Crafting wine is a meticulous and extended process that can take several years, from the initial planting of grapevines to bottling the first vintage. The process involves nurturing the grapevines and harvesting their fruits, which can take up to three years, followed by an additional couple of years until the wine is ready for bottling. However, the culmination of terroir and winemaking expertise results in a final product that justifies the wait, often described as "poetry in a bottle."
This article explains the grape-growing process, the various stages of winemaking, and the entire lifecycle of a wine grape.
In winter, grapevines are pruned to produce the right fruit in the following season. It is a highly skilled vineyard practice used to guide the vine in specific directions and for particular purposes.
In spring, the vines come back to life, and new buds appear. This is an essential milestone in the annual growth cycle of the grapevine, as it marks the beginning of a new growing season. The timing of wine bud break can vary depending on several factors, such as grape variety, climate and weather conditions, or the vineyard's location. In general, wine bud break occurs in spring, typically between late March and early May in the Northern Hemisphere. During the bud break stage, grape growers closely monitor the new shoots' growth to ensure they are healthy and developing correctly. This is a critical time in the grapevine's growth cycle, as any damage or stress to the young shoots can significantly impact the overall health and quality of the grapevine and the grapes it produces.
This is a crucial stage in the grapevine growth cycle that occurs in early summer. During this time, the grapevines start to produce tiny flowers essential for developing grapes. These flowers need to be pollinated by wind, insects, or other means to produce fruit.The timing and success of flowering can impact the size, quality, and yield of the grape harvest and as such, this is an essential step in the winemaking process that ultimately determines the quantity and quality of the grapes used to make wine.
At this stage of development, vintners and growers must be mindful of the potential risks posed by frost and wind. To safeguard the delicate young shoots, they employ large fans to circulate cold air, sprinkling the vines with water to create a protective layer of ice and using heaters to elevate the temperature in the vineyard.
Fruit Set
After the pollinated flowers shed their small petals, a tiny green sphere gradually emerges at the end of the stem, which then takes on the recognizable shape of grape clusters as they grow. Despite this progress, vintners must remain vigilant about the risk of frost and monitor weather conditions almost continuously. Once the fruit has set, it will begin to ripen.
After a period of vigorous growth in the spring, it becomes necessary to manage the shoot growth to achieve optimal grape production and ripening. Canopy management is a multifaceted process encompassing several decisions and actions, such as leaf removal, shoot thinning, vigour management, and shoot positioning. The aim is to attain an ideal balance of shade, sunlight, and air circulation around each grape cluster, which is essential for optimal ripening.
Crop thinning, commonly known as "green harvesting," involves removing unripe grape clusters that are not developing evenly or are imperfect.
At the start of their annual growth cycle, all grape varieties exhibit a green colour. Only during mid-summer do red or white grapes manifest their distinctive characteristics to the untrained eye. This is when the grape pigment development process, known as veraison, occurs. The timing of veraison is influenced by various factors, such as the grape variety and the unique microclimate of a particular vineyard location, and can occur over an extended period. In the summer, the grapes start to ripen and change colour.
When the grapes have reached their optimal ripeness, they are harvested by hand or machine.
Upon arrival from the vineyard, the grapes are processed by stainless-steel machines. The grapes are fed into a de-stemmer for red wines that separates the individual berries. Some wineries use an optical sorter to set precise specifications in a computer-controlled monitor, allowing only fruit with specific qualities to pass through. The grapes are then delicately crushed and transferred to an appropriate vessel for fermentation on their skins. In contrast, white wine grapes undergo a gentle pressing of the whole bunch to extract their juice, which is then transferred to a fermentation vessel without the grape skins.
Fermentation is an ancient process where yeast transforms sugar-rich grape juice into wine. Numerous fermentation techniques are employed. Barrel fermentation and malolactic fermentation are often used for Chardonnay, resulting in complex, creamy flavours. Sauvignon Blanc and other light white wines are typically fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel to preserve their primary fruit aromas and crisp acidity. Pinot Noir undergoes a "cold soak" with extended skin contact to extract more colour from its thin skin before fermentation. High-tannin red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, often spend time on their skins after fermentation to soften the tannins, creating deeper colour and a denser mouthfeel in the finished wine.
Determining whether to use stainless steel, French oak or American oak, the degree to which the oak barrels are toasted, striking a balance between the strong character of new oak versus the more neutral profile of previously used barrels, and adopting novel approaches such as ageing in concrete vessels shaped like eggs, are all factors that influence the taste of the end product.
Deciding on when to bottle a wine is a highly individualized decision for winemakers and relies heavily on the specific vintage and wine characteristics. Some light white wines, like Riesling, may only need a few months of stabilization in the tank after fermentation. On the other hand, barrel-fermented Chardonnays may require a year of lees stirring in the barrel, followed by a settling period before bottling. Red wines are often aged in oak for 18-24 months to allow for the development of complex flavours and aromas, but the decision of when to end this ageing process is determined by a variety of factors and is unique to each winemaker. Ultimately, technology and information can only go so far, and deciding when to bottle a wine is based on the winemaker's palate, intuition, and experience
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