Written on 28/04/2022
After red wine, the steps involved in making white wine!
Like red wine, white wine is produced in different stages. And what few people know is that white wines can be made from both red and white grape varieties. One difference is that winemakers do not remove the skins from the grapes.
- Destemming, crushing and pressing: here, the first two stages are optional. If they are carried out, the grapes can then be pressed to release the must and separate it from the skins. This last step avoids any maceration. Cold skin maceration can be carried out for 12 to 48 hours to extract the maximum amount of primary aromas contained in the skins.
- Pressing: in most cases, the whole harvest is immediately placed in a press, where the berries are crushed to release the juice. Here, for white wine, pressing must be very powerful to extract all the juice present, but delicate to avoid too much contact between the juice and the skins.
- Settling: the juice is then put into vats. When it comes out of the press, it is very cloudy, beige and brown in color. This color is due to the many solid particles that must be eliminated. This operation is necessary to clarify the juice and avoid the appearance of bad tastes during fermentation.
- Alcoholic fermentation: this is undoubtedly the most crucial stage, since it's when the sugars are transformed into alcohol by the action of yeasts that are naturally present in the wine, or by human action. For white wines, fermentation lasts around ten days and takes place at a temperature of around 20°.
- Breeding This takes place in two different ways:
- In vats: used in particular for lively white wines to be drunk young. The wine is obtained and transferred to a vat, where it rests for several weeks to stabilize.
- Barrique and malolactic fermentation: used for powerful white wines that need to age. It is also placed in a barrel to rest and stabilize, and can last several months. Then comes the second stage, which gives the wine its fullness and roundness.
The wine is then stirred with a rod to re-suspend the lees and add more smoothness to the wine.
- Decanting: This corresponds to racking, which separates the wine from its coarse lees. It may also be accompanied by other steps such as sulfiting, blending, fining or filtration, which will have an impact on the wine's aromas and structure.
- Bottling: the wine is bottled. It can then be sold directly or left to age.
