|
What is wine-making?
Once the grape harvest is over, the juice is turned into wine. The way this is done varies from one Denominaci�n de Origen, or certificate of quality, to another and also depends on the kind of grape being used:
- White wine: White grapes are pressed, then red grapes with white skin. The juice, called the yema or flor (yoke or flower) is decanted to separate solid residues. The juice is then fermented in stainless steel tanks that are chilled at a temperature ranging from 17 to 20 degrees centigrade. Other fermentation methods use oak casks, especially to make strong white wines with body.
- Red wine: Differs from the former only in that skin from the red grapes and from the mix of reds and whites is removed with the process known as maceration. Young reds made to be drunk the same year -so-called de cosechero wines or the Beaujolais Nouveau in France, for example- are subjected to carbonic maceration, in which the bunches of grapes are placed whole into the tank. But with most of these wines the stems are removed from the bunches -the process is known in Spanish as the despalillado- and then grape is broken open before it is places in the fermentation tank, the temperature of which ranges from 25 to 30� C. Later, during a period that lasts from one to four weeks, and which is monitored daily, the maceration takes place to eliminate skin, seeds and other solid residue from the juice until the tank is emptied.
- Ros� wines: Made with fermented red grapes and after a short period of contact with the grape skins. Fermentation is done in the same way as with white wines.
- Full-bodied wines: These liqueurs are made with a process similar to that of making white wine. They are made with stainless steel tanks. For fino wines the alcohol content is raised to 15 or 15.5 %. On the surface of the wine a coating of yeast is formed. This is what causes the biological ageing of the wine. This known as bajo velo de flor or flor. Manzanilla wines are called this if they are made in Sanl�car de Barrameda. If they are made from a fino they are called amontillados and if they are made from a manzanilla they are called manzanillas pesadas. The alcohol content of olorosos goes up to 18 or 20 %, so there is no coating of yeast, nor is there biological ageing. Ageing is done in casks that can be soleras -close to the floor- and criaderas - on upper levels.
- Sparkling wines: Depending on how they are made, they have different names. Naturally sparkling wines are subjected to a second fermentation inside the bottle
-this causes the gas- following the traditional model. The grapes uses are Chardonnay, Garnacha and the Malvas�a romana or Subirat.
From ageing to bottling
Before being bottled, wine must sit in casks of French or American oak for months or
even years. a�os. This process is known as crianza or ageing. Then it is necessary to clarify the wine. The traditional method is to add egg white so that the impurities precipitate and fall to the bottom of cask or tank. There is also a kind of clay called bentonite, especially with white wines.
Immediately thereafter the wine is bottled and some wines are subjected to long ageing in the bottle -more than a year- before being marketed.
|
WELCOME TO INFINITY
