The science and study and knowledge of wine and winemaking is known as oenology. Viticulture is the study of growing, cultivating, and harvesting grapes and it is not the same as oenology.  

Pronounced suh-mel-yay, a sommelier is a highly qualified and experienced wine specialist who has received official instruction in every facet of wine service. Although sommeliers work in a variety of environments, fine dining restaurants are where they are most frequently found.

Every winemaker has a unique method that adds to the distinctiveness and variety of wines, enhancing their attraction. There are seven fundamental procedures that must be followed while making wine, notwithstanding the wide range of techniques and variances. Harvesting, de-stemming, crushing, maceration or fermentation, malolactic fermentation, clarifying, and bottling are the seven steps. Nobody actually knows around what time period that wine was first made and consumed by humanity.

Many people have found theories as to where in the world wine originated from. Some theories explain that based on available data, wine is thought to have originated in West Asia, specifically in the Euphrates River Valley, the Caucasus Mountains, the Zagros Mountains, and Southeast Anatolia. This region covers a wide territory, encompassing what is now the modern countries of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iran, and eastern Turkey. The ancient Georgians, who, 8,000 years ago, were excavating pits in the earth to produce large amounts of wine.

Huge bundles of grapes were first left in the pit over the winter, to be buried and then dug out again in the spring, after which they would have had time to ferment. Large clay vessels, the ancestors of wine barrels, gradually supplanted the pits over the course of the following two millennia, performing the same function far more successfully. The ancient Georgians became formidable trading partners after learning the secrets of early viticulture, and wine swiftly spread throughout the surrounding nations.

In Christianity, the Bible states that Noah was the first to have a vineyard (Genesis 9:20-22). The fermenting process would start as soon as the grape juice was collected in a vat (a large container, as a tub or tank, used for storing or holding liquids). The wine was moved to jars or skins for further fermenting following an initial vat fermentation phase. The wine-making process was also cultural as dancing and singing were heard as the grapes were crushed under barefoot tread after being sun-dried.

Here is the modern wine-making process;

1. Harvesting and de-stemming the grapes

The first step, of course. The process of sorting separates berries that are healthy, ripe, and compact from unripe or rotting berries, green portions (leaves, stem remnants), and juice that has spilled from damaged berries. Before the vinification process begins, sorting is done to remove undesired grape bulk or particles.

When the white, red, or black grapes achieve the appropriate maturity (color, size, taste, natural sugar levels, etc.), winegrowers begin the harvesting procedure. Harvesting entails either utilizing a harvesting machine (a more quantitative process requiring more sorting later) or hand-picking ripe and healthy grapes using secateurs and carrying them back.

Sorting separates green parts (leaves, stem remains), juice that has poured from damaged berries, and healthy, ripe, and compact fruit from unripe or decaying berries. To get rid of unwanted grape bulk or particles, sorting is done prior to the vinification process starting.

2. Pressing and crushing

Red wines are mostly saved for crushing, which adds the grape skin’s color to the juice. It’s been called treading historically, and it entails stomping the grapes with the feet. Today, though, a machine usually completes this task due to hygienic concerns. The must, which is composed of juice, peel, pulp, and seeds, is obtained by crushing the grapes.

White wines are put straight into a press to extract the juice without involving the skin or meat. While “free-run wine” is produced by the first press, “press wine,” which is a more concentrated and tannic extract, is produced by the second press.

Rose wines after pressing produces a very light rosé wine, whereas treading (or crushing) produces a darker colored rosé wine.

3. Fermentation

After the grapes are crushed and pressed, the must is let to rest, and with the aid of airborne wild yeasts, it will start to ferment in 6-12 hours, but the general process of fermentation is 5-21 days. While some wineries support this spontaneous fermentation, others will intervene, eliminating the wild yeasts naturally present and substituting them with a different kind of yeast that yields more consistent and manageable outcomes. This happens because of the sugar in the liquid which turns into alcohol.

The typical alcohol content of wines produced in colder climates is around 10%, whereas wines produced in warmer climes might have as much as 15%. However, as the wine in this instance can’t be overly dry, the fermentation is stopped for sweet wines in order to preserve part of the sugar.

4. Maceration

This method, which is mostly used to produce red wine, is steeping grape skins and solids in wine following fermentation.

Heat, time, and skin contact let alcohol work as a solvent to extract color, tannins, and aroma from the skins.

5. Malolactic fermentation

Malolactic fermentation is used to smooth, that is, to make the wine softer, and lessen the acidity of wine, primarily red wines, giving them a velvetier, round, and smooth texture. Lactic acid is produced from malic acid by this secondary fermentation.

In the vats, this chemical reaction, which is brought on by lactic acid bacteria, produces carbon dioxide. This procedure can also be used in the maturing stage, for example, in barrels.

6. Clarification and filtering

The solids will be attracted to these materials, which will force them to the bottom of the tank. After being stripped, the wine will be moved to a different container to age and be bottled. Following the completion of each step of the vinification process (fermentation, maceration, pressing, etc.), the wine is given one final round of clarification in a fresh container before being filtered to eliminate any remaining marc, or grape skins and must residue.

7. Ageing

Traditional winemaking techniques include maturing wine on lees during wine operations. Following alcoholic fermentation, the wines are left for several months with their yeasts in stainless steel tanks or barrels. Lees can occasionally get agitated. Red wines become less red and more amber in color as they age, whereas white wines gradually darken in color. As the wood flavor is taken from the container, different components in the wine oxidize and complex compounds of alcohol and acids are created, the flavor becomes more nuanced and complex.

8. Bottling

The ultimate success for winegrowers and producers, bottling represents the pinnacle of winemaking. To guard against fakes and unapproved mixes, the procedure is typically completed right there in the winery on the site. Up to the proper fill height, the wine is carefully pumped out of the vats into sterile, spotless glass bottles. The cork is then swiftly placed into the bottle; corks with the vineyard’s name on them are common. Synthetic corks or screw-on metal stoppers are also occasionally used.

The sterilization process of the bottles involves preparing the bottles, where the bottling line is cleaned, typically with caustic soda, followed by peracetic acid, and then steam-treated to eliminate any remaining germs or yeast. At this stage, wine is pushed into the filler bowl via the filters and out of the tank.

Another important aspect before bottling the wine is blending. This process sees that many wines are blended to create a finished product with distinctive qualities. This technique has long history, going back hundreds of years to winemaking customs that aimed to improve flavors, fragrances, and general quality.

It is easy to define a blended wine. The only need for a blended wine is that it must contain many grape varieties, commonly referred to as grape types, which are produced by vintners. Make use of that characteristic to tell blended wines apart from unblended ones.

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