Winemaking Flashcards
What is the process for making red wines?
1) Crushing
2) Alcoholic Fermentation
3) Draining
4) Pressing
5) Storage or Maturation
6) Packaging
How does the process of making white wines differ from making reds?
The grapes are pressed before alcoholic fermentation; grapes are directly pressed, and malolactic fermentation does not always occur
What 3 elements do yeast produce when they feed on the sugars in grapes?
1) Alcohol
2) CO2
3) Heat
What is the sugar leftover after fermentation called?
Residual sugar
True or false: Rose wines are rarely stored in oak
True
What is the ‘cap’ during fermentation?
When grape skins float to the top of the fermenting grape juice; it must be disturbed to extract colour and tanins from it
What is punching down and why is it needed?
In red wine fermentation, a plunger is used to push the ‘cap’ down into the fermenting liquid to draw tanins and color from it. Another method is pumping over
What is Pumping Over and why is it needed?
In red wine fermentation, liquid from the bottom of the fermentation vessel is pumped up through a hose and sprayed over the cap in order to draw tanins and color from it. Another method is plunging.
What is short maceration?
To make a rose wine, fermenting wine is drained away from the wine skins after only a few hours, then fermentation will continue at white winemaking temperatures.
What are the methods of rose wine production?
short maceration
blending
At what temperature are red wines typically fermented at?
20-32 C (68-90F)
What are the techniques for making sweet wines?
1) Concentrating Grape Sugars (extra-ripe, botrytis-affected, or frozen grapes) - Tokaj
2) Removing yeast (using extremely sophisticated filters) - White Zin
3) Killing the yeast through fortification/adding alcohol (above 15% abv kills the yeast) - Port
4) Adding sweetness (juice, conentrated liquid, or blend a dry wine with a sweet wine)
At what temperature are white wines typically fermented at (and rose wines after short maceration)?
12-22 C (54-72 F)
What 3 characteristics of an oak barrel impact how an it adds flavour to wine?
1) How the barrel is made (level of toasting)
2) The size of the barrel
3) The age of the barrel/how often it has been used
What impact does oxygen have on tannins?
It softens them
True or False: Large oak vessels are often used to give oak flavours in wine
False; small oak barrels are used to impart oak flavours as they have more surface area in contact with the wine
What is malolactice conversion?
After fermentation, bacteria convert the acids in the wine, lowering acidity and giving it buttery flavours
True or False: In red winemaking, malolactic conversion nearly always happens
True, but the buttery flavours are not noticable
What are lees?
A layer of dead yeast cells that forms at the bottom of the fermentation vessel
What does a red wine need in order to mature in the bottle?
High Acidity, High Tannin Levels, sufficient concentration of flavours
What is the appassimento method?
The grapes are dried indoors before producing wine in order to concentrate the flavours and sugars
Which two grape varieties are commonly used in the appassimento method?
Corvina (black) and Garganega (white)
