VINICULTURE-Post Fermentation

  • SUB-TOPICS Of POST FERMENTATION:
    1. Post Fermentation/ Extended Maceration
    2. Lees
    3. Types of Aging/ Flor
    4. Malolactic Conversion/ Fermentation
    5. Dissolved Carbon Dioxide In Still Wine
    6. Juice Settling 
    7. Stabilization
    8. Filtration
    9. Must/ Wine Additions
    10. Sulfur Dioxide
    11. Blending
    12. Resinated Wine
    13. Rectified Grape Must
    14. Inert Gases
    15. Bottling Process
    16. Transferring Wine
    17. Aging Wine
    18. Up-Cylcling Post-Fermentation Waste
    19. Things to Monitor After Fermentation

1) POST FERMENTATION/ EXTENDED MACERATION

  • EXTENDED MACERATION- Wine/ Must(Skin, Seeds, Steems) is Left In Contact With the Newly Fermented Must Past the Completion of Primary Fermentation.  This Period Can Be For Days, Weeks or a Month.  Extended Maceration is a Stylistic Decision That’s Not Localized by Wine Region But is  Made by Winemakers All Over the Wine World.
  • **Refer to “PRE-FERMENTATION” For Detailed Information On Maceration.
  • BENIFITS Of EXTENDED MACERATION
    • Increased Tannin Extraction   |   Enhanced Mouthfeel
    • Increased Complexity   |   Increased Color Extraction
    • Enhanced Structure   |   Extract Phenolic Compounds
  • VARIETALS THAT SEE EXTENDED MACERATION
    • Cabernet Sauvignon    |   Merlot   |   Syrah
  • CONSIDERATION TO EXTENDED MACERATION
    • Grapes Should Have Ripe Seeds.
    • Should Be Performed In a Closed Top Tank With Limited Head Space.
    • Monitored by Tasting Daily to Monitor Optimum Time to Press of Skins

2) LEES

Dead Yeast and Sediment That Fall to the Bottom of the Fermentation Vessel During the Completion of First or Second Fermentation.  After Lees Fall Out of Wine and Settle On Bottle of Barrel They Sit In What is Referred to as a Lees-Bed.

  • GROSS LEES- Refers to the “Larger” Size of Lees, Sediment and Debris On Bottom of Maceration/ Fermentation Container: Leftover Grape Bits/ Skin, Dirt From Grape Surface, Seeds, Dead Yeast, Tartrate Crystals and Whatever Solids Made it Into the Fermentation.  If Left Unattended Gross Lees Decompose and Often Lead to Undesirable Compounds, Spoil Wine or Impart Funky Undesirable Flavors and Aroma. Gross Lees Are Mostly Found On Bottom of Maceration Vessels After Pressing and Are Racked-Off Before Fermentation
  • FINE LEES- Refers to the “Smaller” Size of Lees, Silky Sediment That Accumulated and Settle On Bottom of Maceration/ Fermentation Vessel On Top of the Gross Lees.  Fine Lees Are Made Up of Dead Yeast Cells(More Desirable Outcome), Grape Particulates, Bacteria, Tartaric Acid/ Crystals, Polysaccharides and Tannins.  After Fermentation is Complete There Can Be 1- 3 Gallons or Lees On Bottom of the Fermentation Barrel
  • SUR LIE AGING- Process of Allowing Fermented Wine to Continue to Sit On Lees(Lees-Bed) In Order to Extract Additional Flavors Prior to Racking & Bottling. Wines Aged “Sur Lie” or “On the Lees” Typically Refers to Wines Ages On Just “Fine Lees” and Not “Gross Lees”.
    • Autolysis- Chemical Reactions Caused by the Decay or Breaking Down of Yeast Cells by Their Own Enzymes. This Enzymatic Process is Called Autolysis. Once Yeast Cells Are Done Feeding On Sugar Fermentation is Stops and the Yeast Cell Dies. Dead Yeast Cells Are Called Lees and Start to Decompose Caused by Enzymes Inside the Lees Which Eat Away at the Cell Membrane Until the Cell Ruptures Releases Mono-Proteins Which Can Lend to a Wines Enhanced Body and Mouthfeel. During Sur Lie Aging Autolysis Also Releases Amino Acids, and Other Biological Compounds Giving Wines and Champagne Complexity, +BODY, Creamy Notes and Toasty/ Bread Like Scents.  Over the Course Years the Lees Break Down Fully and Are Completely Absorbed Into the Wine.
  • LEE STIRRING/ Batonnage- Stirring of Lees-Bed(With a Wood-Baton) That Have Settled On Bottom of Barrel, Cask, Tank, Vat (Burgundian Method), Batonnage Increases Wine Contact With Yeast Resulting In Increased Complexity.  Batonage and Warmer Temperatures Can Speed Up the Autolysis Process
    • Lees Contact With Batonnage vs. Lees Contact With Non-Batonnage
  • VINICULTURE- Using Lees to Your Advantage is One of the More Significant Ways to Guide a Style In the Winemaking Process
  • ADVANTAGES “SUR LEE”AGING
    • Add Aromatic Complexity   |   Soften Tannins
    • Enrich Mouthfeel   |   Protects Against Oxygen
    • Feed Malolactic Bacteria   |   Add Long-Term Stability
    • Adds Nuttiness, Toastiness, Biscuit, Baked Bread
  • VARIETALS THAT SEE “SUR LEE”AGING
    • WHITE= Albarino, Chardonnay, Muscadelle, Muscadet, Pinot Gri
      • Sight: Hazy/ Golden
      • Aroma: Cheese Rind, Sour Cream, Marsh-Mello
      • Palate: +BODY
      • Structure:
    • RED= All Red Wine is Technically Aged “Sur Lie”.

3) TYPES Of AGING

“Wine is One of a Few Commodities That Have the Potential to Improve With Age Over Time Given the Right Circumstances.”

OXIDATIVE AGING- Aging a Wine With Contact to Oxygen/ Air.

ANAEROBIC AGING- Aging a Wine Without Contact With Oxygen/ Air.

BIOLOGICAL AGING- Aging a Wine Under a Yeast/ Culture That Forms a Barrier That Restricts the Wine From the Oxygen/ Air.

  • **Refer to “SPAIN/ Sherry” For Detailed Information On Biological Aging.

“Prior to Modern Aging Techniques Wine Only Lasted Into the Next Year, In Fact the Price of That Wine Dropped Significantly as Soon as Next Years Vintage Arrived.”

SACCHAOMYCES(Flor)– Scum Like Yeast Induced to Develop On the Surface of Wine of 85% Filled Barrels After Fermentation.

