The crush pad, an area in front of the cellar, is like a beehive. Grapes arrive from various vineyards where they await their fate. Grapes are crushed, de-stemmed, settled, filled into barrels or steel tanks, pumped over, punched down and monitored carefully in their journey from vineyard to cellar in this busy hive.
While picking and sorting is preferably done by hand, enthusiastic wineland tourists have participated in grape pedicures. Traditionally, grapes have been crushed by foot-stomping, however, this process is generally performed mechanically.
As homebrewers have known since time immemorial, time is of the essence when dealing with fresh fruit.
Generally, when white wine is crushed, seeds, skins and other solids are separated, in order to prevent tannins and colour from affecting the wine. For ‘orange’ or skin contact wine, the winemaker discerns how long they prefer to allow skins to ferment with the free-run juice. This affects the colour as well as the chemistry.
For red wine, tannins, flavour and colour are derived from the seeds, skin and other solids, as such, after crushing, the juice is fermented with the solids.
The process involves regular monitoring, measuring of acid, ester, sugar and other levels and consistent tasting. Like a science lab, few places are cleaner than a cellar during harvest. Even foot pressers know to scrub between their toes as any interference can affect the taste of the resultant wine.
As ‘the great home-brew of 2020’ demonstrated, the process of transforming sugar from fruit into alcohol is known as fermentation.
Fermentation happens rapidly, within 6-12 hours, alcohol can begin to form. As such, the fermentation process often occurs parallel to the crushing process.
Often, winemakers add yeast to aid the fermentation process. Generally, for commercial winemaking, the correct culture can facilitate taste, flavour and guide consistency. However, yeast is a bi-product of the fermentation process, as such, winemakers often use wild yeast, produced by the grape juice itself, to ferment the wine.
The entire fermentation process depends on what the winemaker is trying to achieve. For instance, the second fermentation, in the bottle, is known as the traditional method, for making sparkling wine.
Step 4: Filtration or fining
During the process of wine tasting, a wine-lover often holds their glass up to the light or looks at their glass over a sheet of white paper. Generally, this is done to ascertain colour and clarity – like a diamond.
For wine, clarity is achieved by removing tannins, yeast and other material from the wine.
Filters are used to gather large particles, while fining involves adding substances to the wine to achieve clarity. For instance, when clay is added to wine as a fining agent, particles stick to the clay which settles at the bottom of a tank.
Once particles, like proteins or yeast have been removed and the wine has been clarified, wine is aged in barrels or bottles.
Step 5: Bottle or barrel
If that Chardonnay grape has successfully survived picking, crushing, fermentation and clarification, it is rocking and rolling towards your wine glass.
The winemaker’s sagacity and the consumer’s tastes determine maturation. The wine can either be bottled after clarification, or is transferred to vessels for storage and maturation.
For instance, wood can transfer flavours, colour and characteristics on the wine. In wood, oxygen exposure is increased, which means that tannins are reduced. Some wood can give wine a spicy character, or even make the wine smell different. The grain of the wood also affects how much wine evaporates and is ‘shared with the angels’.
While the vineyards are dormant in winter, the cellar remains a center for tasting and testing. In the vineyards, vines are pruned throughout winter, in preparation for the next year or wine ‘vintage’.
The vineyard begins to ‘make wine’ as the bud breaks, vines bear fruit and the weather becomes warmer. In the cellar, decisions are made about bottling, storage and preparation for the upcoming harvest as the grapes in the vineyard begin to feel the heat.
Even after picking, crushing, fermenting, fining and storage - the essential component to the winemaking process is the person who opens the bottle, pours it and appreciates the journey from grape to glass.
This article was originally published on Visit Winelands.