fries than in wine
What does yeast do, and what is the byproduct
What is the main type of yeast in winemaking and beer-making called?
What is an example of a common wild yeast?
In the absence of oxygen, yeast converts sugar in grapes into 60% ethanol (alcohol) and the byproducts are CO2, water and heat
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
Brettanomyces - small amounts in a controlled way can add complexity, otherwise it is a wine fault. Makes wine taste foxy
Discuss indigenous yeast
Indigenous = native
Enhances the characteristic of terroir
Colonies develop in Old wineries (100 years) with tradition and their vineyards - these vineyards don’t need to add sulfites since they aren’t trying to inhibit these native yeasts
Newer wineries won’t have the sophisticated native yeasts, but likely notes of maneuver or nailpolish
Discuss Selected yeasts
A specific yeast strained selected and cloned in a lab
Theses yeasts are resistant to effects of sulfites, so while sulfites inhibit the wild yeasts, the selected ones are able to do their job.
Chosen for various flavor profiles - banana for whites is popular, blueberry for reds
Where is the yeast present?
On the bloom of the grape berry
The waxy outer layer on the skin of the berry
How does yeast affect organic wines?
Often organic wine producers use native yeasts and end up with angular, rough, barnyard, inelegant wines that don’t keep well for lack of sulfites.
The less manipulation of the wine, the more _______
Expression of terroir and complexity
How can heat caused by fermenting must be a problem?
How to solve for this, and why necessary?
The wine can get ‘cooked’ and ‘stew’ the aromas from the heat in the must
Heat can promote bacteria and mold
Temperature control - either individually controlled tanks or a climate controlled winery
Ideal temp = 55-60
Temp control is necessary to keep the wine clean and create a more elegant fine wines
What is the downside to cooling down must during fermentation (temperature control)
Fermentation takes longer - yeast works slower when cold
4 days could instead take 2 weeks
What profiles does cold fermentation result in?
What profiles does warm fermentation result in?
Cold = perfumey whites
Warm = big, jammy, thick, extracted
What can happen if fermentation temperature is not properly controlled?
What percentage of wineries use it?
Wine faults and flaws
90% wineries use temp control
What is cryomaceration? (CM)
A method of extraction of flavor and tannins in grapes that don’t have a lot of them - increased stability and flavor development
Crushed grapes are held at subzero temperatures in order to weaken the cellular structure in grape skins (from ice crystal) for about 4 hours - then defrosted
Grapes are destemmed then frozen - ice crystals weaken the cellular structures containing polyphenols. Once defrosted, 50% more of the compounds can be extracted than conventional methods.
•This is the lower quality, artificial method for making Eiswein - but not same quality as Eiswein made naturally. Usually lesser quality grapes (likely for yield management). You’re only extracting ‘more’ underdeveloped flavors.
Describe maceration of white wines
Grape usually pressed upon delivery to the winery
Maceration in whites is either avoided or allowed on small quantities
Usually, The solids are thrown away, only the pulp is fermented, so there’s no maceration.
(Unless you want more flavor and complexity, then it is cryomacerated)
It has to be cold since whites don’t have polyphenols - otherwise it would brown
Describe maceration of red grapes
Red grapes are generally crushed not pressed so skins burst to extract color and tannins
Barolo has a 2 week maceration due to massive tannins - can age 50 years
What will the maceration length determine in a wine?
The body of the wine and the mouth feel
What is maceration?
The winemaking process of soaking the phenols out of the grape solids.
Phenolic material of grape (tannin, color, flavor) are leeched from the skins, seeds and stems and made into must
This is when red wine receives it’s colors
It happens generally in parallel to fermentation
What wines are exceptions to allowing some contact with the skins during fermentation?
Varietals with less natural flavor like Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are allowed short amount of maceration prior to pressing
What are the styles of rose and where are they mostly found?
1- Seigne = Tavel on the Rhône in France, Southern Italy, parts of Tuscany
2- Rose de Presse = Bandol France
Discuss Seigne
RED WINE METHOD
Seigne means blood in French - it is like ‘bleeding out’
Stronger rose style of the two = darker, bold
1-Maceration of 4 to 12 hours on red grape skin
2-CO2 pushes solids to top to create a ‘cap’ - that’s where all the color and phenols are
3-valve is opened at bottom of tank and wine is extracted (ALL FREE-RUN, NO PRESSING)
The remaining must of the cap stays in the tank to continue to ferment into a red
Discuss rose de presse
Skin contact
Also known as whole tank press, and is the gentler rose of the two
The grape is kept at a cold temperature during a very slow press (approx 4 hours). Long enough to release a bit of color from the skins, but not long enough to get too brown. Rose de presse has a salmon color from slight oxidation
The skin is thrown out and the juice is fermented
Bandol
What is a cap?
The lees, sediment and solids in the must that rise to the surface of the tank during fermentation from release of CO2 that pushes it upwards forming a cap.
Is there such thing as a green Zinfandel grape?
Sutter Home accidentally made a rose - instead of throwing it out they marketed it as White Zinfandel. It then had a stuck fermentation, so thus was the creation of a very cheap, sweet, rose from a red Zinfandel grape - forever confusing people into thinking there was a green Zinfandel grape variety.
What is a stuck fermentation?
All the yeast dies (becomes dormant) before the sugar is gone, leaving residual sugar
What are the components that make up wine and roughly their percentage?
There are over 600 components
1- water 85% 2-alcohol 13% ethyl alcohol (methyl which causes blindness from bad yeast) 3-polyphenols = antioxidants 4-acid from grapes = fixed 5- acid from fermentation = volatile 6- minerals 7-glycerol 8-sulfites 9-residual sugar 10-200 terpens and esters
How much alcohol is in wine?
9-17%
Minimum 9%
After 17% the yeast dies
What is some bad yeast in danger of producing and how to control?
Can produce methyl alcohol instead of (ethyl alcohol)
It can make you blind
The bad yeast can be controlled from growing by using sulfites or selective yeasts
What are the 3 age stages of smell, and describe
PRIMARY AROMAS (varietal characters)= comes from the grape - TERPENS in grape -young wines - aromatic wine aromas The most interesting aromas to drinkers If a wine is aged too long, the primary aromas go away Fruit,
SECONDARY AROMAS (fermentative) = comes from yeast, fermentation and the winery- ESTERS
These aromas never go away - the wine would go bad first
Florals, minerals, malolactic fermentation aromas, pear, rose, banana
Brett
TERTIARY AROMAS = (aging aromas) - OXIDATIVE ESTERS, only aged wines hav these profiles - the wine is overly aged if the primary aromas are no longer present during this stage
Leather, forest floor, truffle, tar, cedar
What are the 5 main characteristics of wine that affect the flavor/aroma of wine?
ACIDITY= Fixed acids from grapes:
1- Malic acid = most aggressive - cooler climate grapes - green apple, kiwi
2-Tartaric acid = most elegant, fresh and enjoyable - the main acid of vitus vinifera - this acid crystallizes and salinifies
3-Citric acid = Strong citrus notes, sour - can be dangerous as easily transforms into acetic acid (vinegar taint)
4- Lactic acid = soft and smooth, buttery, cream, (only in secondary malolactic fermentation)
ALCOHOL = warm, hot tactile sensation on the palette, throat and chest
TANNINS = grippy sensation - not a flavor but a textural astringent taste
SWEETNESS = from residual sugar - fructose will smoothen sensation of acidity, (but not tannins)
GLYCEROL = midpalette sensation - ‘body’ -gives structure, smoothness and softness, viscosity