  • VINICULTURE- Malolactic Fermentation is Advised Because of the Danger of Bacterial Infections.
  • Sacchaomyces Family of Yeast: Strains Cerevisae, Cheresiensis, Montuliensis.
  • Flor Floats On Surface, Providing a Barrier to Oxidation. AKA=Voile or Vail. Flor/ Voile or Barrier is Irregular Through the Aging Process Due to the Struggle For Survival of the Yeast. These Yeast Consume Substances Such as Oxygen, Glycerol, Acetic Acid and Amino Acids While Releasing Peptides and Polysaccharides and Ethanol/ Acetaldehyde.
  • For the Production of Flor to Happen Alcohol Needs to Be Above 13% and So2 Levels Below 12 mg./ L.
  • Development of Flor Seems to Happen Near a Cool Climate Source.
  • WINES THAT SEE FLOR
    • Sherry– GRAPES= Palomino, Pedro Ximenez, Muscadelle(Fino)   @Andulucia
    • Vin Jaune– GRAPE= Savagnin     @Jura
    • Biezo- GRAPE= Mercia      @Castile & Leon
    • Rueda- GRAPE= Verdejo      @Castile & Leon
    • Eola Amity/ Van Duzer- GRAPE= Chardonnay     @Oregon
    • Cote de Provence- GRAPE= Tiburon      @Provence
      • Estate/ Producers- Clos Cibonne
    • Hungary- (Szamorodni Szaraz)      @Tokaj
      • FLOR– Szamorodni Szaraz, Name For Flor is Hartya AKA=Film
        • Matures In Barrels Under Flor Layer For 3- 5 Years In Humid Cellars of Over 85% Humidity Before Bottling, Dry Flor Wine Produced From Botrytis Grapes.
      • Estate/ Producers- Samuel Tinon
    • Medoza- GRAPE= Chardonnay     @Argentina
      • Estate/ Producers- El Enemigo

4) MALOLACTIC CONVERSION/ Fermentation

Lactic Acid Bacteria Converts Malic Acid Into 2-Parts Lactic Acid, 1-part Carbon Dioxide Gas and Heat. “Malo to Lactic” (Often Referred to as 2nd. Fermentation). Lactic Acid Bacteria Can Be Naturally Occurring (In the Vineyard/ On the Grape Skins) or Inoculated With Cultured Bacteria.

  • Malolactic Conversion Turns “Hard” Malic Acid Into “Soft” Lactic Acid While Producing Other Interesting Flavor and Textures.
  • Malolactic Conversion Percentage In Which a Wine Has Gone Through Malolactic Conversion, Shown as a Percentage.  Malolactic Conversion Isn’t All or Nothing, it Can Be Done In Partial From 1% to 100%.
  • To Achieve 0% Malolactic Conversion the Process is Blocked of Inhibited. There is Always a Chance For Spontaneous Malolactic Conversion if the Natural Lactic Acid Bacteria In a the New Wine Isn’t Cold Stabilized or Filtered Out.
  • Putting Your Wines Through Malolactic Conversion Provides the Benefit For Long Term Aging In the Form of Microbial Stability. (Leaving Malic Acid In Your Wine  Means That There’s Something For Bacteria to Consume.)
  • Uncontrolled Spontaneous Malolactic Conversion Can Result In the Production of Off-Characters Such as Yogurt, Sweat, Burnt Matches and Rotten Fruit.
  • Malolactic Conversion Can Also Chang the Mouthfeel of Wines, Giving a Smoother and More Viscose Texture. Also a Increase In Aromatic Complexity, Reduce Herbaceous Notes and Increase Fruit Aromas.
  • If Your Not Filtering Your Wine You Must Be Sure That Malolactic Conversion is Complete, This Will Guarantee the Health of the Wine.
  • When Using the Correct Strain of Bacteria Can Assure the Winemaker the Final Opportunity to Enhance the Wines Aromatic Complexity and Improve the Balance and Structure of a Wine.
  • By Putting Your Wine Through Malolactic Conversion You Can Almost Guarantee the Dominance of the Inoculated Strain of Yeast During Fermentation Over Indigenous Yeast.
  • The Process Decreases Total Acidity TA. and Slightly Increases the Wines PH..

LACTIC ACID BACTERIA (LAB.)– Family of Lactic Acid Bacteria LAB., That Include Species of Oenococcus Oeni, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. These Bacteria Metabolizes or Ingest Malic Acid and Respire Lactic Acid and Liberated Carbon Dioxide In Process.

  • 1 Gram Malic Acid Converts Into .67 Grams Lactic Acid, .33 Grams of Co2.
  • By-Product of Malolactic Conversion is Diacetyl Which is Where the “Butter” Aroma Comes From.
  • Some Lactic Acid Bacteria Produces More Diacetyl Than Others and Winemakers Can Choose According to the Style They’re Going For.
  • Malolactic Conversion is Also Done to Stabilize Wine and to Assure the Wine Doesn’t Go Through Malolactic Fermentation Accidentally After Bottling Producing Unwanted Bubbles or “Off Flavors”.  Wines That Don’t Go Through Intentional Malolactic Conversion Are Alway at Risk of Inherently Doing So Later, Especially Wines With Any Residual Sugar.
  • Malolactic Conversion Fundamentally Alters the Texture and Flavors of the Wine.
  • EnartisML- Selected Range of Oenococcus Oeni Bacteria Strains Ideal For the Malolactic Conversion.
  • CLIMATE- Cool Regions Produce Grapes With Higher Malic Acid Levels Which Leave Greater Amount of Lactic Acid/ Diacetyl In the Wine After Malolactic Conversion and Conversely.

MALOLACTIC CONVERSION MANAGEMENT

  • Malolactic Conversion is Usually Preformed Shortly After Primary Fermentation and is Done In Conjunction In Same Vessel.
  • Sometimes Runs Concurrently With Primary Fermentation. When This is Done at the Same Time There is a Chance and Often the Yeast Will Feed On the Newly Formed Diacetyl and Not the Sugar Leading to Potential Trouble.
  • When Malolactic Conversion and How Long it Takes to Complete and at What Temperature All Have Effects On the Outcome.
  • Barrels Going Through Malolactic Conversion Are Often Put In Warm Rooms to Help Complete the Process. Often The Cold Months Late In the Year Will Lead to the Conversion Shutting Down and Not Starting Up Again Until Early Spring.
  • Malolactic Fermentation Can Proceed Slowly.  Usually Wines That Are Not Controlled by a Temperature Controlled Cellar Don’t Really Start MLF Until the Cellar Warms Up In the Spring and the Wines Might Not Finish MLF  Until Late Spring or Early Summer.
    • Usually If a Winemaker Intends to Send a Wine Though MLF the Wine Gets Inoculated Immediately After Primary Fermentation and Are Maintained At a Temperature Where the MLF Can Run to Completion.
  • If a Wines ABV. is Higher Than 15% or the PH. Level is Lower Than 3.2 the Process Will Be Inhibited.
  • Things to Do to Greaten or Lesson the Diacetyl or Butteriness In a Wine..
    • Yeast Strain, Fermentation Temperature
  • BLOCKING The MALOLACTIC CONVERSION
  • Lower PH. In Wine Will Hinder or Prevent Malolactic Conversion From Happening.
  • Some Wine Makers Block Malolactic Conversion From Happening In Order to Achieve a Particular Style. (Racy Acidity In Albariño’s and Austrian Riesling.)
  • Blocking Malolactic Conversion Isn’t a Natural Process and Those Wine Shouldn’t Be Considered Natural.
  • Keeping a Wine Under 50° Will Block the Conversion.
  • Subjecting the Wine to So2.

NATIVE LACTIC ACID BACTERIA CONVERSION– Lactic Acid Bacteria Can Live In Vineyard or Winery and if a Wine Isn’t Put Through Malolactic Conversion There is a Chance that the Wine Will Spontaneously Go Through Malolactic Conversion.

