Ever Wonder? How is Wine Made? Part 3

As discussed in the first two parts of this series, the wine making process begins with harvesting the grapes and then proceeds into fermentation. But, once the natural sugars in the grapes are converted to alcohol, the process isn’t over. The aging process is the third and final stage of wine making. And, it takes place in the winery and in the bottle.

Following fermentation, wines go into barrels, bottles, or storage tanks. Some wines will age for a few years before being released while others may age just a few weeks.

During this time, wines may undergo several processes. Sediment in the wine such as dead yeast cells, grape seeds, stems, pulp and tartrates (harmless tartaric acid crystals) may remain in a barrel or tank during and after fermentation. Immediately following fermentation, wine may be "racked" to remove this sediment or “lees.” Or, the wine may be aged for an extended period on the fine lees in what's called "sur lie" aging. Fine lees can enhance an aging wine with added richness, flavor and aroma complexity, and can also bind with excess tannins.

Fining is another technique used for clarifying wine using agents such as bentonite (powdered clay), isinglass (fish bladder), casein (milk protein), gelatin or egg whites, which combine with sediment particles and cause them to settle to the bottom, where they can be easily removed.

White wines are generally aged in vessels that preserve the grapes natural fruit flavors as much as possible. This is done by using stainless steel tanks, concrete tanks or neutral barrels (barrels than have been used for more than three vintages) which do not add oak flavors. But, Chardonnay is sometimes aged in new oak (up to three years old) to impart flavor and give it that “buttery” flavor.

Most red wines (and some white wines – especially Chardonnay) go through Malolactic conversion where sour acids (malic acid) are converted to less harsh, smoother acids (lactic acid).

Red wines are then typically aged in oak barrels. These may be new oak barrels (never before used) to impart bold oak flavors, a combination of new and neutral oak to add moderate oak flavors, or completely in neutral oak to impart no oak flavor.

Once the wines are through the aging process at the winery, the wine is bottled. Sometimes the wines are immediately sent to market while other wineries may choose to let their wines (usually reds) spend another year or two in the bottle before going to market.

So, wine making may seem easy, but to make a really good wine is quite difficult and involves multiple time-consuming processes.

The three parts of this series are meant as an overview of the winemaking process. Future blogs will deal with specifics in greater detail.

So, here to the wine makers who make it all possible. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot

2017 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot ($18)

Built on the 1912 estate owned by Seattle lumber baron Frederick Stimson, the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery’s roots date back to the Repeal of Prohibition.

With more than 50 years of winemaking, Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the few premium wineries in the world with two state-of-the-art wineries, one for red and one for white. The whites are made at the Chateau in Woodinville, WA, while the reds are made at the Canoe Ridge Estate winery in Eastern Washington.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from the Indian Wells Vineyard, along with a variety of other warm-climate Washington vineyards that range from the Wahluke Slope to Cold Creek Vineyard.

The 2017 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot is produced from 89% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 1% Viognier. The grapes were de-stemmed and sorted. Gentle pump-overs were used to extract optimal flavor and color, and minimize harsh tannins. It was then aged for 18 months in 28% new American and 5% new French oak barrels.

This wine is medium-ruby in color with bright aromas of red and black fruits. On the palate it is a full-bodied, fruit-forward, wine with nice complexity, medium tannin and a lingering finish.

This 2017 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot is affordable and attainable, make it a great fit as the Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - The Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon

2017 The Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon ($17.99)

The Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon is created to honor the man many call the first American, Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin was a passionate man who helped draft the Declaration of Independence and campaigned for colonial unity during the American Revolution.

The Federalist wines are from Terlato wines that has a global portfolio of more than 70 brands from world class wine producers in more than a dozen countries.

This 2017 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon is produced with multiple grape varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Syrah, Sangiovese. The different blocks were fermented separately to preserve the characteristics of each. Each block then spent an average of 18 days on the skins. It was then aged for 15 months in oak (34% new oak).

The Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon is medium ruby in color with nice aromas of dark fruit. On the palate it is full-bodied, fruit-forward with medium tannin, subtle oak influences and an easy finish.

The Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon can be found in most stores, wine shops and on-line. It is attainable and affordable making it a great fit as the Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Samples Provided by Terlato Wines via Donna White Communications

Ever Wonder? How is Wine Made? Part 2

Last time we began looking at the wine making process, starting with the grapes. While the grapes certainly are the most important ingredient in wine making, there is another very important ingredient - yeast. So, let’s take a look at the fermentation process.

Once the grapes are harvested and prepared for the wine making process, it time to turn the grape juice to wine. Large tanks are used in this process and here is where yeast is added.  It's the natural sugar in the juice of the grape that gets consumed by the live yeast. The bi-product of the yeast's consumption of sugar is alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2).  Remember that red wines have the juice and skins together in the fermentation tank and the production of CO2 causes all the skins to float to the top of the tank.  So winemaker's have to periodically 'punch down' the skins to intermix them with the juice or 'pump over' the juice as another means of keeping the skins mixed in with the juice. But regardless of the grape type, the fermentation process is relative quick, lasting typically from ten days to two weeks. And, another factor limiting the fermentation time is the life of the yeast. Depending on the strain of yeast, the fermentation process will stop once the alcohol level reaches levels of 16-18% when the yeast dies or after all the sugar is consumed.

Once fermentation is complete, white wines will be transferred to stainless steel tanks or oak barrels for aging. Red wine will then be separated from the skins and moved to vessels for aging. And, that’s where we’ll pick up next time - aging of wine. Cheers!

Ever Wonder? How is Wine Made?

Wine making, on the surface, might seem pretty simple. You take grape juice, add yeast and presto, you have wine. And, indeed, a wine maker did tell me that it’s that easy. But, he went on to add, making good wine is not easy!

Wine does begin with grapes. But, knowing when to pick the grapes is very important. That’s because grapes, unlike many other fruits, don’t continue to ripen after being picked. So, you have to get it “right.” And “right” to one wine maker isn’t quite “right” to another wine maker. That’s because some wine makers want slightly under-ripe grapes in order to produce more highly acidic wines such as many white wines and sparkling wine. Other wine makers will choose over-ripe grapes either to produce a sweeter flavored wine or a late-harvest dessert wine. But the vast majority of wine makers are looking for the “Goldielocks” grapes that are just right! These are the grapes that have just the right amount of sugar to ensure proper fermentation.

Once the grapes are picked they are swiftly moved from the vineyard to the winery to ensure they are at peak freshness. White wine grapes will immediately be pressed to extract their juice. Red wine grapes will often go through a sorting process to remove leafs and any other foreign materials and then be de-stemmed. Other wine makers will leave the grapes attached to the stems for added tannin and character.

Next, fermentation begins in tanks made of stainless steel, wood or concrete depending on the style of wine that the wine maker is seeking to achieve. The juice from the pressed white wine grapes goes into the fermentation tanks while the whole grapes or bunches of red wine grape to into the fermentation tanks.

Then comes the yeast. And, we’ll pick up there next time. Until then, Cheers!