Oenology - Production process of white wine
17 important questions on Oenology - Production process of white wine
What are the steps that we need to follow to make a white wine?
- Harvesting
- Immediate pressing to extract the must
- Racking off / filtering
- Transfer to stainless-steel tanks
- Alcoholic fermentation with selected or wild yeast
- Malolactic fermentation
- Interruption with sulfites if acidity must be preserved (OPTIONAL)
- Several filtrations to remove lees
- Ageing in oak cask (OPTIONAL)
- Ageing on lees for fuller-bodied, rounder and creamier wines (OPTIONAL)
- Clarification
- Final racking off
- Fining
- Addition of sulfites to prevent oxidation
- Bottling, corking and labelling
- Consumption or bottle ageing
What does harvesting consist of?
The grapes can be:
- white grapes
- or even red grapes, as long as the skins do not stay in contact with the juice for too long.
This is important because the skin contains:
- colour
- tannins
What does immediate pressing consist of?
The goal is to extract the juice, which is called the must.
➡️ Immediate pressing prevents the skins from staying in contact with the must for too long.
This helps the wine remain:
- clear in colour;
- low in tannins;
- fresh and delicate.
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Why some winemakers what a short Skin Contact for Full-Bodied White Wines?
This short skin contact helps extract:
- more aromas;
- more structure;
- more complexity.
Short skin contact → more aromas
Long skin contact → too much tannin and colour
What does rocking off the wine consist of?
This step removes solid particles from the juice.
➡️ The result is a cleaner must, ready for fermentation.
What does transferring the wine to a Stainless-Steel Tanks consist of?
These tanks help the winemaker control the fermentation process, especially the temperature.
Temperature control is very important in white wine production because it helps preserve the primary aromas of the grape.
What does the Alcoholic fermentation consist of?
The winemaker can choose to:
- add cultivating yeast, meaning selected yeast;
- or let wild yeast, naturally present, start the fermentation.
2 to 4 weeks
During fermentation, the temperature must stay between:
15°C and 20°C
➡️ This low temperature helps preserve the fresh and fruity primary aromas of the grape.
What does the Malolactic fermentation consist of?
During this process:
malic acid → becomes → lactic acid
This happens thanks to lactic bacteria.
Important: malolactic fermentation does not create alcohol, but it releases carbon dioxide.
Effect on aromas
- Malic acid gives a green apple aroma
- Lactic acid gives a buttery aroma
- rounder;
- softer;
- less acidic;
- creamier;
- more buttery.
Is it possible to interrupt the malolactic fermentation?
If the winemaker thinks the wine lacks acidity, they may stop malolactic fermentation.
For example, grape varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc need high acidity.
To stop malolactic fermentation, winemakers can add sulfites.
➡️ Sulfites kill the lactic bacteria and stop the process.
The file also explains that this step is becoming more common because of global warming, as acidity levels in grapes are decreasing in many wine regions.
What does Filtration consist of?
The goal is to make the wine:
- clearer;
- cleaner;
- free from sediments.
Lees are mainly composed of:
- very fine grape particles;
- dead yeast.
What does aging in oak consist of? (optional)
This depends on the style of wine they want to produce.
Oak ageing can give the wine:
- more complexity;
- more body;
- extra aromas.
What does aging on lees consist of? (optional)
This process is called ageing on lees.
Ageing on lees makes the wine:
- more aromatically complex;
- fuller-bodied;
- rounder;
- creamier.
What does clarification consist of?
For this reason, before bottling, the wine undergoes clarification.
Clarification removes the remaining particles and lees.
This is important because lees can cause a new fermentation if they come into contact with residual sugar.
What does the final racking off consist of?
This means the wine is transferred from one tank to another.
The lees stay at the bottom of the first tank, and only the clean wine is moved.
Wine + lees
↓
Transfer to another tank
↓
Lees remain at the bottom
↓
Clearer wine
What does fining consist of?
Fining means adding a fining agent, such as:
- egg whites
➡️ This helps make the wine clearer.
What does adding sulfites consist of?
Their main function is to:
prevent oxidation
➡️ Sulfites help protect and preserve the wine.
What does bottling consist of?
- poured into a bottle;
- corked;
- labelled;
- prepared for consumption or ageing.
- consumed immediately;
- or aged in the bottle.
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