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The Basic Principles of Creating Wine
For thousands of years, wine has been created from just two basic ingredients: yeast and grape juice.
A broader definition of wine would state the two ingredients as yeast and any fruit juice such as the liquids from berries, peaches, apples, etc. And you can even make wine from flowers or coffee. But for the purposes of this article, the more traditional view of wine made from grapes will be used. And why not, the majority of all wine is produced from squeezed grapes. (Interested in making exotic wines? See my page about winemaking at home.)
How is wine made?
Yeast is the magical ingredient/agent that turns grape juice into wine. Imagine pressing a bunch of grapes and pouring the juice into a open jar and then setting that jar without a lid on a shelf. Wait a few days and nature will perform a "miracle!" Wild yeast spores in the air will fall into the juice and begin a spontaneous fermentation process - the open container of grape juice will become wine over time. The resulting beverage, however, will probably not be very palatable.
There are many strains of yeasts. Bakers have special yeasts that they use for raising dough. And vinters, too, have cultured many types of yeast to make wine.
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About Yeast
- Yeast is a single cell microscopic fungi.
- Most yeast organisms reproduce asexually by multipolar budding: a small bump protrudes from a parent cell,
enlarges, matures, and detaches.
- Yeast cells are generally round. Approximately 6-8 microns in size,
yeast cells need to be magnified 10,000 times to be visible to the naked eye.
- Yeast as a living organism, feeds off of sugars in
the grape juice. This process is called fermentation.
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the scientific name for the type of yeast used in winemaking.
During fermentation, yeast spores will reproduce exponentially until all of the available sugars have been consumed. As a result of the fermentation process, the sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide and other organic compounds.
The various organic compounds that the yeast produce also impart a taste to the finished wine. The "added flavorings" vary, depending on such variables as the strain of yeast used, the temperature during fermentation and the amount of sugar in the grape and other factors.
Once all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed, the mass of yeast cells fall to the bottom of the container. The wine is removed from the container, leaving the yeast behind. This yeast-free wine maybe transferred to an oak barrel or other vessel to mature while waiting to be bottled. Sparking wine maintain the carbon dioxide created by the yeast, while table wines have allowed the CO2 to escape. Both types of wine keep the alcohol produced.
How does wine get its color?
You probably know that there are green grapes, red grapes and black grapes, etc. And that different grapes singularly or mixed together are used to make different wines. What might surprise you to learn is that almost all grape juices (even from black grapes) is basically colorless to golden in color.
Wine gets its color by letting the grape skins soak in the juice during fermentation. That is why you can make white wine from black grapes - by not letting the skins stay in contact with the juice. Champagne is a typical example of a clear wine made from black grapes.
If the skins are left in the wine for only a short period of time, a rose (or blush) will be made. If the skins are left to soak for an extended amount of time, a darker red wine or other color variation will be the result.
How does wine get its taste?
Although there are few ingredients involved in the making of wine - the different shadings of flavor and aroma from one bottle of wine to the next is immense. There are many things which influence the taste of wine. First of all, there are many varieties of grapes - Merlot, Gamay, Zinfandel, Concord, Sangiovese, etc. Each grape variety will produce different flavors, aromas, and even textures.
In addition, the soil and climate where the grapes are grown drastically affect these variables. A vineyard growing Zinfandel Grapes in California's Napa Valley will contain subtle and not so subtle differences in flavor from Zinfandel Grapes grown in the South of France.
Not only that, but the wine maker, calling upon centuries of experimentation, can enhance seperate components of a wine's flavor through various techniques: changing the temperature, using different strains of yeast during fermentation, storing the wine in oak barrels and so on.
The divergence in flavors is what makes drinking wine so enjoyable and a constant surprise! Who could expect that a bottle of Merlot produced in the same year, but made from grapes grown a hundred miles apart would taste so differently... That diversity is what makes one bottle of wine worth a $100 and another $4.99.
What is tannin?
Tannin is the substance in wine that causes a firm, puckering-drying feeling in your mouth. Since tannin is extracted from the skins, seeds and stems of grapes, red wines will contain more tannin than whites. White wines will absorb a degree of tannin when oak barrels are used during fermentation or aging. To get a good idea of what tannin feels like in your mouth, eat just the skins of grapes or drink some strongly brewed, unsweetened tea. You will experience a puckerng sense of dryness.
What are sulfites?
If you read the label on a bottle of wne you will probably see the words "Contains Sulfites." By law, almost all wine made or sold in the United States will display this warning on the label. This is to protect the very small percentage of asthma sufferers who can be extremely sensitive to sulfites.
Sulfites or sulfur dioxide is a compound which naturally occurs during the fermentation process. Sometimes, a wine maker will add a little more sulfur dioxide to a wine because of its antibacterial and preservative properties. White wines are more likely to have added sulfites than red wines because they need more protection.
A little fruit juice, some wild yeast and a little time results in Nature's great gift to humanity - Wine!
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