  • VITICULTURE- ADVANTAGE– Wine Becomes Richer, Fuller, Possesses a Rounder Mouthfeel and the Process Softens the Wines Sharp Acidity.
    • Process Adds New Aromas That Can Be More Distinct and Vinos.
    • Wine Becomes Buttery as a Result of Formation of Diacetyl.
    • Wine Possess More Microbial Stability.
  • VITICULTURE- CHALLENGES– Reduction of Freshness and Primary Aromas From the Grapes.
  • WINES THAT GO THROUGH MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
    • Generally– Grapes High In Acid From Cool Climate Region or Wines Destined For Aging.
    • White= Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio
    • Red= Generally 95% of Red Wines Go Through Malolactic Fermentation.
  • WINES THAT DON’T GO THROUGH MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
    • Generally- Aromatics Grapes Depend On Malic Acid to Enhance Flavor Characteristics In Fruity and Floral Whites to Maintain Tart or Acidic Profile.
    • White= Ehrenfelser, Gewürztraminer, Riesling
    • Red= Generally 95% of Red Wines Go Through Malolactic Fermentation.
  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY?–“CONTENTIOUS WINE ISSUE!” “It’s Wrong to Refer to the Process as Malolactic Fermentation!”
    • YES…“It’s Not a Fermentation, But a Conversion of Malic Acid to Lactic Acid. It is Call a Fermentation Because of the Similar Bubbling Effect That Takes Place But the Proper Term is Conversion.”
    • NO…“The Most of the Wine World Refers to it as Malolactic Fermentation So Just Let it Be.”

5) DISSOLVED CARBON DIOXIDE IN STILL WINE

  • Dissolved CO2 In Bottled Still Wine Comes Primarily From the CO2 Produced During Primary Fermentation.  Wine Loses Dissolved CO2 During Standard Winery Processing Steps, Including Wine Transfers, Filtration, Centrifuging and Bottling.  Dissolved CO2 Concentration Can Also Be Enhanced Up or Down Prior to Bottling by Sparging With CO2.
  • Wine is Generally Considered Over-Saturated Vs. Sub-Saturated Level of Dissolved CO2.
  • Wine Producers Generally Recognize There’s a Small Range For Dissolved CO2 In Still Wines…Sub-Saturated Levels Can Lead to Flat Tasting Wines That Lacks the Appearance of Freshness.  Over-Saturated Levels Can Lead to an Unbalance Wine With the Perception of a Fizzy Character.
  • Carbon Dioxide is Produced by Yeast as a Bi-Product of Fermentation. It’s Colorless, Odorless and Inert Gas. Carbon Dioxide is Also Permitted as a Natural Addition Under USA./ UE. Wine Producing Regulation.
  • This is Often the Case With Minimal Intervention/ Low Sulfur/ Natural Wines. The Reason For This is Wine With Little to No Sulfur Added May Benefit From Another Type of Protection From Oxidation and to Maintain Freshness.
  • Besides Used to Protect Against Oxidation Carbon Dioxide is Also Used In Small Amounts to Enhance the Mouthfeel of Still Wine.
  • Inert Gas- Gas Which Doesn’t Undergo Chemical Reactions or React to Other Substances, Under Normal Conditions.
  • CO2 is the Easiest and Best Inert Gas to Use In the Cellar Because of Its Heavy Weight.
  • After Fermentation There’s Naturally Between 1 and 2 G./L. CO2 In Wine Depending On the Temperature During Fermentation.  Slightly Spritzy Wine Will Have 1.5 G./L. of CO2.
  • In Small Amounts Co2 is Perceptible On the Palate as a Slight Spritz. There’s a Balance to Be Achieved With Co2 In Still Wine, In Red Wine Co2 Can Make a Red Wine Seem a Little Harsh, While Too Little Co2 In Still Whites Can Leave the Wine Feeling Flat and Less Lively.
  • CO2 In Wine is a Styles Decision By the Wine Maker.
  • White Wines Stored Cool Will Retain More Dissolved CO2.

“Some Wine-Producers Leave a Bit/ Trace of CO2/ Carbon Dioxide In Their Wine to Help Protect the Wine Naturally.”

  • AMOUNT Of CARBON DIOXIDE IN WINE
    • +3 G./ L. Sparkling Wines
    • 1-2.5 G./ L. Prosecco(Italy)
    • 1 G./ L Muscadet(France), Vinho Verde(Portugal), Moscato d’Asti(Italy)
    • 500 Mg. to 1,000 Mg./ L., Give Perception of Freshness and Elevated Acidity.

6) JUICE SETTLING– Process of Solids Settling to Bottom of Tank, Intended to Clarify the Juice and Separate it From the Lees/ Debris Before Racking.

  • Static Settling Leaving the Juice Alone/ Without Interferences or Additions to Settle.
  • Sediment- Solid Material That Over Time Has Fallen Out of Wine and Settled On Bottom of Container.
  • Order Sediments Falls Out of Wine- Lees, Tartrates, Phenolics, Polymers, Tannin.

“If Everything Went “Right” In the Vineyard and In the Winery There Are No Major Issues You Should Only Have to Rack Twice. (After M.L. and From Barrel to Bottle.)”

RACKING/ Decuvage– Process of Transferring Wine From One Container to Another Using Siphon or Pump.

  • Racking Isn’t Something You Do Just For Periodic Maintenance of the Wine. There Should Be a Specific Goal In Mind.
  • Siphoning- The Most Gentile Way to Rack a Wine, and Easiest Without a Pump. Siphoning Uses Gravity and/ With a Tube From One Vessel, Placed Higher Up, Into  Another Vessel Placed Below.  For the Wine to Flow, The “Out” End of the Tube Must Be Higher Up Than the “In” End, the Second They Are Level The Flow Will Stop. The Greater the Height Difference the Faster the Wine Will Flow.
  • The Point of Racking is to Get Wine Off, or to Separate Settled Solids or What Ever Sediment Has Collected On the Bottom of the Fermentation Tank or Container. When to Rack Your Wine is Dependent on Which Kind of Sediment Your Wine is Sitting On. As a General Rule After Fermentation Red Wines Go Into Stainless Steel Tank For 12- 24 Hours to Let Solids Settle Before Racking Off and Going to Barrel.
  • Fruit Sediment-(Gross Lees)– Should Be Racked Off  No Longer than 7 Days, Fruit Sediment Breaks Down and Starts to Put Off Rotting Aromas and Flavors that Aren’t Desirable.
  • Yeast Sediment-(Fine Lees)– Can Be Kept For a Few Months, Longer if  Looked After Correctly as In the Case of Aging Sur-Lee.
  • Racking Considerations- Wine Makers Use Racking In Various Ways Depending On the Wine or the Wine Style They’re Seeking.
    • Most Wine Makers Will Rack Off the Lees After Malolactic Fermentation Has Finished.

RACK & RETURN/ Delestage– Process of Racking, Then Filtering Out Seeds, Long-Chain Tannins Then Returning Wine to Its Original Container.

  • Splash Racking- Letting the “Racked” Wine Splash On the Side of New Container to Help Activate Sleepy Yeast Cells That Avoided Fermentation.
  • Splash Racking Considerations- This Depends On Timing, Variety and Wine Style.

7) STABILIZATION– Process of Biochemical Activity Becoming Fixed Done by:

COLD STABILIZATION/ Tartrate Precipitation

Tartaric Acid Encourage/ Caused to Crystallize, Fall Out of Wine When Chilled to Less Than 30°. If Wine Gets Too Cold Liquid Can’t Absorb All Acid, Causing the Acid to Precipitate Out of Wine In the Form of Crystals That Cling to Underside of the Cork or Fall to Bottom of Bottle.

