C8 - White And Sweet Winemaking (reviewed) Flashcards
What considerations need to be made when making white wine?
- Skin contact - little time to reduce risk of oxidation
- Clarity of the juice
- Fermentation temperature and vessel
- Post-fermentation and maturation options
- Blending
- Clarification and stabilisation
What happens in white winemaking once the grapes arrive at the winery and are sorted?
- The grapes are crushed
- Free run juice is separated off
- Remaining grape mass is sent to the press
Discuss skin contact choices
Most of the time, there is little contact to reduce risk of oxidation
Crushed grapes: Grapes are crushed, free run juice is separated off, remaining grap mass is sent to the press
Use of whole bunches: To further limit the contact between skins and juice, whole bunches of uncrushed grapes is loaded in the press
- The process is gentle
- It reduces the risk of oxidation
- It can lead to wines with more purity and delicacy
However, winemaker can leave juice in contact with skins for a short time to increase flavour intensity and texture.
- It happens at a sufficiently cool temperature to inhibit fermentation
- It happens for only a few hours
Discuss clarification of the pressed juice
- Untreated, the juice contains fragments of cells from the skin and pulp which can result in unpleasant aromas forming and fermentation can stop prematurely
- Juice need to be clarified before fermentation using the same techniques as employed for pre-bottling fining (settling, centrifugation, fining and filtration)
- A winemaker may want to keep some of the particles left after pressing as it is thought to make the wine less susceptible to oxidation and to add complexity and richer texture
- Wines that are intended to show pure varietal character are rarely fermented with particles because of the risk of off-flavours forming
Discuss fermentation temperature of white wine
Optimal temperature range: 12 - 22C
Fermenting at too low temp:
- Creates pear-drop aromas
- Fails to capture varietal fruit aromas
Fermenting at higher temp:
- Encourages more complex, non-fruit aromas to develop
- Varietal fruit characteristics can be lost
Vessels:
- Stainless steel is often used as temperature can usually be easily controlled
- Barrel - Can still be fermented at optimum temperatures in barrels (although at the higher end of the scale) - usually small barrels housed in cool cellars, so they can dissipate their heat easily
What are the three main decision a white winemaker may be faced with directly after fermentation?
- Maturation in vessel (oak, or store in inert vessels, with or without oaks staves/chips)
- Allow or block MLF
- Use fine lees for texture and flavour
What are the main reasons why a white winemaker may blend their wine?
- Improve consistency - blending focus of wines are based on primary fruit flavours
- Enhance the balance - blending focus for winemakers working with non-aromatic varieties
- Create a certain style - blending can help achieve complexity by using varying amounts of lees contact, MLF and oak treatment on different batches of wine and blending them for complexity
Describe Clarification and stabilisation
- Most wines undergo some form of fining or/and filtration to improve clarity and stability
- Clarity is more important in white wine than red because their relative paleness makes haze or sediment more apparent
- Wines with residual sugar are at risk of microbiological infection so the winemaker may chose to sterile filter the wine to remove any yeast or bacteria that may be present
Describe production of high-volume, inexpensive white wines
For consumer point of view they present excellent value: easy drinking, from a trusted source, reasonable price
Blending:
- Some are made from a single variety and state the name of the variety on the label however it can be easier to create high volumes with blends.
Grape variety:
- Usually using neutral varieties, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio
- Their restrained varietal character means their wines appeal to a wide range of consumers
- They are both easy to ripen, especially in warm climates
- In the hotter regions, the grapes can have insufficient acidity, so these needs to be corrected at the winery
Describe the styles of bulk, inexpensive Chardonnay
- Unoaked: with pure fruity flavours of melon and peach
- Oaked: showing vanilla and toast
- Both styles may contain some residual sugar
Describe the style of bulk, inexpensive Pinot Grigio
- Unoaked
- Light pear-drop aromas/flavours
- Medium acidity
- Light body
Discuss Sauvignon Blanc for high-volume, inexpensive white wines making.
