Vinification (Matt)

Question 1

What are the vinification Factors? (x8)

Answer 1

• Pre-Fermentation Factors
• Fermentation
• Types of Winemaking
  
  • White, Rose, Redwine
  • Sparkling Wine
  • Dessert & Fortified Wine
• Fermentation Vessels
• Aging and Maturation
• Important Vinification Terms
• Preparing for Bottling
• Packaging

Question 2

What are the Pre-Fermentation Factors?

Answer 2

• Sorting
• De-stemming
• Crushing (often crushing and de-stemming are performed together)

Question 3

What is the Fermentation Formula?

Answer 3

Sugar from ripe grape juice + Yeast (ambient or inoculated) -> Alcohol, C02, Flavors & Aromas, Heat

Question 4

What are the winemaking steps for White Wine?

Answer 4

1) Harvest (red or white grapes)
2) De-stem?
3) Crush
4) Press juice from skins (w/ skin contact)
5) Fermentation
6) Aging?
7) Fine and/or Filter, Bottle

Question 5

What are the winemaking steps for Rose Wine?

Answer 5

1) Harvest (red grapes)
2) De-stem?
3) Crush
4) Press juice from skins (skin contact limited)
5) Fermentation
6) Aging?
7) Fine and/or Filter, Bottle

Question 6

What are the winemaking steps for Red Wine?

Answer 6

1) Harvest (red grapes)
2) Crush, De-stem(?), and macerate (w/ skins and seeds)
3) Fermentation
4) Press juice from skins
5) Aging?
6) Fine and/or Filter
7) Bottle

Question 7

What are the standard size and shape characteristics of fermentation vessels?

Answer 7

• Large: 1,000+ liter
• Small: 225 liter
• Egg Shaped

Question 8

What are the standard materials for fermentation vessels?

Answer 8

• Wood
• Stainless Steel
• Concrete

Question 9

What does barrel aging do?

Answer 9

• Evaporation
• Oxidization (white wines darken, red wines lighten)
• Textural Changes (softens the wine)
• Flavor Changes (vanilla, oak, toast, spice (cinnamon, clove, allspice), coconut)

Question 10

What are some considerations of barrel aging?

Answer 10

• How old is the barrel? (new = most flavor | old (used) = little flavor)
  NOTE: Neutral barrels are after 4 - 6 years of use, and can still impart oxidation and textural effects
• Financial considerations
• Size of the barrel (large = less flavor impartation | small = more flavor impartation)

Question 11

What are the different types of oak?

Answer 11

• American Oak (bold, more intense flavors of vanilla, baking spices, dill, and coconut)
• French Oak (subtle aromas of vanilla, toast, and allspice)
• Other types (Slavonian - Croatian, Hungarian)

Question 12

What does toasting a barrel do to it?

Answer 12

The more you increase the toast level, the more the flavors of vanilla, spice, and toast are imparted to the wine.
Also, light toast levels promote the most extraction of wood tannins.

Question 13

What is Malolactic Fermentation?

Answer 13

Tart malic acids, natural in grapes, are converted to softer-tasting lactic acids. This can create a buttery or popcorn flavor, and creamy texture to white wines.

Question 14

What is Carbonic Maceration?

Answer 14

Tanks filled with the whole grapes are blanketed under C02 gas. Grapes begin to ferment from the inside, while grapes at the bottom of the tank ferment normally. Unique aromas and flavors are created, commonly associated with Beaujolias region of Burgundy, France.

Question 15

What is does Lees Contact mean, and what does it do?

Answer 15

A winemaking decision to leave white and sparkling wines in contact with the yeasts that produced the fermentation. Over time, autolysis occurs, which is when yeast cells die and give added richness, creaminess, and texture to the wine.

Cooler climate regions do this for the purpose of deriving more flavors from less expressive wines.

This could produce aromas of:

• Bread dough
• Yeast
• Subtle white flowers
• Nuts

Question 16

What is Must and what are Must Adjustments?

Answer 16

Must is unfermented grape juice.

Depending on the climate, grape must may require adjustment to create balance in the juice and the finished wine.

Two types:

• Chaptalization - the addition of sugar to must to increase the final alcohol content of the wine
• Acidifcation - the addition of tartanic acid to increase the acidity of the must, in order to improve balance in the wine

Question 17

What are the Bottling preparation steps?

Answer 17

1) Fining (to clarify the wine)
2) Filtration (extracting yeats, providing stability)
3) Packaging (Bottle, Tetra Pak, Keg, Can)
4) Closures (Cork, Screw Cap, Glass Stopper or Vino Lock)
5) Capsules & Labels

Question 18

Name the aromas and flavors of wine associated with Sur Lie Aging. (x3)

Answer 18

• Yeast
• Toast
• Nuts

Question 19

Why is sorting the grapes important?

Answer 19

This removes excess leaves, branches, damaged fruit, or other unwanted items. This directly affects what comes into the winery.

Question 20

What is important to watch out for when crushing grapes?

Answer 20

It needs to be done gently, as too much force can release unwanted bitterness and tannins.

Question 21

What is the definition of fermentation?

Answer 21

Fermentation is the chemical reaction whereby sugar from ripe grape juice plus yeast (ambient in the air or inoculated by the winemaker) yields alcohol and C02, as well as flavors, aromas, and heat.

Question 22

What levels of barrel toast are there?

Answer 22

• Light
• Medium
• Heavy

Question 23

What’s the abbreviation for Malic Acid?

Answer 23

• ML

Question 24

What is Cold Stabilization and what is it used for?

Answer 24

• A process that causes tartrate crystals to precipitate out of the wine at a very low temperature (25F)
• This process is used for Fining.