POTASSIUM BITARTRATE- By Product of Tartaric Acid and Potassium Binding Together an Causing a Crystal. The Process is Completely Natural and Harmless,  AKA=Tartrates, Wine Diamonds

  • Crystals Removed For Cosmetic Reasons. (Orderless, Tasteless)
    • “Large” Potassium Bitartrate Crystals
    • “Finer” Calcium Tartrate Crystals
  • Crystallization of a Chemical Compound Usually Requires Some Rough Surface to Start Forming On. This is Why You Often See Tartrates Crusting On the Bottom of the Cork or On the Sides of Wine Barrels.
  • Most Red Wines and the Majority of White Wine Go Through Malolactic Conversion Either Naturally or Are Induced by the Wine-Maker. This Leave Tartaric Acid as the Primary Acid We Taste In Wine and is Vidal For Balance and Mouthfeel In a Wine.
  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY?–“CONTENTIOUS WINE ISSUE!” “Tartrate Crystals and Cloudiness In Wine is Seen as a Fault!”
    • NO…“Tartrate Crystals and Cloudiness In Wine is a Sign of Quality and I View the Wine as One That Hasn’t Been Overly Processed, and Having Aspect of a Natural Wine. If Someone is Freaking Out About Tartrate Crystals, Decant the Wine or Filter it Through Cheese Clothes.”

HEAT STABILIZATION/ Pasteurization- Heating Wine to a Temperature of 175° Degrees For 30-60 Seconds Kills Microbial Growth Bacteria That Cause Spoilage and Thus Preventing Wine From Turning Sour Immediately.

  • HISTORY–
  • 1864 @France– Discovered by Louis Pasteur, Figured How Fermentation Isn’t a Spontaneous Activity or a Divine Gift of God But a Predictable Process.
  • PIONEERS~ ~Luis Pasteur~ First to Define the Biological Process of Fermentation and Put Forth the Fact That Yeast Are What Causes Grape Juice to Ferment and Establish Connection Between Preservation of Wine and Direct Exposure to Oxygen.
    • Winemakers Now Have Complete Control of All Aspects of Fermentation Including Specific Out-Comes of Yeast, Regulating Speed, Temperature, and Length.

HEAT FINNING/ Collage– Addition of Some Pretentious Substance/ Finning Agent to the Wine That Binds With Some Suspended Particles In the Wine That the Wine Maker Finds Objectionable and Fall to the Bottom of the Tank or Barrel, Allowing the Clear Wine to Be Racked Off.  Fining Agents Are Usually Added to a Wine After Fermentation is Complete.  Finning Takes More Time and Doesn’t Reach the Same Level of Clarity Filtration Does, But Makes Sense For Home/ Economic Wine Makers.

  • Fining Agents Are Usually Added to a Wine In the Form of a Slurry or a Liquid and Evenly Dispersed Throughout the Wine. As It React It Will Begin to Absorb and Settle to the Bottom of the Vessel.  After Settling the Wine Maker Can Carefully Rack the Clean Wine Off the Sediment After a Period of Time.
  • Wine Finning Agents
    • Isinglass- Gelatin Protein From Air Bladder of Sturgeons.
    • Casein- Form of Milk Protein Used as Fining Agent.
    • Egg White- (Traditionally 6 Egg Whites Used to Fine One Wine Barrel)
    • Bentonite- Great General-Purpose Fining Agent That’s Easy to Prepare and Doesn’t Affect the Wine Flavor. Used Primarily to Remove Unstable Proteins In Wine.
    • Keselsol-
    • Sparkolloid-

NATURAL WINE MAKING STABILIZATION– Given Time Wines Will Stabilize Themselves Naturally by Doing Nothing. Natural Stabilization Takes Time (Up to Years), Without Time a Wine-Maker Will Need to Stabilize the Wine With a Protection Process or Be Preservative Filled.

CLARIFICATION- Making Cloudy Wine Clear- Process of Fining and Filtration of Wine to Remove Suspended Solids and Reduce Turbidity.

  • Turbidity- Cloudiness or Haziness of a Fluid or Wine Caused by Large Number of Individual Particles That Are Generally Invisible to the Naked Eye.
  • Some Wine Takes Years to Settle and Become Clear, Some Producers “Fast Track” the Process by Fining and Filtrating a Wine. The Wine-Maker Has 3 Choices Wine Unsettled Wine…Intervention, Time or Cloudiness.

NEPHELOMETRIC TURBIDITY UNIT NTU.- Measure of Level of Turbidity In a Wine/ Liquid/ Solution…Low#= Clear High#= Opaque.

“When You Fine or Filter a Wine You Take the Chance of Removing Nuance or Complexity of the Wine In and Effort to Gain Clarity and Limpidity.”

8) FILTRATION– Technique Used For Clarification and/ or Microbiological Stabilization.

  • Process of Passing the Wine Under Pressure Through Some Sort of Medium/ Screen In Order to Directly Remove Something the Wine Maker Finds Objectionable.
  • The Practice of Filtration is Less Than 50 Years Old.
  • Wine Are Sometimes Filtered to “Polish” or “Finish” a Wine Just Before Bottling. This is Mostly Done Because Most Wine Drinkers Don’t Like or Accept Cloudy Wine.
  • Unfiltered Wines Add Texture and Complexity to Wine.
  • Filtration Dries Out a Wine.  It Takes Out Some of the Substance and Flavor and Part of the Bouquet and Aroma of the Wine.
  • Unfiltered- A Wine That Hasn’t Gone Through a Filtering Process, an Unfiltered Wine Still Has Gone Through Other Processed Such As Stabilization, Fining and Racking.
  • HISTORY- Filtering Wine With Filter Systems is a Relatively Modern Practice.  That Being Said the Effort to Filter Wine Has Been Attempted For Thousands of Years.  This Was Basically Achieved by Running Wine Over Some Type of Fine Grain Cloth to Remover the Major Particle That Were Suspended In the Wine.

“If You Know the Wine is Unstable You Should Always Filter the Wine Right Away to Get the Bacteria or Issue Out of the Wine.”

TYPES Of FILTER SYSTEMS

  • Depth Filtration- Variety of Filters That Use a Porous (Earth) Filtration Medium to Retain Particles.
  • Centrifugal Filtration- Is a Type of Barrier Used to Separate Materials After They’re Spun In a Centrifuge at High Speed. (High Density Liquids Can Removed From Low Density Liquids.)
  • Crossflow Filtration- Incoming Stream Passes Across the Surface of a Membrane/ Sheet/ Pad and Two Exiting Streams Are Generated.
    • ADVANTAGE– One Step Prior to Bottling, No Heat Increase, Less Handling of the Wine
  • Sterile Filtration- Uses a Micropore Filter Which is Fine Enough to Remove Yeast Cells and Prevent Malolactic Fermentation.
  • Filter Everything if You Don’t Want Malolactic Fermentation to Occur at a Later Time.
  • THINGS To FILTER OUT
    • Alcohol Reduction   |   Volatile Acidity
    • Ethyl Acetate   |     PH./ TA. Adjustments
    • Lees   |     Pyrazine/ Green/ Herbaceous Character
    • Smoke Taint   |   Bacteria
    • Tricholoroanisole TCA.   |   2,4,6-Tribromoanisole
    • 4-Ethylphenol (4EP./ Brettanomyces)     |     4-Ethylguaiacol(4EG./ Brettanomyces)
  • **Things to Be Filtered Out Can Be Done In a Processing Facility or as a Mobile Service.
  • VINICULTURE– ADVANTAGE– Makes Finished Wine Limpid, Bright and Clear.
    • Removal of Yeast and Bacteria (Brettanomyces) Which Assures Wine Doesn’t Continue to Ferment In Bottle.
    • Can Filter Finished Wine to a Turbidity Below 1 NTU.
    • Reduces Product/ Wine Loss
  • VINICULTURE– CHALLENGES–
    • Loss of Texture, Freshness and Purity of Fruits.
    • Loss of Natural Sediment That Helps Nourish Wine Over Time Which Helps Wine Age Gracefully In Cellar.
    • Can Modify Tannin Structure.
  • FILTRATION SYSTEM PRODUCERS
    • ATPGroup     @Windor, California
    • Burkert Fluid Control Systems   @Huntersville, North Carolina
    • Criveller California    @Healdsburg, California
    • J Rettenmaier USA, LP.     @Schoolscraft, Missouri
    • Oenodia North America     @Napa, California
    • RLS Equipment Co. Inc.     @Egg Harbor, New Jersey 
    • Scott Laboratoires, Inc.     @Petaluma, California
    • VA Filtration USA.     @American Canyon, California
    • Wineteck LLC.     @Napa, California

“An Eventual Deposit In a Wine Bottle is a Sign That the Mature Wine Was Bottled Without Being Filtered.”

