20.4 Producing Premium Small-Volume Dry Red Wine for Bottle Ageing Flashcards
How would this wine be harvested? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Hand harvest
- Allows for sorting in the vineyard to pick only healthy, fully ripe bunches and carry out initial sorting in the vineyard.
- Grapes picked at optimum ripeness, better for quality. Typically, significantly more expensive than machine harvesting.
How would the grapes be transported to the winery? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Transport in small crates
- Grapes collected and transported in small crates to limit damage and reduce crushing to minimum.
- Negative effects on quality are avoided by minimizing crushing and the possibility of microbial spoilage or fermentation starting before reaching the winery.
How would the grapes be received at the winery? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- High levels of sorting. Various options – sorted by workers on sorting table, on a moving/ vibrating belt or optical sorting.
- Elimination of under or extra-ripe grapes or bunches and of diseased or mouldy fruit.
- Each level of sorting raises potential quality by removing substandard grapes and adds cost (time, labour, equipment). Removing grapes also reduces volume of wine produced, and this has an implication on the price the wine needs to sell at for the winemaker to make a profit.
What adjustments might be made? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Made as necessary
- As great care has been taken with the picking date (and therefore the balance of fruit ripeness and acidity level), adjustments will be minimal. In some years, wines may need to be chaptalized or the acidity adjusted.
- Can help enhance the balance of the wine, which improves quality.
What yeast would be used for fermentation? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Option: ambient yeast
- Option: cultured yeast
- Ambient yeast may have a range of species present and are considered part of terroir
- Cultured yeasts chosen for neutrality or for promoting aromatic traits; and for reliable ferment to dry.
- Promotion of distinctive aroma/flavour characteristics in the wine
- Possible promotion of certain selected aroma/flavour characteristics, or production of relatively neutral wine to which flavours and texture from oak and lees can be added.
What vessel would be used for fermentation? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Stainless steel, concrete or oak
- Stainless steel and concrete do not add oak flavours. Some winemakers will choose oak for a rounded mouthfeel and better integration of oak compounds during maturation
- Rounded mouthfeel and good integration of oak compounds. Large, high quality oak fermenters are expensive.
What choices would be made in regards to malolactic conversion? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Allow malolactic conversion to happen naturally or initiate it during or after alcoholic fermentation. Racking the wine to barrels so that it happens in barrels is also an option.
- Allowing malolactic conversion to happen naturally may be part of a low-intervention style.
- If malolactic conversion is in barrel: better integration of flavours. Additional cost is associated with every individual barrel needing to be monitored (see maturation in oak below).
What choices would be made in regards to blending? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Initial blending of free run and pressed wine before maturation.
- Wine to be blended to anticipate the desired style of the final wine.
- Balance between fruit intensity, tannin and acidity.
What choices would be made in regards to maturation? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Most small volume premium red wine is aged in small oak barrels.
- Ageing in small barrels promotes slow, gradual exposure to oxygen and especially if the barrels are new, exposure to extractable oak compounds and hence additional flavours.
- Greater complexity in the wine due to slow controlled exposure to oxygen plus additional flavours such as vanilla and cloves. Intensity and diversity of oak flavours will depend on proportion of new oak, type of barrels, length of time in oak etc.
What choices would be made in regards to finishing the wine before packaging? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Tartrate stabilisation
- Option: sedimentation if the wine is not sufficiently clear from time in barrel
- Option: fining, for example the traditional choice of egg whites
- Option: sterile filtration
- Consumers of premium wines may not accept tartrate crystals. If this is regarded as an issue, wines can be stabilised. Cold stabilization is the most likely option as it is traditional and involves the least manipulation.
- Some makers of premium wines believe that quality is preserved by the fewest possible interventions. They may wish to avoid fining and filtering the wine. Sedimentation to clarify the wine is the main option in this case.
- Ensure wine stays clear and bright. Egg white chosen as it is gentle to wine, removes harsh tannins and clarifies.
- Avoid risk of any faults developing in bottle.
- Maintain quality and style and avoid what some consumers may see as a fault.
- Maintain quality and style. Additional cost as wine has to be stored until it is clear.
- Refine the tannins and maintain style and quality.
- Maintain style and quality
What choices would be made in regards to packaging? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Glass bottle
- High quality cork or other high quality closures
- Only glass is suitable for wines which are intended to age as it is impermeable to oxygen.
- Most premium wine is bottled under high quality cork. This is partly because this is what consumers expect of high quality wines and partly because they offer the potential to age the wine further in bottle. Some premium producers will choose either a screwcap or a high quality technical cork with low oxygen transfer rates, or glass stoppers.
- Maintain style and quality and offer possibility of further ageing in the bottle.
- Maintain style and quality and offer possibility of further ageing in the bottle. Both high quality natural cork and glass stoppers are expensive options.
At what temperature would fermentation be carried out? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Relatively high fermentation temperatures (e.g. 30°C / 86°F)
- High temperatures promote extraction.
- Deeper colour, more flavour, higher level of tannins.
What choices would be made in regards to the final blend? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Final blend of lots or barrels
- Final blending to create the desired style of the wine
- Overall balance of fruit, oak, acidity and desired level of complexity. The cost is if some barrels of wine are not included in the final blend and are sold for less.
What choices would be made in regards to standard crushed fruit fermentation? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Grapes are crushed to release the juice and begin the process of fermentation. Cold maceration optional.
- Facilitate the beginning of fermentation and of the extraction of colour, aroma compounds and tannins from the skins. Where cold maceration is carried out, the purpose is to extract colour with minimal tannin extraction
- Beginning of process of extraction for desired level of colour, flavour and tannins. Cold maceration leads to deeper coloured wines, especially for low anthocyanin Pinot Noir. Additional costs of energy for chilling and taking up tank space.
What choices would be made in regards to retaining whole bunches or whole berries? Why? What is the influence on style quality and price?
- Fermentation is started including a portion of whole bunches or whole berries
- Whole bunches can add spicy/herbal flavours and some tannins. Whole bunches and berries can add a vibrant, fresh fruit character.
- Add to the complexity of the final wine. Minimal cost.
