Making a good wine is a difficult and arduous process that goes all the way back to selecting the right location for planting a vine. There are many different strategies and processes throughout the entire wine-making process that change the quality of a wine.
Instructions
Grapes on the Vine
1. Find a suitable location for the grape you are trying to grow. Some grapes, such as Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling prefer cooler climates. Other grapes, such as Zinfandel and Shiraz, prefer warmer climates. Additionally, make sure not to select land that is suited for general farming. Vines, and therefore their grapes, do not do well in fine planting soil. Dry, broken lands are preferable because of their ability to drain water. Additionally, choose a location that fits the grape. Too much sun or, likewise, too much shade can irreparably damage a grape. Hence, the difference between planting on the east side of a hill or the west side can make all the difference.
2. The next step to growing a good grape is finding good vines and rootstocks. Look at what the vine has to offer. If a vine is producing too many leaves, then it won't produce as many grapes. If a wine is producing nothing but grapes, they may be damaged from too much sunlight or snuffed by clustering too close. Finding a right balance is difficult, but necessary. Additionally, finding good rootstocks is necessary. A vine's roots are typically grown separately, selected and then grafted onto the vine. The rootstocks are a vine's plumbing for its source of nutrients, and therefore, exceptionally important.
3. Before you plant anything, check the national and local regulations pertinent to the location you have selected. Many countries have placed restrictions on growing certain crops, and even certain grape varietals, in specific areas. France, for example, has strict laws outlining where a certain grape varietal can be planted, how long it can grow there and when it can be harvested. Other countries, such as the United States, are somewhat more lax with their regulations, but still maintain certain guidelines.
4. When planning to plant vines, law permitting, make sure to check its best planting season. Some grapes do well in different seasons. An ice wine, for example, would be inadvisable to plant in spring in most countries. The taste, and even the success, of the wine from a grape depends on what is called its terroir--the total impact of its surroundings. If a grape grows too early or too late in its season, it is susceptible to certain elements that are hazardous to its growth and maturation.
5. Many things go into maintaining grapes while they grow and mature on the vine. They should be watched and cared for during their whole lifetime on the vine. If a grape or cluster is getting too much sun, begin covering them at certain times of the day with tarps. If a grape is getting too much shade, cut back some of the vine's leaves or whatever obstructs the sunlight. Moisture levels must also be carefully monitored to prevent a vine from getting too much or too little.
6. Lastly is the harvesting. Just as for planting, the harvesting time is different for most grapes and should be researched deeply. Also, depending on the grape varietal, it may require being picked at certain times of the day. Generally, grapes are harvested either by hand or by machine at night, when the temperature is lowest, to prevent harm to the grapes.
Pressing the Grape and Making the Wine
7. Within 12 hours of being picked, run the grapes through a crusher. If you are producing a white wine, make sure to discard the skins of the grapes. The first juice that comes off the crusher is called the the "must." This is the best juice of the grapes and makes the best wine.
8. Add yeast to ferment the wine.
9. If the harvest had a bad year, that is, if it had too much moisture or suffered a drought, you might consider adding sugar. This is called chaptalization and is illegal in some countries, including the United States. It improves the wine by adding alcohol and covering some of the wine's flaws. One molecule of sugar yields two of alcohol and two of carbon dioxide, which is simply released.
10. If you are making a red wine, run the juice through a press after fermentation to remove the skins.
11. The next step is storing the wine to allow it to age. There are many different ways of doing this, all adding their own characteristics. For example, one practice is aging wine for a certain time by sur lies (literally, "on lees" in French), which is when wine is aged with the spent yeast (also called lees). This adds a certain degree of complexity to a wine. Another common practice is to rack a wine, in which the wine itself is separated from any solids or particles, such as residual lees, before storing. Most often, a wine that is aged sur lies is not racked. Additionally, red wines may go into barrel aging, where they react with the wood of the barrel and undergo changes that develop character. Depending on the desired level of complexity and structure of the wine, and the varying characteristics of different varietals, the time wines typically spend in barrel aging ranges from a few months to a few years. For various reasons, including evaporation and oxidization, along with the degradation of the barrel over time, a wine is generally not barrel aged for longer than six years.
12. The last step is bottling the wine. After the wine is removed from storage, just before it is bottled, it should be filtered to remove any particles that may have settled during storage. Some winemakers prefer to skip this step, believing the particles add complexity and character to a wine. After a wine is bottled, especially if it is a red wine, it may continue to be aged. Certain wines have what are called "peaks," which are specific years they should be drunk depending on age. A good source for finding this out is Wine Spectator (see Resources). Regardless of whether a wine is kept to age longer or simply shelved to be drunk soon, it should always be stored in a cool, dark place on its side, to keep the cork moist.
Tags: getting much, make sure, After wine, barrel aging, being picked, certain grape