Vinification Flashcards
What is Viniculture?
The art and science of winemaking.
Also, the decisions made and procedures performed in the winery that help shape the flavors, quality, and characteristics of the wine.
What are the 3 major styles of wine produced?
Table wine
Sparkling wine
Fortified/dessert wine
Vinification Factors
Pre-fermentation Factors
Fermentation
Types of wine making (red/white/rose, sparkling, dessert/fortifed)
Fermentation vessels
again and maturation
preparation for bottling
packaging
Fermentation Defintion/equation
Chemical reaction
Sugar from ripe grape juice + Yeast (ambient or inoculated) > Alcohol/C02 (as well as flavors, aromas and heat)
What are some pre-fermentation factors?
Sorting (remove excess leaves, branches, damaged fruit)
De-stemming (some do not de-stem)
Crushing
How is red wine production different from white wine production?
More skin contact/ Maceration
fermentation occurs after crushing but before pressing juices
basic winemaking steps
Harvest
de-stem or whole bunch
crush
press juice
fermentation (red wine will ferment before pressing juice)
aging?
Fine and or filter
bottle
3 types of vessel materiel for fermenting
Wood
Stainless steel (makes cleaner product)
Concrete
how big is a barrique?
225 liter
The size, shape, and material of fermentation container can directly affect which aspects of final wine?
Aroma
Flavor
Texture
Sizes and shapes of fermentation vessel
Large- 1000+ liter foudre
Small- 225 liter barrique
Egg-shaped (concrete)
What does barrel aging do to a wine?
evaporate excess water
Oxidation
textural changes
Flavor changes (vanilla, oak, toast, spice)
New oak barrel vs old oak barrel when aging wine
New oak imparts most flavor
old oak imparts little flavor, but can continue to contribute oxidative flavor and texture effects to wine
what color changes does oxidation have on red wines vs white wines?
White wines darken
Red wines lighten
Large barrel vs small barrel on how it impacts the wines flavor
large barrel imparts less flavor, small barrel more
has to do with skin contact
Types of oak barrels and their flavors
American Oak- Bold, more intense (vanilla, baking spice, dill and coconut)
French oak- often subtler (vanilla, toast, spice)
Slavonian, hungarian
What is “toast level” in wine barrels
toasting caramelizes sugar in barrels to light, medium or heavy
High toast increases vanillin, spice and toast flavors in wine
light toast promotes the most extraction of wood tannin
What is Malolactic Fermentation?
Tart malic acid is converted into safter lactic acid
can impart buttery flavors and a creamy texture in white wines
happens in both red and white
What is Carbonic Maceration?
Tanks are filled with whole berries are blanketed under C02 gas, berries at the bottom of the tank are crushed and fermented normally (think pressure cooker)
What are some unique flavors of carbonic maceration?
Banana, candied, pear, bubble gum flavors
What is lees contact?
winemaking decison to leave white and sparkling wine with yeasts produced by fermentation. Over time autolysis occurs
What is autolysis?
Occurs in the barrel
when yeast cells die and releases flavor components into wine. giving additonal richness, creaminess and texture
What is sur lee aging?
allowing wine to be left in contact with the lees for an extended period of time
What aromas come from sur lee aging?
Bread dough
yeast
toast
subtle white flowers
nuts
What is Must?
unfermented grape juice
What is chaptalization?
addition of sugar to must to increase the final alcohol content of wine
What is acidification
addition of tartaric acid to increase acidity of must to achieve improve balance in resulting wine
Common in Australia when wine is lean or flat
What is fining?
clarifying wine for attractiveness
What is cold stabilization?
fining process, causes tartrate crystals to precipitate out of the wine at low temperatures (25 degrees fahrenheit)
why is filtration done before bottling?
extract yeast and other microbes providing stability so wine does not re-ferment
Wine packaging other than bottle
Tetra pak (botabox)
keg
can
another name for screw cap
stelvin enclosure
types of closures on wine bottles
cork
screw cap (stelvin enclosure)
glass stopper or vino-lok