9) MUST/ WINE ADDITIONS

AMELIORATION– Act of Adding Something to Your Must or Juice Before, During or After Fermentation In an Effort of Correct Deficiencies or Make the Finished Wine Better.

  • TANNIN- Adding Tannins to Wine to Increase Structure, Astringency, Color or Alter Mouthfeel. Tannins Can Be Added to Wine by Aging In Oak Barrels, Adding Oak Chips, or Staves to Vats of Wine, or by Adding Extracted Tannins From Pomace or Hydrolysable Tannins Sourced From Non-Grape Products.
  • **Refer to “WINE EVALUATION/ Tannins” For Detailed Information.

WATER-BACKING– Adding Water to Must Either to Dilute the Acid or Dilute the Sugar.

  • Water Added Expressed as a Percent (0.0%) Added On Label or Technical.

CHAPTALIZATION

  • **Refer to “PRE-FERMENTATION/ Chaptalization” Fro Detailed Information.

ACIDIFICATION– Adding Acid to Must or Wine During Pre-Fermentation, Fermentation or Post Fermentation With Tartaric, Citric or Malic Acid.

  • In Warm Regions as Grape Ripen the Acidity Levels Drop and Some Acidification is Seen as Needed. Acidification Can Improve These Wines Balance, Flavors and Stability.
  • Tartaric Acid is Used Pre-Fermentaion But Citric Acid Must Never Be Used Pre-Fermentation Because It’s Broken Down Into Acetic Acid by Yeast and Bacteria.

DE-ACIDIFICATION– Lowering the Acidity In a Must or Wine by…

  • Malolactic Conversion-
    • **Refer to “MALOLACTIC CONVERSION” For Detailed Information.
  • Electrodialysis-
  • Calium Carbonate- Reacts With Both Tartaric and Malic Acids When Used to Reduce Acidity In Wine.
  • Reverse Osmosis- Process of Removing Alcohol by Forcing it by Pressure From a Region of High Alcohol Concentration or Through a Semi-Permeable Membrane to a Region of Low Alcohol Concentration.
    • Reverse Osmosis Can Also Be Used to Remove Water From Must, Remove Acids, Remove Flavors(Brettomyices), and Other Unfavorable Aroma. Remove Salt From Water, Remove Smoke From Fire Tainted Grapes, Removes Yeast, Helps with Stuck-Fermentations.

FORTIFICATION/ Mutage– Adding Grape Spirit to Must Before During or After Fermentation.

  • **Refer to “WINE STLES/ Fortification” For Detailed Information.

JUICE CONCENTRATE– Adds to Wines to Enhance Alcohol Levels, Sugar Levels Colors.

  • AKA=Mosto Cotto(Italy), Sussreserve(Germany), Grape Concentration(USA.)
  • Mega-Purple- Super Concentrated Grape Concentrate(Syrup), Produced In Mass and Put In Bottle to Enhance a Wines Short Cummings By Adding Rich Color and Hint of Sweetness.
  • Ultra Red- A Manipulate to Add Color Taste, and the Perception of Quality.
  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY?–“CONTENTIOUS WINE ISSUE!” “It’s Wrong For Wine Makers to Not Disclose the Addition of Sugar, Acids, or Tannins to Their Wines In an Effort to Make Average Wine Better!”
    • YES…“It Done Care What the Wine Maker Does to Their Wine But I Want to Know What It is That They Add or Take Out So I Can Make My Own Decision On if I Want to Consume it or Not.”

DE-ALCOHOLIZATION– Lowering of the Alcohol by Volume by Removing it.   The  Removing of Alcohol Leaves Wine Less Stable and Wines Need to Be Treated So.

  • There is Not Legal Difinition of Non-Alcohol Wine/ Low Alcohol Wine.
  • “No/ Low Alcohol Wine”, is a Term That Has Been Un-Officially Used In the Wine World to Describe Wine That Has a Lower Amount of Wine Then Regular Still Wine.
  • Wine Producers Are Challenged to Make Non/ Low Alcohol Wines Because the Process Impairs the Wines Mouthfeel, Balance, Typicity and Quality.
  • Vino-Meter- A Device That Calibrates and Measures the Alcohol Content of a Finished Wine.
  • RESONS To CONUME NON/ LOW ALCOHOL WINE
    • Driving   |   Religious
    • Poor/ Cost   |   Lower Calories
  • UN-OFFICIAL NON/ LOW ALCOHOL WINE
    • Wine-  ABV. +8%
      • (Un-Less Specific Exemptions  Exist.)…Moscato d’Asti
    • Lower Alcohol Wine- ABV. 6% to 11%
    • Low-Alcohol Wine-  ABV. -1.2% or Less
    • Non-Alcohol Wine-  ABV. -.5%  or Less
    • Alcohol Free Wine-  ABV. -.05% or Less
  • WAYS To REMOVE ALCOHOL FROM WINE
    • Dehydrating- Adding Water During Fermentation.  This Process Dilutes the Wine.
    • Spinning Cone-  The Use of a Machine to Separate Alcohol From the Wine. Involves Repeating Low-Temperature Evaporation and Condensation Using Inverted Cones Centrifugal Force.  This Separates the Wines Elements, the Alcohol is Taken Out Then Everything is Blended Back Together.
    • Vacuum Distillation-
    • Reverse Osmosis- The. Cross-Flow Filtration System That Separates Out Constituent Element Based On Different Molecular Sized Before Blending Back Together.

“Most Must/ Wine Addition Are Done/ Added In Order to Save Time or For the Wine-Maker to Have Greater Control Over the Viniculture Process.”

SHADY STUFF– Although Very Legal, These Are Things Producers Who Produce Mega-Volume Wine Can an Do Put Into Wine to Tweak the Wine to Suit Consumers’ Taste or to Cover Up Flaws and Bad Wine.

  • Accuvin
  • Dynamos
  • Nutristart
  • Thor
  • Turbicel
  • UberVine
  • Ultra-Red
    • Used to Turn Pale-Colored Red Wine Darker. Made by Concentrating the Juice From the Variety Rubired.
  • Zyme-O-Clear-
    • Clarification Enzyme Preserves the Freshness and Aromatic Qualities of the Grapes an is Designed Primarily For Settling White Juices With the Added Ability to Improve Filtration Rates.
  • MEGA-PURPLE- Juice Concentrate.  Most Famous of the Concentrates Added to Wines Usually $15 or Less.  Mega-Purple Make Wine Darker and Even a Touch Sweeter.
    • Mega-Purple is Legal, But No-One Wants to Talk About Its Use, and You Will Never See it On a Wine Label.
    • Mega Purple is Usually Produced From the Ruby Red Grape Variety.

10) SULPHITES/ SULFITES

  • ***The Term Sulphites/ Sulphur is Used Around the World.  The Terms Sulfites/ Sulfur is Used In America.  Myself Thinking America is Backwards at a lot of Things Use the Terms Sulphites/ Sulphur.

