Vinification

Question 1

When does vinification begin?

Answer 1

As soon as the grapes come into the winery after being harvested.

Question 2

What are some decisions a winemaker has to make BEFORE fermentation even starts?

Answer 2

• When to pick/ripeness of the grapes
• How rigorous sorting must be
• Whether or not to destem

Question 3

What are some of the vessels used for primary fermentation?

Answer 3

• Stainless steel
• Cement
• Barrels (new/used of varying sizes)

Question 4

Name 3 general effects fermentation vessels can have on wine.

Answer 4

Fermentation vessels can affect a wine’s:
1. Aroma
1. Flavor
1. Texture

Question 5

Define foudre.

Answer 5

A large wooden barrel that holds 1000+ liters.

Question 6

Define barrique.

Answer 6

A smaller wooden barrel that holds 225 liters.

Question 7

What exactly is fermentation?

Answer 7

A chemical, exothermic reaction where the grapes’ natural sugars are eaten by yeasts, which are either naturally present or added by the winemaker.

When yeasts eat sugar, the main byproducts kicked off are CO₂ and alcohol. Flavors and aromas are also produced.

As grape juice ferments, it becomes drier (less sweet, because the yeasts are eating the sugar) and alcoholic.

This first fermentation is also known as primary fermentation and alcoholic fermentation.

Question 8

Finish this equation:

Grape sugar + Yeast = _____

Answer 8

• CO₂
• Alcohol
• Heat
• Flavors + aromas

Question 9

What is the purpose of sorting grapes?

Answer 9

To remove:

• excess leaves
• damaged fruit (split, raisinated, underripe, sunburned, etc.)
• MOGS (Materials Other than GrapeS, including rocks, moths, insects, twigs, etc.)

Click here for a quick video of a sorting table in action.

Question 10

1. What is destemming?
2. Why do winemakers sometimes keep stems when making wine?

Answer 10

1. When berries are separated from their stems.
2. Stems are kept to add flavor and modify the style of wine.

Fun Fact: when a wine is vinified with stems the wine will typically be more tannic, but too many stems and the wine can taste stalky.

Read more about stems here.

Question 11

What is ‘crushing’?

Answer 11

Grapes are almost always ‘crushed’ when they’re destemmed. Crushing releases the grapes’ juices, and it’s at this point that fermentation begins.

Note: if grapes are crushed too aggressively, the winemaker risks releasing unwanted tannins from the seeds and skins into the juice, making the resulting wine more astringent. Crushing should always be gentle.

Question 12

What are some advantages of fermenting wine in oak barrels?

Answer 12

1. Barrels add woody and toasty flavors straight into the wine;
2. Barrels encourage flavor development due to the presence of oxygen;
3. Barrels lend textural changes, softening tannins;
4. Barrels can change the color of wine via oxidation, darkening white wines and lightening red wines.

Question 13

What flavors will aging in new oak add to white wines?

Answer 13

• Vanilla
• Toast
• Smoke
• Coconut
• Baking spice (clove, dill, nutmeg, anise)
• Sweet spice (molasses, brown sugar, butterscotch)

Question 14

What determines how much flavor an oak barrel adds to a wine?

Answer 14

1. How the barrel was made (what was its level of toasting?)
2. Age of barrel (if it’s new, it’ll impart more wood flavor than a used one)
3. Size of barrel (smaller ones encourage more oxygen transfer, helping flavors evolve sooner)

Question 15

Why are the effects of oak felt more so in small barrels vs. large barrels?

Answer 15

Because in smaller barrels there is a greater amount of wine surface area touching the oak.

Question 16

Barrels that have never been used before are referred to as _____.

Barrels that have been used about 4 times or more are referred to as _____.

Answer 16

Never used: new oak or first-use

Used a few times: old or neutral oak

Question 17

What can neutral or used oak impart on a wine?

Answer 17

• Textural changes
• Oxidative effects

Question 18

What less-costly methods may be substituted for oak barrels but still add desirable oak flavors to value-priced wines?

Answer 18

The use of oak staves or oak chips.

This cheaper method is only used for inexpensive wines, never for premium wines.

Question 19

What types of oak are available for a winemaker to use?

Answer 19

1. French oak
2. American oak
3. Slavonian oak
4. Hungarian oak

Question 20

What are the typical flavors French oak imparts on a wine?

Answer 20

• Vanilla
• Toast
• Spices (gentler baking spices)

Question 21

What are the typical flavors American oak imparts on a wine?

Answer 21

• Coconut
• Dill
• Vanilla extract
• Intense baking spices (more assertive than French oak)

Question 22

What is the name of the artisan who makes and toasts barrels?

Answer 22

Coopers (the company is called a cooperage)

Question 23

What are the levels of barrel toasting?

Answer 23

• Light
• Medium
• Heavy

Question 24

Heavier toasts on barrels add increased flavor intensities of:

Answer 24

• Vanillin
• Spice
• Toasty/woody notes

Question 25

Which toast allows a wine to extract the greatest amount of wood tannin?: * Light toast * Heavy toast

Answer 25

**Light** toast

Question 26

List some winemaking options available to winemakers after primary fermentation is complete.

Answer 26

1. **Malolactic fermentation** 2. **Lees contact**/stirring 3. **Adjustments**, either sugar or acid additions

Question 27

What is malolactic fermentation?

Answer 27

A conversion of malic acid, which is tart, into lactic acid, which is soft. ## Footnote *Malolactic fermentation is also known as:* * *Malo* * *ML* * *Malolactic conversion*

Question 28

How does a wine go through malo?

Answer 28

It **usually occurs naturally** if there is lactic bacteria present in the winery. ## Footnote *However, some wineries have to help a wine go through malo by adding lactic bacteria.*

Question 29

What flavors does malo impart on a wine?

