Ken Finnigan

As touched upon in my article “Making Red, Rose and Sparkling” wine, there are three different ways to create the bubbles in sparkling wine or Champagne. The first method was carbonation, the same method used to make a can of soda fizzy and also the cheapest method for making sparkling wine. Method number two was called the transfer method in which a sweetened base has yeast added to it and is allowed to ferment a second time in an enclosed tank so the building carbon dioxide cannot escape. After fermentation, the wine is then clarified and re-sweetened if necessary before being bottled under pressure. This method is used to produce medium price range sparkling wine. The last method and most complex is méthode champenoise, used in creating the best quality wines. But what exactly is méthode champenoise?

The méthode champenoise starts with the first fermentation held in either small oak barrels or large steel vats with temperature controls. The use of oak barrels is less common, however. After this first fermentation is complete, the wine is put through malolactic fermentation. This is when the wine maker takes hundreds of different fermented batches of wine from different vintages and grapes and blends them together. This new mixture is then sealed in bottles with a wine-sugar liqueur called “liqueur de tirage” and yeast. Fermentation happens inside the sealed bottles from one to three years typically and creates a build up of carbon dioxide.

The dead yeast inside the bottle form a deposit on the bottom of the bottle and needs to be removed. To do this bottles are placed horizontally on wooden racks and turned an eight every day and tilted until the bottles are vertically upside down. The neck of the bottle now contains the sediments of dead yeast; the neck is frozen using a brine solution so disgorgement (dégorgement) can take place.

The seals are removed from the now frozen bottlenecks and the built up gases force the frozen sediment out of the bottle. A sugary wine, “liqueur d’expédition” is used to top up the bottles to help offset the acidity of the base wine. Next corks are inserted and wired down to prevent popping from the gas pressure and the bottles are ready for sale.

This method takes much longer than the other two methods but it is for this reason wines made this way are more expensive and much higher quality. Examples of wine created using the méthode champenoise are Dom Pérignon (credited with first using this method), Bollinger, and Moët & Chandon. It is important to note, however that the European Union has ruled that the term méthode champenoise can only be used Champagne region wines. Any other sparkling wine must use the EU appointed term, Méthode traditionnelle (French for “traditional method”). However, méthode champenoise remains in use for wines in many non-European countries, but these wines cannot be imported to the EU.

About the Author:

Ken Finnigan is the CEO of Finest Wine Racks a website specializing in quality decorative wine racks and durable wine storage systems. Read more articles by: Ken Finnigan

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Bill Kaplan

Wine making is an easy, cost-efficient way to stock up on your favorite vintages. Although the wine-making process is fairly simple, it’s important to follow the steps carefully to ensure you don’t miss any elements. These steps will be crucial to the success of your batch.

Once you’ve decided to make a batch of wine, the first thing to consider is the equipment needed. The following is a list of the wine making equipment required to make a basic batch of red wine:

• Large nylon straining bag • Cloth (any kind will do) • Large pail (with a lid) • Hydrometer • Thermometer • Acid titration kit • Clear, bendable plastic tubing (a half inch in diameter) • Two, one gallon glass jugs • Corks • Hand corker • Fermentation lock and bung • wine bottles (between 5 and 7)

After you’ve assembled the necessary equipment, just follow these easy steps and you’ll produce a great batch of wine in practically no time at all:

1. Prepare the Produce – First, inspect the fruit to ensure the grapes are ripe and free of insects or other contaminants. Put the grapes in the straining bag and measure the sugar level using your hydrometer. A hydrometer can be purchased at any wine making store. The sugar density should be 22 ideally. Also, remember to remove the stems from all grapes in order to make your wine smoother and sweeter. Finish this step by transferring the ingredients into the jug. 2. Adjust the Juice – This is a crucial step in the wine-making process. You must measure the acid content using your titration kit. The ideal level is 6 to 7 grams per liter for red wine and 6.5 to 7.5 per liter for white wine. You’ll want to regulate the sugar level by measuring it with your hydrometer from time to time. Sugar levels should remain at 22 for both red and white wines. The fermentation should remain around 70-degrees-Fahrenheit for basic red wines. Abiding by these temperatures will ensure that the process goes smoothly. 3. Rack the Wine – Insert your clear plastic hose into the wine jug and attach it to the opening of the other (empty) sanitized jug. Siphon the wine from one jug to the other in order to keep the wine in a completely sanitized container. Next, fit the jug with a bung and fermentation lock. This step may take some time, but it’s important to be slow and careful so you don’t stir up the sediment. Let the wine sit for an extended period of time (some people choose to wait weeks or even months). 4. Bottle the Wine – Bottling your wine is the easy part. Simply siphon your wine from the jug into your wine bottles. Be sure to leave about 2-inches at the top of every bottle, otherwise it will cause overflow when the cork is inserted. To cork your wine bottles simply insert a cork into the hand corker, position the corker over the lever and insert. 5. Drink and Enjoy! Bill Kaplan spends most of his free time researching and practicing the art of beer brewing and wine making and serves as a contributing editor for the Beer Brewing and Wine Making website. The site offers information on making wine, various types of wine cabinets, the beer and wine forums and more.

