Wine Production

Question 1

Define debourgage

Answer 1

The French term referring to the process of allowing the juice to settle after must adjustments and before fermentation. This lets the must adjustment fully integrate into the juice and to have time to process more grapes or prepare the fermentation vessel

Question 2

What are the 5 steps of white wine making?

Answer 2

grape arrival, pressing, fermentation, aging, bottling

Question 3

Cold stabilization is intended to avoid the later development of what?

Answer 3

Tartrate crystals

Question 4

Define batonnage

Answer 4

Lees stirring - to amplify the effects of sur lie aging, batonnage refers to the process of stirring up the sediment so that the lees are stirred back up into the liquid.

Question 5

What are the five steps of red wine production? How is this different than white?

Answer 5

grape arrival, fermentation, pressing, aging, bottling: in red wine production, fermentation comes before pressing so that maceration can take place and the phenolics can be integrated into the juice.

Question 6

What are four techniques for cap management?

Answer 6

punching down, pumping over, rack and return (also known as delestage which is a sort of an extreme form of pumping over in which the fermenting juice is drained into a separate holding tank before it is returned to the original tank) and rotofermentation (a specialized fermentation vessel that either rotates on its own or contains an inner paddle that mixes the fermenting must)

Question 7

What is the ideal temperature for red wine fermentation?

Answer 7

the warmer the fermentation vessel, the more phenolics are extracted. therefore a moderate temperature of 60-70 would be ideal for a light, fragrant pinot noir. 85-95 would be perfect for a tannic blockbuster cab.

Question 8

Define polymerization

Answer 8

a small amount of oxygen does not oxidize the wine, rather, it helps tannin molecules to combine with each other in a process called polymerization. these long polymerized tannins feel softer and richer in the mouth compared to the original, short, hard tannins in the grapes

Question 9

Define mutage

Answer 9

Alcohol is added to grape must to stop fermentation. This is a process used to make port and any other fortified wine.