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Wine
Preparation of Wine
The ancient Chinese, Indians, Greeks, and Egyptians all were a part of the Wine discovery,
and so were the Romans who brought winemaking to Europe
Now-a-days in preparing wine initially the right kind of grape variety is chosen from the available
options and theyt are carefully planted in regions and conditions suitable
to them. Their pick date must be chosen wisely depending upon factors like the degree of ripeness - and also weather
conditions like wind, temperature, and drought will affect the finished product. Any imperfections will be hard to
remedy down the line. The grapes need be processed immediately once they are picked.
You won't find too many winemakers stomping on grapes anymoreas before; the process has been given over to
machines that extract the juice by applying gentle pressure. In this case stems from the grapes are removed before pressing to avoid bitterness.
The grapes are crushed to create the "must". Once this must mixes with the yeast naturally then it can be fermented
but many winemakers add specific strains of yeast best suited to a particular style of wine.
"Maceration" leaves the skin and seeds in contact with the must to add depth of flavor, color and
scent, and is usually done longer for red wine. Some vintners choose cold maceration, which extends this period while
holding off fermentation. Alternately, carbonic maceration lets grapes ferment intact, with the addition of carbon
dioxide or yeast. It produces wines with intense color and fresh flavor, especially young wines like Beaujolais.
The process of switching barrels for a clean fermentation is known as Racking. This allows some sediment to
be removed and exposes the wine to the air. It may be done naturally or by "fining," which uses tasty ingredients
like activated charcoal or carbon, isinglass, gelatin, egg whites, or nylon to clarify the wine. This causes
impurities to sink for easy extraction. If the winemaker desires, the wine may then be filtered to remove any
remaining particles, then it's bottled and aged.
Fast Facts
Viticulture/viniculture = the cultivation of grapes has come into existence especially for winemaking.
Table wine contains 8-15% alcohol.
At times SO2 has been added to wine to kill microorganisms and to prevent oxidation.
Red wine grapes require a longer growing season than White wine grapes.
In Europe, white wine grapes flourish in cooler areas like Northern France and Germany, while red thrive in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Don't forget that wine has health-giving flavonoids, so a glass or two a day is good for you.
Some cool Wine Links
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