Making Red Wine

Making Red Wine

Among the many types of wine available, red wine is among the
best. There are many types of red wine available, although most
are made using the same methods. This very exhilarating type of
wine is made from black grapes, drawing their color from the
skins of the grapes.

During the beginning stages of making red wine, the grapes that
have been picked are put into a crusher. Here, the crusher will
gently break the skins of the grapes. Depending on what type of
wine is being made and the tannin that’s required, the stalks
will either be used or discarded at this point. Next, the
grapes are put into a fermentation vat with the skins. This can
be a long process, taking several weeks to complete. If a
higher temperature is used, more tannin and color will be
extracted from the grapes.

When making soft wines, the whole grapes are fermented using
sealed vats. The carbon dioxide that becomes trapped in the
sealed vats ferment the grapes under pressure, which is normally
a quick process, taking only a few days. Keep in mind, the
color and tannin content of the wine is based on how long the
fermenting process takes. If the fermenting process takes a
long time, the wine will generally hold more flavor and color.

The remaining bulk of the grapes will go through a press, being
crushed to create a tannic wine. Sometimes, this tannic wine is
added with a free run wine in order to add a bit more structure
to the wine blend. Both the press and vat wine are then mixed
and transferred to either tanks or barrels for a second
fermentation. The second fermentation will take the longest,
although it brings out the quality and taste from the wine.

All types of fine red wine will spend a minimum of a year in
the barrels. Some types of red wine will spend a lot more time
in the barrels, possibly several years. Red wine is also fine
tuned with egg whites, which will suspend the yeast and other
solids found in the wine downwards, before the wine is racked,
filtered, and eventually bottled. Once the wine has been
bottled, it is then shipped off and sold. Some wine however,
will be stored for a period of time in the bottle before it is
offered for sale.

The time a wine spends in the bottle is very important,
although not every wine needs to spend a lot of time in the
bottle. The more complex and more expensive types of red wine
will benefit the most from aging in the bottle, to preserve
flavor and color. The simple types of red wine however, don’t
need to spend much time at all in the bottle.

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