The Term Sulphites(Sulphur/ Sulfur) is an Inclusive Term For All Things Sulphur.  Sulphur is an Natural, Organic, Nontoxic Earth Element/ Compound.   Sulfites Are a Natural By-Product of  Yeast Fermentation of Sugar to Alcohol and Present In Small Amounts In Every Wine Every Made.  Sulphites Are Naturally In All Fermented Products.  Most Wine Producers Add Small Amounts at Different States From Just After Harvest to Just Before Bottling In Order to Prevent Microbial Spoilage of Wine From Unwanted Bacteria, Yeast, to Minimize Oxidation and Avoid Volatile Acidity.  It’s Not Possible to Be Allergic to Sulfites But You Can Be Sulfite Sensitive.

SULPHUR– Natural Anti-Oxidant, Aseptic Qualities, Inhibits Wild Yeast, Prevents Bacterial Infections and Mold Growth.

  • 1 Molecule Sulphur Combine With 2 Molecules Oxygen= Sulphur Dioxide.
  • Sulfur Binds With Stray Oxygen Molecules, When This Happens it’s Considered “Binded” and No Longer is “Free” to Oxidizes Wine and Slows Down the Aging Process.
  • Free So2- Sulphur That Hasn’t Bound to Bacteria.
  • Total So2– Sulphur That’s Free and is Available to Be Bound to Bacteria.
  • HISTORY–
    • 500 @Rome– Romans Discovered Sulphur.
    • 1487 @Germany– Started Using Sulfur For Cleaning.
    • 1700’s @Denmark– Dutch Started Burning Sulphur Wicks to Shield and Stabilize Wine Barrels For Shipping.
      • Old Traditional Method For Preserving Empty Barrels by Burning Sulfur Candles Inside.
      • When Sulfur is Burned Sulphur Dioxide is Produced and Adsorbs In Staves Inside the Barrel and Leaches Out Later. This Keeps Bacteria and Molds From Proliferating.
      • Originally Done to Preserve Empty Barrels it Became Evident That the Process was Beneficial as a Preservative to the Preceding Wine That Was Put In After.

“Always Talk About Sulphur In Flexible, Generic Terms or Put Its Use In Context. There Are 3 Types of Sulphur, Be Specific as to Which One You Are Speaking of.”

  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY?–“CONTENTIOUS WINE ISSUE!” “Sulphur!”
    • “This One Word is Misused and Talking About it Can Lead to People Getting a Headache.  In a Small Proportion of Sulphur Sensitive People High Sulfite Levels Can Cause Reactions… From Shortness of Breath to Hives, Flushing and Hearts Palpitation.”
    • “Always Talk About Sulphur In Flexible, Generic Terms or Put Its Use In Context. There Are 3 Types of Sulphur, Be Specific as to Which One You Are Speaking of.”
  • Don’t Be Confused With the Many Similar-Sounding, But Chemically Distinct Terms Relating to Sulphur In Wine.

POTASSIUM META-BISULFITE- Granular Powder Additive, When Added to Must or Wine it Will Dissolve and Release Sulphur Dioxide.

NO-SULFUR ADDED WINE- A Wine Produced With No Added Sulfur During the Production Process.

REDUCED SULPHUR WINE- Wine That’s Produced Only Using a Minimal Amount of Sulfur, Usually Only Prior to Bottling.

“If There Are No Major Issues In the Vineyard During the Growing Process or at Harvest, Adding Sulfphur Can Be Minimized or Bypassed Altogether.”

SULPHUR…3 TYPES/ 3 USES

  • Don’t Be Confused With the Many Similar-Sounding, But Chemically Distinct Terms Relating to Sulphur In Wine.

SULPHUR USE IN The VINEYARD (Elemental Sulphur)

  • Sulphur Used and Sprayed On Vines In the Vineyard. Elemental Sulphur Use is an Effective and Economical Natural Spray Material For Managing Powdery Mildew In the Vineyard.  User of Elemental Sulphur Should Make Sure Not to Use it Late In the Growing Season Because of the Impact Of Sulphur Residue On Fermentation and Sulfur Related “Off” Aromas.
  • In the Past Sulphur Was Burnt In Barrels to Destroy Unwanted Bacteria and Yeasts.

SULPHUR PRODUCED DURING FERMENTATION (Hydrogen Sulphite)

  • Produced Naturally During Primary Fermentation or During Wine Aging.  Hydrogen Sulphite H2S is Produced.
  • “No Addition Sulphur Added” States That Besides That Naturally Occurring Sulphite In the Wine There Was None Used In Production Process. (These Wines Are Always at “Risk” and Should Be Consumed Within a Few Months.)
  • Sulphite Levels Tend to Be Higher In White and Rose Wines Than In Red Wines Which Receive More Natural Antioxidant Protection From Tannins and Grape Skins.

SULPHUR USE DURING The VINIFICATION PROCESS (Sulphur Dioxide/ Sulphites)

  • PRIOR To FERMENTATION
    • To Make Sure the Winemaker is In Control of the Fermentation Environment.
    • Adding Sulphur Dioxide to Freshly Harvest Grapes as a Preservative Prior to Fermentation Because of Its Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties. Sulphur Play an Important Role In Discouraging the Growth of Micro-Organisms/ Spoilage Bacteria and Allows Yeast to Ferment Without Competition From Other Microbes. Not Using Sulphur You’re Letting a Number of Yeast and Bacteria Work On the Wine, Potentially Compromising the Fermentation Process and Ultimately What the Final Wine Will Be Like.
    • Used to Kill Off Native Yeast So You Can Use Commercial Yeast.
    • Used to Block Malolactic Fermentation.
    • Sulphur Can Be Used to Arrest Fermentation.
  • SULFUR USE AFTER FERMENTATION
    • Some Wine Maker Will Dose Their Wine While the Wine is In Bulk Aging and In the Maturation Phase.
  • SULFUR USED To STABILIZE WINE At BOTTLING
    • To Ensure That the Wine is Healthy and Sound, Prior to Bottling Add 1/4 Teaspoon Potassium Metabisulfite to Each 5 Gallon of a Finished Wine. Used Prior to Bottling Sulphur Protects a Wines Integrity, Maintains a Wines Freshness, Helps Preserve Fruit and Floral Aromas.   It Can Also Prevent Malolactic Fermentation From Occurring After Fermentation, Preventing Oxidation. 
    • Sulphites are Naturally Occurring/ Produced In Wine at a Rate of 6- 20 Parts Per-Million (PPM.) Commercial Wines Have Sulphites Ranging From 10- 40 PPM. United States Allows Up to 350 PPM. In American Wines.
    • The Lower the PH. the More Effective Sulphur is and Less You Need. Wines With a Higher PH. Are Less Effective With Sulphur and Should Be Adjusted Accordingly. “You Can Grow Better Grapes Organically But Nobody Can Produce a Better Wine Organically.  Organic Wine Produces Who Don’t Add Sulphur to Their Freshly Harvest Grapes, Must or Prior to Bottling Are Always at Risk For Wine to Be Compromised. It’s Really Important For the Wine to Be Clean and Stable When it Goes to Bottling So it Can Last as Long as Possible Without Micro-Organism Compromise at it Develops and Matures. Sulphur Dioxide Use is Universally Used and Accepted as a Wine Preservation Method. No Sulphur Added Wines Sound Nice But Downgrade During Transportation and Are Best Enjoyed Close to Their Point of Origen and as Youthful and Possible.
    • Lot of Wine Growers Are Producing Grapes Organically But Are Forgoing Organic Certification Because of the Complexed Bureaucracy Involved and the Cost Burden Associated With it.
    • There’s a Public Perception That Sulphur Has Negative Health Effects.
    • Sulphur Come In Liquid, Gas, Powder and Tablet Form.
    • “Contains Sulphites” Must Be Stated On American Wine Bottle.  Some Producers Put the Statement “Contains No Added Suphites” to the Label In Recognition That They Reframed From Adding Them.
    • Some Natural Wine-Makers Use a “Dash” of Sulphur Prior to Bottling.
    • Winemakers In Europe Aren’t Obligated to Put These Sulphur Statement On There Bottle. This Isn’t because These Wines Don’t Contain Sulphites But Because Sulphur is a Natural Occurring Element That’s Harmless and Has Little to No Effect On Consumers. Use of Sulphur In Europe is Influenced by the Countries Culture and Views On Wine-Making. Germany, France and Austria Have a History Sulphur Use. In Italy the Use of Sulphur is Highly Frowned On.
    • Anthocyanidins/ Color “Bleached-Out”, Diminish With Excessive Sulphur Dioxide Use.
  • TOTAL SULFITES- The Sum of All Bound and Free Sulphur.
  • FREE SULFITES- Free Sulphites Over Time Binds With Oxygen and Micro-Organisms. Once Binded They No Longer are Free to Fight For the Wine, Binds Compounds That Yeast Can Use For Fuel For Their Metabolism.
    • There Are Test Kits to Accurately Gage Free and Total Sulphite Level.
  • Molecular Disassociation Curve- The Lower the PH. In a Wine the Less Sulphur You Have to Use to Protect it. The Higher the PH. the More Sulphur You Have to Use.  Sulphur is 10 Times More Effective at PH.-3 Than It is at PH.-4.
  • The WINE DOCTOR
    • ~TAKE THE TEST~ If You Think You Are Allergic Sulphites Take This Test. Eat a Small Boxes of Raisins or Bacon or Dried Apricots, and if You Don’t Get a Headache It’s Not the Sulfites.  Head-Aches Are Likely Caused by a Histamine Response Allergy Which Releases Histamine and Some People Are Unable to Metabolize Resulting In Plugged Sinuses, Sinus Headaches, Inflammation and Vasconstructions. Some Other People Can’t Absorb Tannins In the Blood- Steam or Your Probably Allergic to the Alcohol In the Wine, All of Which Are More Likely Than the Small Amount of Sulphur They Add to the Bottle Before Corking for Preservative Integrity.
    • **Refer to “WINE ADDITIONS/ Sulphur Dioxide” For Detailed Information.