Answer 29

* Butter * Movie theater popcorn butter * Cream/dairy

Question 30

What other sensory effect does malo impart on a wine?

Answer 30

Malo adds a **creamy, richer, rounder** **texture** to wine.

Question 31

The most common white grape to go through malo is \_\_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 31

**Chardonnay** ## Footnote *Other white grapes that go through malo:* * *Viognier* * *Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc blends* * *Marsanne-Roussanne blends*

Question 32

What are lees?

Answer 32

**Dead yeast cells** left over from primary fermentation that fall to the bottom of the fermentation vessel.

Question 33

What are the effects of stirring up the lees or keeping a wine on its lees for an extended period of time?

Answer 33

* Lees add a **creamy, round texture** and richer body; * Lees add **flavors of freshly-baked bread, yeast, beer head, delicate white flowers, almond skin, peanut shells**

Question 34

What is autolysis?

Answer 34

When dead yeast cells break open and release proteins + flavor into the wine giving it a richer, creamier texture. ## Footnote *White wines more often see extended lees aging than reds.*

Question 35

Where is lees aging used more often?: * Cool climates * Hot climates Why?

Answer 35

**Cool climates** Most cool-climate white grapes have subtle aromas and flavors. **Lees contact adds dramatic, expressive aromas and flavors** to these more quiet varietals.

Question 36

Define 'sur lie' aging.

Answer 36

When a **wine stays in contact with the lees for an extended period of time** (usually several months up to a few years).

Question 37

What is the term for unfermented grape juice?

Answer 37

Must

Question 38

Name 2 must adjustments.

Answer 38

1. Chaptalization 2. Acidification

Question 39

Define chaptalization. In what climate will chaptalization usually occur?

Answer 39

**Adding sugar to the must to boost a wine's final alcohol content**. Usually done in **cooler climates** because grapes can struggle to ripen (and sugars are lower).

Question 40

Define acidification. In what climate is acidification most likely to occur?

Answer 40

The **addition of tartaric acid to wine in order to boost the acidity and improve balance**. Usually **warm climates** where grapes achieve high ripeness and need acidity to counterbalance all the sugar the grapes accumulated (kind of like lemonade! If there's too much sugar in lemonade, you need more acid to balance it out).

Question 41

List the order of winemaking steps for **white** wine.

Answer 41

1. Harvest 2. Destem if doing; otherwise whole bunch 3. Crushing 4. Pressing * skin contact, if doing, after pressing 5. Primary/alcoholic fermentation (and option to do malo) 6. Storage/maturing/aging * lees contact and oak here, if using 7. Fine and/or filter 8. Bottling

Question 42

List the order of winemaking steps for **rosé** wine.

Answer 42

1. Harvest 2. Destem if doing; otherwise whole bunch 3. Crushing 4. Pressing * short skin contact, if doing, after pressing 5. Primary/alcoholic fermentation 6. Storage/maturing/aging (usually no oak, quick) 7. Fine and/or filter 8. Bottling

Question 43

List the order of winemaking steps for **red** wine

Answer 43

1. Harvest 2. Destem if doing; otherwise whole bunch; 3. Crush; Maceration of juice and skins/seeds; 3. Primary/alcoholic fermentation; 4. Pressing; 5. Storage/maturing/aging; 6. Fine and/or filter; 7. Bottling.

Question 44

For white and rosé wines, pressing grapes occurs \_\_\_\_\_ fermentation. For red wines, pressing occurs \_\_\_\_\_ fermentation.

Answer 44

Pressing occurs **before** fermentation for white and rosé wines, **after** fermentation for reds.

Question 45

What is fining?

Answer 45

**Clarifying the wine** (read: making sure it stays clear after it's been bottled). ## Footnote One way to clarify a wine is by cold stabilization.

Question 46

What is cold stabilization?

Answer 46

When a wine's temperature is brought down very low (25ºF / -4ºC) to encourage tartrates to crystalize and precipitate out of the wine. ## Footnote *It's these tartrates that can make a wine appear hazy later on if they're not fined out.*

Question 47

What is filtering?

Answer 47

Exactly what it sounds like: the wine is passed through filters whose pore sizes range from miniscule to large. Filtering is done to remove yeasts so the wine doesn't referment later.

Question 48

List some common packaging options available to winemakers today.

Answer 48

* Glass bottles * Kegs * Cans * Tetra Pak©

Question 49

How are most wines enclosed these days?

Answer 49

* Natural cork * Synthetic cork * Screw caps (aka Stelvin) * Glass t-tops / Vino-Lok©

Question 50

How does a winery create a label for their wine(s)?

Answer 50

They use graphic designers to make the label attractive and easy to read, ensuring that what's in the bottle is identified on the label. All labels must be approved by a region's or country's government, and a winery must follow rules mandating what can and cannot be on the label. ## Footnote *In the U.S., the [TTB](https://www.ttb.gov/wine/labeling) is the governing body overseeing wine labelling.*

Question 51

Define carbonic maceration.

Answer 51

Whole grapes and clusters of grapes are placed in tanks with CO₂ pumped on top of the grapes, displacing all oxygen. This anaerobic environment causes fermentation to start intracellularly (without yeast) by using enzymes already within the grapes, converting the grapes' sugars into alcohol. Berries at the bottom of the tank are crushed under the weight of all the other grapes above it. ## Footnote [Here's a short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDWoaT80afA) that goes over carbonic maceration.

Question 52

What are some of the distinctive flavors and aromas produced by carbonic maceration?

Answer 52

* Bubble gum * Gum drop * Kirsch * Artificial banana

Question 53

What region is best known for carbonic maceration?

Answer 53

Beaujolais, which is in the southern part of Burgundy, France.