Harvesting
wine-producing processes
Fresh and fully ripe wine grapes are the primary ingredient for wine production. In cooler climates, such as northern Europe and the east of the United States, the absence of enough temperature to cause ripeness could force the harvesting of grapes before reaching fully mature. The resultant sugar deficit can be addressed with the addition of sugar directly or the addition of grape concentrate juice. Grapes that are allowed to attain full maturation in the vine or are dried in part by exposure to the sun following harvesting have a high sugar content because of the natural loss of moisture (partial raising as is the case for the production in the production of Malaga vino from Spain). A beneficial mold, Botrytis cinerea, could also slow moisture loss (as in making Sauternes from France). The grapes are used to create sweet table wine. The specific methods used to make these wines are using sulfur dioxide and smaller fermenting vessels for processing or using cold temperatures to stop fermentation before the sugar has been fermented.
Due to the impact on the impact on grape composition, The timing of the harvest is vital due to the effect on the design of the grapes. A premature harvest can result in low-alcohol, thin wines. Very late harvesting can result in low-acid, high-alcohol wines.
The harvesting process can be finished by one harvest or multiple. Clusters of grapes will be trimmed from the vine, placed in containers or buckets, and later transported to larger containers (large tubs found in Europe and gondola trucks made of metal in California and other places) to be delivered into the cellar. Mechanical harvesting methods, based upon shaking berries out of the clusters or breaking the stems, are used extensively throughout California, Australia, France, and worldwide.
At the winery, the grapes can be poured directly into the mill or put into a sump before being carried into the crusher using a continuous belt conveyor.
Crushing
In modern mechanized wine production, grapes are usually crushed and stemmed using a crusher and stemmer, typically comprised of a perforated cylinder filled with paddles that rotate between 600 and 1,200 rotations per minute. Grape berries get crushed before being pushed through the cylinder’s perforations. The majority of stems fall out of the cylinder’s end. A roller-crusher can also be employed. Older methods of crushing the feet or walking with shoes are rare.
When red grapes are used to produce white juice, like in the Champagne region in France, crushing is achieved through pressing.
Red grapes can be placed in tanks as a whole and then sealed. The resultant fermentation within the fruit consuming oxygen and generating carbon dioxide is fatal to skin cells. They also have lost their semipermeability, which allows easy color extraction. There is also intracellular respiration that produces malic acid. The process of respiration is sluggish and, in warm areas, could produce wines with low color and acidity and a distinctive scent.
Juice Separation
The juice from white grapes is extracted or decided to make a glass of white wine. Typically, the liquid is separated from the seeds and skins right after crushing. Sometimes, white skins can be left on the surface of juices for up to 24 hours to enhance flavor extraction. However, this process also boosts color extraction, sometimes unintentionally.
Two primary methods are used to remove the juice from the solids. Placing crushed grapes inside containers with a false bottom and frequently incorrect sides can remove a large portion of the fluid. The liquid is referred to as free-run juice. The volume of crushed grapes is known as the most, which refers to the not fermented grapes. Juice, either with or without skins.
The crushed grapes are placed into the presses. The basket press of the past is slowly being replaced by the horizontal basket press, which applies tension from two ends. Continuous screw presses are also used, mainly to drain pulp. A Willmes press, widely used to process white musts, consists of a perforated cylindrical unit that houses one inflatable tube. The crushed grapes are put into the cylinder, and the tube is then inflated by pressing the grapes against the rotating sides of the cylinder and pushing the juice out of the perforations. Several pressings are possible without the lengthy hand labor required by basket presses.
Continuous presses are ideal for producing red wine that contains skins, seeds, and juice; all fermented in one go. Separation of liquid is easier since fermentation reduces the slipperiness of the skins, and the quantity of juice-free run produced is, as a result, significantly higher than that of unfermented musts. Separation of slippery solids from the juice through pressing is also a breeze.
The pomace, rinsed (crushed remains after liquid extraction from the grapes) either from the red or white fermentations, could be used as distillation materials for producing wine spirits. It is generally added water, the fermentation has been completed, and the low-alcohol wine gets then drained away. The pomace is then processed and washed or directly distilled in specially-designed stills.
Treatment is required
White must tend to be cloudy and turbid, and it is crucial to settle them to facilitate the separation of suspended material. The prior addition of sulfur dioxide and lower temperatures during settling can prevent fermentation and permit the suspended material to settle typically. In many wineries, you can use centrifuges to remove the solids. This creates a powerful pulling force generated by circular motion. Musts can be pasteurized, which can inhibit undesirable enzymes which cause browning. Adding pectin-splitting enzymes into the cans to assist in pressing is rare. Bentonite, a clay form, could add to the musts to lower nitrogen content in the total and facilitate clarification.
There is a renewed interest in the preferredmentation process of the red wine musts to remove color and deactivate enzymes. This procedure could be especially beneficial for producing sweet red wines if done swiftly at moderate temperatures and without excessive oxidation. The process uses short intervals of fermentation on skins and also for red grapes that have been harmed by the parasite bacteria Botrytis,cinerea which has high levels in the polyphenol-oxidase form of enzymes responsible for browning.
