Wine

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new vocabulary

Flavor: nounthe distinctive taste of a food or drink:the yoghurt comes in eight fruit flavours

Bouquet: the characteristic smell of a wine This wine has a rich bouquet.

Blend: mix (a substance) with another substance so that they combine together:

add the grated cheese and blend well

Yeast: a type of fungus which is used in making alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine

Harvest:the time of year when crops are cut and collected from the fields, or the activity of cutting and collecting them

Grapes: a small round purple or pale green fruit that you can eat or make into wine

Crusher Small Bladder Press

Large Rotary Press

Fermentation Tanks

Barrel filling

Barrel aging

Active Yeast Cells

Bottling line

Bottles being filled

Large Commercial Cellar

Small in-home cellar

� . � Red Wine:

� Grapes for red wine are harvested, crushed.

� The must is left with the skins during fermentation to produce the red color.

� Red wine is commonly aged in oak barrels for 6 to 24 months.

� The wine is bottled. � Many red wines are ready to

drink after bottling. � However, some red wines, such

as Cabernet Sauvignon, will benefit with some bottle age.

� Blush Wine: � Red grapes are harvested for Rose

or Blush wine. � Before fermentation the must is left

with the skin for a short time. � The must is fermented in stainless

steel tanks. � If a sweet wine is desired then the

fermentation is stopped before all of the sugar is consumed.

� The wine is bottled � Blush wines are not

commonly bottle aged but consumed within 3 years of bottling.

� Champagne (Sparking) Wine: � Grapes for sparking wine are

harvested and pressed. � It is fermented like a white wine. � More sugar and yeast is added to

the wine. � The wine is bottled. � The additional sugar and yeast

produce carbon dioxide, which carbonates the wine.

� The second fermentation is stopped.

� Most sparkling wines are made to drink young. But, fine Champagne will benefit with additional bottle age.

Making fortified wine

� Fortified Wine: � Grapes for fortified wines are

harvested like for other wines. � Depending on the type of wine,

the must may be handled in different ways to intensify the flavor before and during fermentation.

� Most fortified wines have an addition of alcohol (brandy) to stop fermentation and increase the alcohol content.

� Fortified wine maybe aged in oak barrels before bottling.

� Many fortified wines will benefit with bottle age.

Summary

� Wine grapes are harvested either manually or mechanically. � Manually harvested grapes are usually preferred. � Wine can be made from many fruits and vegetables. � However, wine from grapes can possess a good balance of three

important qualities: sweetness, acidity and alcohol. � After harvesting, grapes are destemmed, crushed (or pressed) to

produce the juice, referred to as “must”. � The must is fermented and sometimes aged in oak to add flavor

and aroma in some wines before bottling. � Sparkling wines such as Champagne are made by imposing a

secondary fermentation in the bottle to produce carbonation. � Most wine is made to be consumed within 3 years of production. � However, some fine wines may gain special qualities by further

bottle aging.