Drinking Wines

The first stage in the wine making process is to crush the grapes. In days gone by the grapes would be loaded into a large vat and the wine maker(s) would gently tread on them to break the grapes’ skins to release the juice.

Nowadays this procedure is almost invariably carried out using a machine called, unsurprisingly, a crusher.

In the case of white wines, after crushing, the juice is separated immediately from the pulp of skins and stalks and fermentation commences.

When making red (and ros?) wines, the juice is allowed to remain in contact with the crushed pulp for a while to add color, body and flavor to the ‘must’ (the juice to be fermented).

Most modern wines are fermented at a relatively low temperature (around 20? C), which results in wine with a fruity character. White wines are commonly made in large, cooled, stainless steel containers but some better quality wines are fermented in oak casks or, alternatively, oak chippings may be added to the must.

Red and ros? wines are usually produced in stainless steel vats or, sometimes, in oak. When the fermenting wine has reached the required color intensity, the liquid is drawn from the vessel, leaving behind the crushed skins and stalks.

Before bottling, wines from different batches may be blended together and matured. Depending on the type of wine, the length of this maturation process can be measured in anything from days to years.

If an oaky flavor is desired then the wine can be matured in oak barrels. New oak or old oak barrels can be used depending on the final flavor required.

Even after bottling, the flavor of some quality wines will continue to evolve, albeit at a slower rate. However nowadays, most wines, even expensive wines, are ready for drinking soon after bottling.

Since Neil Best first asked: who made the first wine? he’s been recording his findings at Good Glug. This article forms part of the free Good Glug Wine Appreciation Course. Visit now to get your copy

French wine is made in a special way that other countries just cannot seem to match. There is extra care put into a French wine and this thoughtful consideration adds something special to every single French wine on the market today.

When making French wine the winemakers crush the grapes as soon as they get to the cellar. This allows for the most flavor to be gotten from each grape assuring that the French wine will have loads of flavor to thrill every palate like yours. Once all of the French wine grapes have been crushed the must is sent through the fermentation tanks to ferment, as they should. This is a necessary part of the French wine making in that if this step is not done there can be no alcohol in the wine, it would simply be grape juice.

The grapes used in the making of French wine have their own natural sugars and yeasts and other important chemicals. During the fermentation process the French wine grapes undergo a change in their chemical balances. It is this chemical change that makes the French wine special.

During the entire French wine making process those making the wine need to keep the temperature at a steady 25 to 30 degrees Celsius if they want to the French wine grapes to ferment as they should. There must also be the proper ventilation in place to keep the French wine processing smoothly.

The next step in the making of classic French wine is the maceration process. It is in this step that the French wine gets its color. The color itself of all French wine comes from the peels of the grapes and their own natural tannin. It is in this stage of the French wine development that the body of the wine comes into being. The amount of time that the French wine spends in this maceration will vary depending upon which kind of French wine is being made. Some French wines will need more time while others less. In some cases this process can go on for several weeks when making good French wine.

Only after the last stage of French wine are the solids taken out of the wine. This is known as the raking process. More than one French wine can come out of each process simply because the pulp that is taken can be squeezed to get pressed wine or it can be left and known as free run French wine.

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