Fermentation
The process of alcohol fermentation requires careful supervision to produce high-quality wines. The requirements include preventing the growth of harmful microorganisms and the presence of adequate quantities of desired yeasts, appropriate nutrition for yeast growth, control of temperature to prevent excessive heat, the prevention of oxygenation, and the proper management of the skins floating inside red musts.
Grape skins are usually covered in molds, bacteria, and yeast. Wild yeasts such as Pichia, Kloeckera, and Torulopsis are more common than Wine yeast Saccharomyces. Although the species of Saccharomyces are typically considered to be better suited to efficient alcohol fermentation, it is possible that other yeast species can contribute to flavor in the beginning stage of fermentation. Saccharomyces can be favored due to its effectiveness in the process of converting sugar to alcohol and also because it is not as sensitive to the inhibitory effects of alcohol. In favorable conditions, the varieties that are part of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have produced as much as 18.5% (by volume) of alcohol. However, 15-16 percent would be considered the typical limit.
Utilization of yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been suggested to be used in the beginning stages of alcohol fermentation. Since it can metabolize malic acid in the must, this yeast can be beneficial in highly acidic musts. However, commercial applications have yet to produce consistently positive results. The introduction of lactic acid yeast into musts employing strains that metabolize malic acid is becoming more common.
The quantity of undesirable microorganisms is the highest when there is a lot of rot or injury to grapes. The damage can occur during harvesting or transportation, especially in warmer temperatures. To stop the growth of harmful microorganisms, suppression is necessary to prevent damage. The most popular method is adding a small amount of sulfur dioxide to freshly crushed grapes at 100 to 150 milligrams for each Liter. Sulfur dioxide is more harmful to microorganisms that are undesirable than beneficial microorganisms. When it is utilized in musts, it is necessary to add an inoculum of the yeast strain desired, usually referred to as purified yeast culture is added. Musts aren’t typically pasteurized though this method can be utilized if they have undesirable levels of oxidizing enzymes derived from the moldy grapes.
Technicians or Enologists in winemaking need a consensus on the best yeast strain or species. However, the varieties of S. cerevisiae are widely employed. The theme chosen can multiply as high as it can by being the sterilized wine juice. It is later transferred to larger containers of grape juice fixed, which will continue growing until the desired amount is attained. A suitable pressed yeast of selected strains is added directly to avoid the hassle of creating and maintaining a clean yeast culture. A minimum of 1-3% of pure or enough culture for an estimated 1,000,000 cells per milliliter is employed.
Controlling temperature control during fermentation is essential to:
- Facilitate yeast growth.
- Extract flavors and colors out of the skins.
- Allow the accumulation of desired byproducts.
- Stop excessive rising temperatures, which kill yeast cells.
The ideal temperature for developing most wine yeasts is 25 degrees Celsius (77 deg F). In several viticultural zones in zones of cooler temperatures, the grapes are crushed around this temperature. The fermentation process is rarely initiated at this high temperature because it’s then hard to keep the temperature from reaching 30 degrees Celsius during the fermentation process.
The extraction of flavors and colors is not a concern in white musts. The crushed grape mass is generally removed from the skins before fermentation. The fermentation of white musts at moderately cool temperatures (about 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-60 degrees Fahrenheit)) appears to lead to more excellent creation and preservation of beneficial byproducts. A disadvantage of low-temperature fermentations is that they require a longer time to complete the process (six-ten weeks, compared to about one or four weeks for higher temperatures) and the potential for the fermentation to cease when the sugar residue remains. (This is only sometimes regarded as undesirable–i.e., it is commonplace, for example, in the German wine industry.) In reality, white table wines are typically made at 20 deg C.
The best color extraction compatible with yeast growth in red wine occurs around 22-28 DegC (72 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit). Alcoholic fermentation generates heat. However, careful temperature control is needed to avoid the temperature at a level (about 30 degrees Celsius) where yeast growth is severely limited. In the event of higher temperatures, the growth ceases completely. Contemporary temperature controls are achieved with the help of heat exchangers. The older methods included placing the fermenters in cold rooms and using cold pipes inside the fermenter, pumping the should through pipes with double walls with cold water in the adjacent line; and then pumping the can through a sump that contains cooling coils, and then pumping cooling fluid through the jackets around the tank.
Air contact must be controlled to prevent oxygenation in the process of fermentation. The amount of carbon dioxide released in huge containers is enough to stop air from entering. In smaller fermenters, fermentation traps are installed, preventing entry by air but allowing the exit from carbon dioxide. These traps are most appropriate at the end of fermentation, where carbon dioxide is slowly transforming. After fermentation, tiny quantities of sulfur dioxide can be added to stop oxidation. Ascorbic acid (50 up to 100 milligrams/ liter) can slow the oxidation process, hence how much sulfur dioxide is needed to act as an antioxidant. However, it is only sometimes suggested.
The cap of pulp and skins floating above the wine in red-wine fermentation reduces flavor and color extraction. If allowed to dry, it can rise to unfavorably high temperatures and cause acetification. This is avoided by submerging your cap’s floating portion at least twice daily during fermentation. This process, which is relatively simple for smaller fermenters, is complex in big, tall fermenters with upwards of 100,000 gal (380,000-litre) capacity. For large fermenters, the fermentation must be removed at the bottom and pumped back into the cap. Utilizing small fermentation vessels can allow for more heat loss to the air, facilitating temperature control.
