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How is wine made?
Wine is made from grapes. The crucial process in winemaking is fermentation, where yeast converts the sugar from the grapes into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
After the Harvest (i.e. harvest), the ripe grapes are first lightly crushed. This produces the mash: the mixture of juice, pulp, skins and seeds. Depending on the type of wine (i.e. wine colour), the grapes are then immediately pressed and the must (the pressed juice of the grapes) is subsequently fermented (white wine, rosé wine), or the entire mash is fermented and only then pressed(red wine, orange wine). The solid residue after pressing (skins, seeds, stems) is called pomace.
Red and rosé wine is made from red grapes. White wine and orange wine are made from white grapes, although red grapes can also be made into white wine(Blanc de Noirs). The colouring substances of the grapes are located in the skins - the pulp is also light in red grapes. In order to extract them, the red grapes are first thoroughly macerated so that the juice in the mash can dissolve the pigments from the skins. At the same time, thetannins, which are found in the skins and seeds, are also released; this is why red wines, in contrast to white wines, have tannins that taste slightly bitter and can have an astringent effect in the mouth. For rosé wine, even a short maceration period after crushing the red grapes is sufficient for the juice to begin to release the colouring substances from the skins. Once this process has begun, the crushed red grapes are pressed. The resulting must has a light red colour and significantly fewer tannins than red wine. When making white wine, the crushed white grapes are also pressed quickly; the must is light yellow and has no tannins. To make a white wine from red grapes, the grapes are pressed immediately without any maceration time. Then, in all three cases (white wine from white grapes, white wine from red grapes and rosé wine from red grapes), the must is fermented into wine. Orange Wine is a mash-fermented wine made from white grapes; it gets a dark yellow colour from the maceration (which gives it its name) and also tannins from the skins and seeds of the white grapes.
The must is fermented to make white and rosé wine(must fermentation), while the mash is fermented to make red wine and orange wine(mash fermentation). The main difference between the types of wine is therefore the time during vinification when the grapes are pressed: whether before or after fermentation. The yeast required for fermentation is either added(pure culture yeast) or natural ye asts are used; then fermentation starts automatically. Fermentation then not only forms the alcohol, but is also responsible for much of the wine's aromas.
After fermentation (and subsequent pressing in the case of red wine and orange wine), the so-called young wine is created in any case. This is then first filtered to remove the yeast residue from the fermentation. The young wine is then agedthe young wine is then aged for a certain period of time (weeks, months, years) in stainless steel tanks or in wooden barrels(large wooden barrels, barriques). During this time, the aroma and, depending on the length of maturation, the texture change again. At the end of the ageing period Clarification and Finingto stabilise the wine before it is bottled bottled bottled.
These general steps of winemaking can be divided into numerous small intermediate steps. These are explained in detail, subdivided by type of wine, in the following articles:
How is white wine made?
How is red wine made?
How is rosé wine made?
How is Orange Wine made?