Cellar Center

From Grape to Glass - How Wine Is Made

Winemaking involves a series of simple steps:

• Crushing releases the juice of the harvested grapes to liberate the sugar in the juice for fermentation
• Fermentation occurs naturally when yeast comes into contact with the sugar in the juice. More information at Wikipedia
• After fermentation is complete, racking draws new wine off the top of the tank to separate it from the solids (lees) that have settled to the bottom
• Malolactic fermentation is a secondary fermentation for wines high in malic acid - a tart taste; green apples are high in malic acid, while milk contains lactic acid
• Maturation in barrels further allows solids to settle and the wood imparts flavors to the wine
• Clarification is accomplished by filtering, and a fining agent removes debris and odors from the wine
• Bottle aging allows the new wine to rest and recover from bottle shock