For years, people have been manufacturing wine. At its most basic level, Wine production is a natural process that requires very little human involvement. Mother Nature supplies everything needed to produce wine; it is up to people to enhance, develop, or destroy what she has provided, as anybody who has had a significant wine tasting experience will confirm.

Without a doubt, there will be several departures and modifications along the road. Harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarifying, and finally ageing and bottling are the five main phases or procedures in the production of wine. Variations and minor variations at any step in the process are what keep life fascinating. They also distinguish each wine and, as a result, add to the grandeur or ignominy of every given wine. With one difference, the processes for producing white and red wine are nearly identical. 

Harvesting, sometimes known as plucking, is the first stage in the winemaking process.

To make good wine, the grapes must be harvested at a specific time, preferably when physiologically ripe. Harvesting dates are generally determined using a combination of science and old-fashioned taste, with input from consultants, winemakers, vineyard managers, and proprietors. Harvesting can be completed either manually or automatically. Many estates, however, prefer to hand-harvest since mechanical harvesters may be harsh on the grapes and the vineyard. Before crushing the grapes, respectable winemakers sort the grape bunches, filtering away any rotting or under-ripe fruit.

 Crushing

The next stage in the winemaking procedure is usually to crush entire clusters of fresh ripe grapes. The time-honoured process of stomping or trodding the grapes into what is popularly referred to as wine as must is now carried out by automated crushers. For many years, men and women began the miraculous transition of grape juice from concentrated sunshine and water bound together in clusters of fruit to the most healthy and mystical of all beverages - wine - by performing the harvest dance in barrels and presses.

The procedures for producing white and red wine are essentially the same until crushing and pressing. However, when making white wine, a winemaker would swiftly press the must after crushing to separate the juice from the skins, seeds, and particles. Unwanted colour (which originates from the grape peel, not the liquid) and tannins are prevented from leaching into the white wine. In essence, white wine has minimal skin contact, but red wine is left in connection with its skins throughout fermentation to obtain colour, taste, and more tannins, which is the following stage.

Fermentation

Fermentation is the true witchcraft at work in the winemaking process. Natural fermentation is a pleasant phenomenon in extremely clean, well-established wineries and vineyards. If left, must or juice will organically ferment in 6-12 hours because of wild yeasts in the air. Many winemakers, however, choose to interfere at this point by inoculating the natural must for a number of reasons. This means they'll destroy the wild, often unpredictable native yeasts and replace them with a yeast strain of their choosing, allowing them to anticipate the ultimate result more accurately.

Whatever method is selected, fermentation usually continues until all of the sugar has been converted to alcohol and a dry wine has been created. Fermentation time might range from 10 days to a month or longer. Because of the overall sugar content of the must, the resultant level of alcohol in wine varies from one location to the next. In temperate regions, a blood alcohol level of 10% is considered normal, whereas in warmer climates, 15% is expected. When the fermentation process ends before all of the sugar has been converted to alcohol, sweet wine is created. The winemaker typically makes this decision consciously and intentionally.

Clarification

The clarifying process begins once the fermentation has finished. Winemakers might rack or syphon their wines from one tank or barrel to another in the hopes of leaving the pomace (precipitates and sediments) at the bottom of the fermenting tank. Filtering and fining can be done at this point as well. Filtration may be accomplished using various methods, ranging from a coarse filter that captures just big particles to a sterile filter pad that removes all life from the wine.

Fining is the method of adding chemicals to wine to clarify it. Winemakers frequently add egg whites, clay, or other substances to wine to aid in the precipitation of dead yeast cells and other particles. These chemicals stick to the undesirable solids and push them to the tank's bottom. The clarified wine is then racked into a new vessel, which might be bottled or aged further.

Ageing and bottling

The maturing and bottling of wine is the final step in the winemaking process.

The options and approaches available in this final step of the procedure and the ultimate outcomes are virtually limitless. Ageing can occur in a bottle, stainless steel or ceramic tanks, big wooden ovals, or tiny barrels known as barriques. In every case, though, the end product is wine.

Conclusion

Winemaking processes have developed over the years, and wine is essential for new food product development processes. Food Research Lab is a  global Contract R&D Food, Beverages & Nutraceutical Lab providing solutions to Food, Beverages and Nutraceuticals (F, B&N) industries worldwide.  

Food Research Lab is an expert in new beverage productdevelopment. We have developed several beverage products that include red wine as one of the key ingredients. We also use red wine for the recipe development. Red wine adds to the taste and flavour of cooked food products and has immense health benefits. To know more about our services visit our website