Ken Finnigan

Wine is made in winery and wineries exist all over the world and come in a variety of sizes. The grapes are grown at the wineries and then turned into wine and there are many varieties of grapes; each one either used either alone or combined to make different wines. But how exactly is white wine made?

To make a white wine, once grapes are brought to the winery they are de-stemmed and crushed before anything else is done. A machine is used to split the grapes to remove stems and stalks from each bunch because they contain astringent tannins, which might be acceptable for red wines, but are rare in whites. To stop the fermentation process from starting and turning the grapes brown and oxidizing (causing a vinegar type taste) a chemical called Sulphur Dioxide is added to the grapes. For those with allergies to Sulphur Dioxide, “sulphur-free” wine is produced as well, however the lifespan on this wine is much shorter and needs to be consumed quickly.

After the grapes are split and the stems have been removed, they are sent to be pressed. Pressing the grapes releases their juices. The press is a large machine that has a canvas like material that separates the juice from the skins and seeds by allowing the juice to escape. The separated juice is then pumped gently to another steel tank where the sediment is allowed to settle to the bottom before being transferred again. The now sediment free juice is either pumped into another steel tank (unwooded wines) or to wooden barrels (wooded wines) where the preferred yeast type is added and fermentation can begin. Fermentation of white wine can take 3 days or 30 days depending on the type of wine being produced.

For unwooded whites, once the fermentation process is over, the wine is removed from the steel tanks and separated from the dead yeast cells. Whites such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are typically unwooded wines, however there are small exceptions. Rieslings in Europe can be made in wooden barrels, though the barrels usually have a crust of tartaric crystals (found in grapes and solidifies in their juices), which acts as a barrier preventing the oak flavor from being infused in the wine. Examples of oaked Sauvignon Blanc can be found in France, however the aging of unwooded Sauvignon Blanc in bottles produces a nutty toasted flavour as if it was stored in wood therefore it really is not necessary.

Why would someone want to produce an unwooded wine? The answer is simple, money. It is much cheaper to produce wine in large steel tanks, and the work required after fermentation is minimal allowing bottling and release to be quicker. This does not, however, mean unwooded wine is in any way inferior to wooded wine. It is simply a different process.

Wooded wines can often begin their fermentation in steel tanks before being transferred to oak barrels to finish fermenting, or they can have a second fermentation known as malolactic fermentation. A third option, barrel fermentation, is to simply ferment the wine once from start to finish in an oak barrel. Malolactic fermentation is the process in wine where malic acid begins to turn into lactic acid. This happens with the addition of bacteria, which in turn gives the wine buttery creamy characteristics. Wooded white wines are in barrels from six to twelve months before being filtered.

The next step in making white wine is filtration. The most common way commercial wineries filter their wine is with a membrane filter, which catches all the particles floating in the liquid. Some winemakers prefer not to filter at all thinking it will remove characters from the wine that were created in the winemaking process. After the wine has been filtered it is bottled and sealed and ready for marketing.

It all seems too easy, but it takes great skill. Climates need to be controlled, ingredients need to be accurately measured and timing needs to be perfect. Sometimes it is easy to forget that a bottle of wine can take so long to make and that patience is key. However, it is this patience and attention to detail that brings out the best in a bottle of wine.

About the Author:

Ken Finnigan is the CEO of Finest Wine Racks a website specializing in quality decorative wine racks and durable wine storage systems. Read more articles by: Ken Finnigan

Article Source: www.iSnare.com