“Sulphur Disinfects and Eliminates Bacteria and Stabilizes the Wine. I Like Wine Without Sulphur as Long as They Are Sounds.”

  • WINES WITH LESS SULPHUR ADDED
    • Wines Higher In Acidity Need Less Sulphur.
    • Wines With Lower Sugar Content Need Less Sulphur.
    • Wine With Less Color(White Wine) Need Less Sulphur.
    • Wine Destined to Be Consumed Soon.
  • THINGS SULPHUR PROTECTS AGAINST
    • Acetobacteia- Acetic Acid, Vinegar Bacteria
    • *Generally– Develop In Presence of Oxygen In Un-Topped Containers.
    • Lactobacillus- Form of Undesirable Malolactic Fermentation.
    • Pediococcus- Form of Undesirable Malolactic Fermentation.
    • Brettanomyces- Develops Without Presence of Oxygen.
    • If No So2 is Going to Be Used It’s a Good Technique to Leave Some C02 For Protection.
    • *Generally– High PH. Reds, Small Amount Adds to Complexity Too Much is Seen as a Flaw and is Avoided. (Barnyard, Horse Sweat)
  • FOODS THAT CONTAIN SULFUR
    • Wine   |   Beer              
    • Cheese   |   Dried Fruits(Apricots, Raisins, Cranberries)             
    • Bacon/ Preserved Meats 

11) BLENDING

  • **Refer to “WINES STYLES/ Blending” For Detailed Information On Blending.

12) RESINATED WINES– Wines That Derives Its Flavor From Exposure of Pine Resins.

  • HISTORY- Greece, 13th. Century, Prior to Barrels Wine was Stored in Amphorae Often Lined and Sealed with Aleppo Pine Resin. Over Time the Acquired Taste Became a Feature of Wine Rather than Unwanted Side Effect.
  • Retsina- Resin Added During Fermentation to Savatiano, Assyriko, Rhoditis
  • Regions- Attica, Boeotia, Euboea
  • **Refer to “WINE STLES/ Amortized Wine” For Detailed Information.

13) RECTIFIED GRAPE MUST/ GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATION

  • Sugar Solution of Must Concentrated From Pressed Juice Derived to Eliminate All Components Which Are Not Sugar.
  • Concentrate is a Pure Fruit Sugar (Glucose & Fructose) Totally Neutral.
  • Add Before/ During/ After Fermentation to Sweeten Wine, Enriching Must.
  • Sussreserne- (German) Unfermented Grape Must Added to Wine as a Sweetening Agent. (Not to Exceed 15% of Wines Volume)
  • MARSALA- Fortified After Fermentation With Neutral Grape Distillate Addition of Grape Juice Concentrate, Oxidized.
  • BACK SWEETENING- The Process of Using Sugar to Sweeten a Dry Wine After the Wine Has Been  Fermented and Stabilized.  Because the Sugar Wasn’t Actually From the Grape/ Must and Added After Fermentation the Sugar Never Completely Integrates Properly In to the Finished Wine and Can Sometimes Seen Disjointed. Back Sweetening is Often Used In Areas Where Its a Cold Climate and There is Difficulty Producing a Sweet Wine.

14) INERT GASES

A Gas That’s Not Chemically Reactive and Doesn’t Undergo Chemical Reactions, Often Used to Avoid Unwanted Reactions Degrading Something You Want to Remain Un-Compromised by the Displacement of Oxygen.

  • Inert Gases Are Generally Tasteless, Non-Flammable, Benign.
  • Sparging- Displacing Oxygen With an Inert Gas
  • Types of Inert Gases- Argon, Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen
  • Inert Gases Are Usually Used…
    • After Final Racking When Fermentation is Complete, Going Into Bulk Aging.
    • Before Corking a Finished Wine In Its Bottle.
    • When Half the Bottle Remains and There’s a Need For Oxygen Preservation.

MICRO-VINIFICATION- Process of Making a Wine In Small Batch of Experimental Grapes. This is Done Stylistically or If There is Only a Limited Amount of Grape Available. Micro-Vinification is Sometimes Done to See if Certain Grapes Will Possess the Potential to Make Decent Wine.

“Wine is 8 Thousand Years Old and Most of That Time Mans Biggest Challenge Was Finding a Way to Keep It From Turning to Vinegar.”

15) BOTTLING The WINE

WHEN To BOTTLE A WINE

  • After the Wine Has Settled and Completley Clear and All Sediment Has Fallen Out of the Wine and Can Be Racked Efficiently.
  • Ensure There is No Residual Sugar, and Has Fermented Dry. (Wine Should Read Less Than .998 On the Specific Gravity Scale.
  • The Wine Should Be Free of Any Residual Co2 Gas.
  • Ensure That the Wine is Healthy and Sound.

“You Lock an Entire Vintage In a Bottle, Everything the Vine Went Through For 120 Days In That Wine.”

