Wine Production
Making wine isn't quite as simple as growing grapes, picking them, crushing them and bottling the juice. The quality of the grapes at harvest time, is the most important factor in determining the quality of the final wine produced.Some of the dependant factors in producing wine are:
Grapes, Soil, Climate, Aspect, Viticulture, Vinification.
The Grape
The main parts of the grape that influence wine are the skin and the pulp. The skin from red grapes is used to control the color and tannins in red wine. The pulp is squeezed and produces the main juice for the wine, as well as the fruit flavors.
There are many varieties of grapes and the variety determines some of the wine's qualities.
Red Grape Varietals: · Cabernet Franc · Cabernet Sauvignon · Gamay · Grenache · Malbec · Merlot · Meunier · Nebbiolo · Petit Verdot · Pinotage · Pinot Noir · Sangiovese · Syrah/Shiraz · Tempranillo · Zinfandel
White Grape Varietals: · Chardonay · Chenin Blanc · Gewurztraminer · Muller-Thurgau · Muscat · Pinot Blanc · Reisling · Sauvignon · Semillon · Sylvaner · Trebbiano · Voignier
The Soil
The best wines come from the vines with the deepest roots. This usually means the vines are very old. A deep root system enables a vine to reach more nutrients and water. Access to deep water allows vines to survive through hot dry summers and stronger root systems allow vines to tolerate harsh cold winter months. Good drainage is important for all vines, as well as a lighter topsoil layer.
Climate
Vines grow best when they receive many hours of sunlight (located preferably between 30-50 degrees latitude). In addition to heat and sunshine, they need rain and some frost.
The best weather for growing grapes is to have a long warm summer, which allows the grapes to slowly ripen and develop sugar, a warm and dry fall to prevent rotting vines, and rain falling in the winter and spring with just a little in the summer.
Aspect
This means topography - the lay of the land (direction the slopes face, angle of the slopes). You want to have slopes get the most amount of sunshine (in the northern hemisphere they should face south and in the southern hemisphere they should face north). A good slope will also protect the vines from receiving the sun's rays directly - the sun will rarely be immediately overhead and so the rays fall at an angle to the vines. Slopes also provide a good drainage system.
Viticulture
This relates to the way in which vines are grown and maintained. There are two basic ways for vines to be grown; cane trained and spur trained. Cane trained vines have one main branch which it is pruned back to every year and then the new growth sprouts upwards from it. Spur trained vines do not get pruned back as dramatically and result in having older more solid frame.
Vines can be trained to grow close to the ground to retain heat or higher away from the ground to reduce the effects of frost. Pruning is important to maintain the quantity and quality of the fruit.
Deciding when to harvest a crop is crucial to the final taste of the wine. If grapes are picked too early then they can be too acid and lack sugar and color. Grapes allowed to ripen will be sweeter, have more aroma and better tannins (in red grapes). It is a carefully calculated balance, taking into consideration the weather, throughout the crop's life cycle, geographic location and grape variety.Temperatures fall as you gain distance from sea level. This must be kept in mind when you consider the best average temperature for vines is 57 degrees Fahrenheit or 14 degrees Celsius. Frost and hail can severely damage a vine if it hits at the wrong time.
Vinification
White wine can come from red or white grapes. The determination of the color of the wine is at the beginning of the fermentation process. White wine is fermented with on only the juice. Red wine is fermented with the juice and the skins. The skins provide color and tannin for red wines and usually remain for about 3 days in the fermentation process.
Once the skins and any other materials are removed, they will by pressed again and any wine produced is called vin de presse and may be added back into the wine depending on the style of wine being produced. The leftover 'marc' from fermentation (skins, pips, stalks), may be wetted and fermented again to produce brandy.
Fermentation is the biochemical process that converts grape juice into wine. Yeast produces natural enzymes that turn fruit sugars into equal quantities of alcohol and carbonic gas. The process ends when the sugar supply is depleted or the alcohol level reaches a toxic level. Fermentation can also be stopped manually by using heat, sulphur dioxide, centrifrugal filtration, alcohol, pressure or carbonic gas.
Malolactic fermentation takes place later and is the biochemical process that converts malic acid into two parts lactic acid and one part carbon dioxide. Malic acid is harsh and this process will often soften the wine. It is usually necessary in the production of red wine, but may not occur for many white, rose or sparkling wines. If malolactic fermentation occurs in the bottle, then it produces a sparkling wine.
Wine
Here are some stores to buy wine from online.