- Very popular gape so sometimes used to make high volume-inexpensive wines
- But will rarely be at lowest price points
- It’s vigorous, leading to high yields
- But it can be dominated by herbaceous flavours when underripe
What happens to white grapes at the winery for production of inexpensive, high-volume wines?
Skim contact and clarification of the juice :
- Careful handling is important because they are based on primary fruit flavours, which can be lost if oxidised
- Therefore wines are handled protectively and SO2 levels are monitored throughout
- They’re destemmed, crushed and pressed
Acidification
- is the most important adjustment made to these types of wine
- Chardonnay is usually in most need for acidification as it can be particularly flat and flabby
Clarification:
- Wines will be clarified to ensure fruity flavours are retained
- Centrifugation or filtration is usually the choices for clarifying the wines as using gravity may be too slow, tying up valuable tank space for too long
Fermentation:
- Usually done in Stainless steel.
- Fermentation will be kept at low temperatures to retain primary fruit characteristics
- Commercial yeasts are used for a quick, reliable fermentation
Post fermentation
- Usually MLF will be prevented to retain acidity and fruity aromas; chilling the wine and adding SO2 Racking the wine off immediately after fermentation and storing temporarily in another inert vessel
- Chardonnays may undergo MLF is want to create a soft, buttery style
- Toasty flavour if any, will come from use of oak chips or staves in a stainless steel vessel - barrel is too expensive and too slow
- Sweetness levels will be precisely controlled by adding under melted grape juice or RCGM after fermentation
What is the appearance expectation of bulk wine consumers? How is this achieved?
- That they are clear, bright and without sediment
- They are stabilised, fined and sterile-filtered
How will bulk white wines be treated prior to bottling?
With SO2
What is the main focus of the premium white winemaker?
To make high-quality wine, often at the expense of volume
The best winemakers will adapt the techniques according to
- Vintage conditions
- Vineyard plot
- Style of wine they want to make
What are aromatic grape varieties?
Wines made from these varieties have pronounced aromas and flavours
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Riesling
- Muscat
- Gewurztraminer
- Torrontés
What is the role of a winemaker using aromatic grape varieties?
To retain and enhance the primary fruit character and aromatic potential of these grapes in the final wine
Discuss production of premium Sauvignon Blanc
- In the vineyard: Early ripening so suitable for cooler climates
- Style: Highly aromatic, High acidity
- Climate: requires cool climates to retain the grape’s refreshing characteristics
- Famous areas: Loire Valley and Marlborough, also South Africa, Chile
- Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé: Show elegance and restraint aromas / flavours of green apple and asparagus with a hint of wet pebbles
-
Marlborough: long hours of intense sunlight create very vibrant flavours powerful aromas of gooseberry, elderflower, grapefruit and passion fruit
- Some may have herbaceous notes
- Best drunk young, when intense fruity flavours is still fresh
- Style: can be made is less aromatic fashion: ex: Margaret River, Australia by blending it with Semillon or using methods more associated with non-aromatic varieties e.g, Pessac-Léognan, California, New Zealand
How is Sauvignon vinified in Pessac-Léognan? What effect does this have?
- It is fermented and matured in at least a proportion of new oak as well as being blended with Sémillon
- It gives a rounder body and spicy, toasty notes
- Sémillon further adds to the body and richness of the wine
Discuss Riesling grape.
- In the vineyard: Buds late, mid to late-ripening, can accumulate sugar without losing acidity
- Climiate: Tolerant of cold winters
- Cooler Flavours: Green fruit flavours and floral notes
- Warmer climate: Richer flavours, predominantly citrus and stone fruit
- Wine making: Ideal for sweet wine because of its ability build sugar levels and retain its acidity
- Used for botrytised dessert wines
- Renowned for its ability to mature for sometimes decades in bottle and still retain its freshness and develop flavours of honey, toast, sometimes petrol-like aromas and retainted high acidity
- Top producers of Riesling in Europe: Germany, Alsace, Austria
