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What factors influence wine quality?
To answer this question, it is first necessary to define what wine quality means, i.e. what characteristics a high-quality wine has.
The following characteristics make up wine quality:
- Substance
(fullness, body - simply put: the amount of ingredients) - Aroma intensity
(strength of the odoursand flavours) - Complexity
(complexity and differentiation of odours and flavours) - Balance
(harmonious relationship between fruit, spice, sweetness, acidity and tannin) - Density
(concentration of aroma- and texture-giving ingredients) - Length
(Sustainability of the palate impression: How long does the wine remain tasty and perceptible in the mouth?) - Longevity
(ageing potential, durability)
A wine in which all these characteristics are strongly pronounced is of high quality. The expression depends on the following factors, which can be controlled in the vineyard and cellar.
One of the most important factors for wine quality is the Extract of the grapes - technically speaking the Must weighti.e. the sum of all dissolved substances in the grape must. The easiest way to determine the extract is to limit the Yield influence: The fewer grapes hanging on the vine, the higher the extract of the individual berries and the more substantial, high-quality and storable the wine. With increasing ripeness, the must weight then rises, because more and more extract substances are formed in the grape. The age of the vines also plays a role here: the older the vine, the fewer and smaller, but more extract-rich berries it produces.
Another important factor is the Terroir: the interaction of climate, soil and cultivation of the vineyard. The climate includes factors such as temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, humidity and wind; with regard to the soil, the nutrient content and water supply are particularly important, which are largely determined by the geological composition. Taking these conditions into account, the vineyard must offer the grape variety planted there the most favourable natural conditions for growth and ripening. The winegrower influences this by choosing the variety and the cultivation method: the more nature-loving and environmentally friendly the vineyard is cultivated - for example in organic or biodynamic cultivation - the more stable, substantial, differentiated and balanced the wine. This also applies analogously to cellar work: the fewer chemical and physical measures are used during vinification (this begins with pumping the must and applies especially to fining the young wine), the more delicate, expressive and balanced the wine. Basically, it can be said: the more time a wine is given in the cellar (for fermentation, for stabilisation, for ageing), the better the wine lees ageingfor stabilisation, for ageing, for harmonisation), the higher the quality.
Closely related to the terroir is the narrowness of the Origin is closely related to the terroir. The highest quality wine is made from grapes that come from only one vineyard or even from only one parcel. The principle of this so-called origin principle is thus: The closer the origin, the higher the wine quality. The reasoning behind this is: The smaller the geographical unit in which the grapes grow, the more homogeneous and characteristic the terroir and the more strongly this is expressed in the wine - which is also a sign of quality. In the case of wines with a protected designation of origin, this is linked to certain, precisely defined quality specifications, which can range from the maximum yield to the minimum ripening period. This is where the various Quality systems come into play.
In order to maintain the quality of the wine for as long as possible and to ensure that the wine develops as well as possible during bottle age ing, it is essential to store it under optimal conditions storedark, rather cool, at a constant temperature and not too low humidity, and without the influence of oxygen or foreign aromas.