BOTTLING PROCESS

  • Naked and Empty Bottle Come In On Palate.
  • Bottles Are Unloaded Off the Palate and Onto the Bottling Line.
  • Bottles Go Through the Washer and Are Thoroughly Cleaned.
  • Injection of and to Kill Wine Ruining Bacteria.
  • Wine From Tanks Are Pumped Into Empty Bottles.
  • Barrel Transfer Tube- Device Used to Move Wine From a  Oak Barrel Into a Bottle or Other Container.  The Device Pressurized the Barrel and Gentle Moves the Wine Without the Introduction of Air.
    • Moving Wine Can Also Be Done by Siphoning, Wine Pump or Pressurized Gas.
  • Auto-Levelers- Ensure Precise Amount of Wine In Each Bottle.
  • Gas Injection- of Argon Gas In Bottle to Ensure No Oxogen Left In Bottle.
  • Cork Machine-
  • Capsular- Puts a Tin Capsule Around Neck of Bottle.
  • Labeler- Each Bottle Gets a Label Glued to it.
  • Bottle Inspection Booth- Ensures Quality and Consistency.
  • Case Packer- Machine Takes Bottle Off Line and Into Boxes and Back On Palates.
  • Laboratory Analysis Should Be Gone Prior to Bottling to Determine “How Your Wine is” and What Attention it Might Need.
    • Check- ABV., Specific Gravity, Brix, Free So2.
    • Hygiene Should Be a Concern at Bottling.
  • One Last Change to Rack Your Wine, Lowering Temperature to 48°- 50° the Week Prior Helps Settle the Wine.
  • There’s an Allowed Allowance of 2% Fluctuation In the Amount of Wine in a 750 Milliliter Bottle or 15 Milliliter.

MOBILE TRUCK BOTTLING SERVICE– Wine Bottling Truck That a Wine Producer Can Schedule to Come and Bottle Your Wine Without Having to Own the Equipment That’s Used One Day a Year.

  • Types of Bottling Lines- Manual, Semi-Automated, Fully Automated.

“Once the Wine is Bottled, the Cork is Inserted and the Bottle is Sold the Wine-Maker No Longer Has Influence On His Wine.”

15) TRANSFERRING WINE

RACKING WINE/ SIPHONING

  • Moving Wine by the Use of Gravity Using a Siphon Set-Up or Tube.  Low Cost Solution That Works Well In Relitively Small Amounts of Wine Because the Process is Rather Slow.  Siphoning Relies On Gravity and the Transferring Vessel Must Be Situated Higher Than the Receiving Vessel In Order For the Process to Work. To Be Greatly Effective a Discrepancy In Height is Beneficial.
  • Siphoning is Usually the Main Way Wine Is Racked.
    • Quiet Rack- Tube In the Receiving Vessel is Submerged In the Wine as Soon as There is Enough Liquid to Get it Under. This Quiet Rack Minimizes The Oxygen Pickup.
    • Splash Rack- Letting the Wine Splash Around as it is Transferred Into New Vessel. 

WINE PUMP

PRESSURIZED GAS

AGING WINE

  • **Refer to “WINE STLES/ Aged Wine” For Detailed Information.
  • **Refer to “CONTAINERS/ Oak Aging” For Detailed Information.

16) POST FERMENTATION UPCYCLING WASTE

  • After Crush Wineries Are Left With Waste, Mostly In the Form of Pomace (Skins, Pulp, Seeds, Stems, and Other Residue.) From the Winemaking Process and the Has Been Pressed and Fermented.

PIQUETTE

  • WHITE= / RED=  Any Grapes Can Be Used to Produce Piquette, But the Better the Original Grapes the Better the Finished Product.
  • OLD WORLD- Traditionally Western Europe
  • NEW WORLD- Many New World Producers Are Starting to Produce Piquette.
  • VITICULTURE- Adding Water toGrape Pomace(Leftover Skins, Seeds and Stems). The Rehydrated Pomace is Then Fermented It to Make a Secondary Wine.  When Pressed this Yields a Juice With Enough Sugar For Another Fermentation. Piquette is a Fizzy, Low-Alcohol Wine.
  • HISTORY- Centuries-Old Tradition of European Vineyard Workers Who Were Not Wealth Enough to Drink the Wine They Helped Produce.  The Winery Owner Would Give Them What They Viewed as Waste.
  • CULTURE- ~Etymology~ From the French Word “Piquer” to Sting, Referring to the Sting On the Pallate.

GRAPPA

  • WHITE= Moscato, Müller Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Picolit
  • RED= Nebbiolo, Barbara, Pinot Noir
  • OLD WORLD- COUNTRY-Italy, REGION-Piemonte
  • OLD WORLD- Oregon, Australia, South Africa
  • VITICULTURE- +DISTILLED/ (Sometimes Twice) Pomace, No Water Added, No Grape Juice Added
    • Pomice– Mash of Pulp, Seeds, Stems, Stalks and Lees Remaining After Pressing WinePost-Distillation
    • Grappa Bottled Immediately to Preserve Freshness and Aroma
    • Sometimes Steeped With Herbs or Syrup For Slight Sweetening
    • +AGED/ 6 Months, Traditional Aged In Acacia, Ash, Oak or Cherry Wood
    • AKA= Marc, Bagaceira/ Portugal, Aguardiente/ Spain
  • VITICULTURE- CHALLENGES– By Product of Grappa Distillation is it Produces Small Amounts of Methanol, and Must be Carefully Monitored and Removed.
  • VINICULTURE- REQUIREMENT– Only Allowed to be Produced Italy, With the Majority of Grappa Produced In Trentino, Friuli, Veneto and Piemonte by but About 10 Distilleries. Also Ticino and San Marino.
    • Producers/ Distillers– Beccaris(Peimonte), Berta(Peimonte), Dellavalle(Peimonte), Di Lorenzo(Umbria), Marzadro(Trentino), Nonino, Nardini, Santa Teresa Fratelli Morolo, Gualco(Piemonte), Luigi Francoli(Peimonte), Poggio Basso, Michele Chiarlo, Banfi
  • HISTORY– 1,300
    • PIONEERS~ ~Giannola Nonino~ “Piemonte, Italy”
      • Championed Single Varietal Grappa of Extreme Quality.
  • CULTURE– The Poor Peasants Gather the Villages Discarded Pomace and Making With it What They Could. For Centuries Grappa Was an Afterthought, People Were Making Due With a “Throw-Away” Product. Entire Wine Village Would all Discard There Pomace and Blended From an Array of Dozens of Different Varietal of Grapes. It Wasn’t Until the Early 1970’s When Some Producers Starting Making Grappa from Single Varietals Quality Grapes and Not from Left Overs.
    • Most Pomice Left Over From Wine Making is Sold to Dedicated Grappa Producers.
    • Lightly Pressed Grapes Produce the Best Grappa.
    • +DISTILLED/ by Bain-Marie/ Steam Distillation, Not Open Flame. Heat Pomice Gently Allowing For Much of the Mixture to Evaporate Leaving a Potent Concentration of ABV. 40%- 45%/ 80- 90 Proof.
  • ORUJO- Liqueur Produced From Grape Pomace From Albariño Grapes In Rias Baixas, Spain

OTHER

  • COMPOST, MULCH
  • ANIMAL FEED
  • CREAM OF TATAR

17) THINGS TO MONITOR AFTER FERMENTATION

**This Section is a Work In Progress….

After Harvest and Fermentation is Complete the Winemaker Can Take a Breath and Relax For a Minute and Maybe Resume Somewhat of a Set Schedule.  There Are Still Numerous Processes That Still Must Be Given Attention to Before the Cork Goes Into the Bottle and Sent For Sale or Consumption.

  • 1 MONTH
    • Malolactic Fermentation
  • 3 MONTH
  • 6 MONTHS
  • 1 YEAR
  • 1.5 YEARS

**Refer to “BIBLIOGRAPHY/ Sources” For Details On Scholarly Works Referenced.