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Facts About Wine-Making
By peace | June 12, 2007
The tradition of the barrel
Wooden barrels are still in popular use worldwide for making fine wines, despite their small size, and the time and effort needed to fill, empty and clean them. The wood, usually oak, imparts tannins to the wine, which gives it a creamy-vanilla character. Limited exposure to oxygen in the air through the pores in the wood helps to mature the wine.
Modern Technology
Use of new technology has brought about greater control over all stages of wine-making, cutting production times, hence costs, greatly. Stainless steel has become very important: it is suited to rigorous temperature control and preserves wine’s purity. Speeded-up stabilization processes enable the production of younger, fruiterer, cheaper wine.
Bottling Wine
Although exact procedures vary, bottling usually takes place in a sterile environment, and is fully automated. Aeration and agitation should be minimized, particularly for fine wine, so bottling equipment is both complex and expensive. Although most fine wine is bottled where it is made, modest wines may be bottled by a central agent.
When To Bottle
Some wines are bottled as soon as they are made, but most fine wines are first aged in oak barrels or steel vats for some time.
Corks
Wine corks are made from cork oak bark. Sheets are treated to kill bacteria, then the corks are stamped out.
Wine must be sealed to stop air entering the bottle. Cork is the traditional stopper: it has no effect on the wine, is quite cheap to make, and easy to remove. The longest and least-marked corks are the finest quality, indicating good wine suitable for aging. Plastic and reconstituted corks are inexpensive alternatives, used on modest wines.
Addictives
Sulphur dioxide is added to most commercial wines to control oxidation and kill unwanted bacteria. Many wines are clarified (fined), using agents such as egg white, gelatine, isinglass (protein from fish), liquid tannin, charcoal, and certain clays. Sorbic acid may be added to inhibit the growth of yeast and bacteria in sweet wines.
Organic Wines
These are produced using only natural predators or herbicides in the vineyard, and a minimum of chemicals in wine-making. Current trends are to make wine as naturally as possible, which precludes the use of certain fining agents and filtration techniques.
