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Wine Examiner
Showing entries for Category: racking

POSTED May 9, 7:38 PM

A question that pops up pretty regularly when someone new finds out I’m a wine writer; that question: “How is wine made?” To explain this, even in minimal detail would take a fair amount of time, to write it down could encompass a short novel. I’ve honed it down, to the shorthand version, from harvest to bottle. This is for red wines; whites will be my next posting.

The grapes are picked.
They are crushed and stems (sometimes, but not always) removed.
The grapes are crushed, and along with the skins, seeds, and juice, are put into a tank.
Yeast is added.
The beginning of fermentation starts now.
The top of the tank, where the skins have accumulated, is pressed down over the fermenting liquid.
When fermentation is completely finished, wine is pressed from the skins.
The wine is transferred to barrels to begin the aging process.
Turning of the bottles (racking) begin, and continues periodically.
Wine is filtered, and then bottled.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit a winery, most definitely try and do so. They are very informative, and fun! If you let the winemakers/vintners/growers, etc. know well enough in advance that you’d like to tour their facility, you can almost always get a semi-private tour of their operation, typically ending in a tasting of their finest.

Salud!

Categories: fermentation , racking

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Leslie Cramer
Leslie Cramer has worked in the fine wine industry for twenty- something years. Known in some circles as "The Wine Wizardess," she'll cover topics from wine education, to trends o' the day and how to properly propose a toast, to health benefits of the grape.