Snackable Information in the Taste of Wine Part - 1

1- What is Wine and How is it Made?

Wine is an alcoholic beverage created by the fermentation of grape juice. Alcohol is not added later. Alcohol is naturally released as yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes.

Grapes are harvested in the autumn. For red wine, black grapes are pressed and separated from their stems. During fermentation, the contact between the grape must and the skins allows the color and tannins from the skins to pass into the wine. Almost every grape has white flesh. In rosé wines; the wine has a lighter color because the contact with the skins is shorter; in fact, rosé wines are also produced from black grapes. It is made not by mixing red and white, but by allowing the grapes much less contact with their skins. When making white wine; only the juice of the grape is used. There is no need for the color or tannins in the skin. In other words, you can make white wine from both black and white grapes. After the grape juice is fermented, the winemaker can use either oak barrels or stainless steel tanks. This choice will completely affect the final style of the wine. Newly fermented wine is transferred from the fermentation tank. If red wine is being made; it goes through a pressing process to separate it from the skins, and then it is matured according to the winemaker's preference. Depending on the desired wine style, some wines may be matured for a longer period compared to others. Wines matured in oak barrels acquire a number of aromas from the oak. Such as vanilla, toast, and roasted hazelnuts. Afterwards, the wine is bottled. When bottled, some wines are ready to drink, while some wines, especially tannic red wines, continue to mature in the bottle. The release time for a white wine is approximately a minimum of 6 months. For red wine, it can extend up to a minimum of 12 months. Red wines that should be consumed young are matured for up to 12 months, while white wines consumed young are released in 6 months.

2- Are Grapes Washed in Wine Production?

Grapes are generally not washed in wine production. It is preferred that the natural microflora present in powder form on the grapes remains. In some regions, fermentation is carried out with natural yeasts found in the powder on the grapes, without adding yeast. However, these yeasts, which we call wild yeast, can only raise the must to an alcohol level of between 7-9%. They cannot go further. Because they are not resistant to high alcohol levels. Besides, if grapes are washed, they must be dried very well again, which causes a significant cost. Residual water negatively affects the quality of the wine. It also leads to a decrease in the concentration of the sugar ratio of the grape.

3- Is Sugar Added to Wine?

Sugar is not separately added to the must during wine production. The sugar of the grape fruit is already sufficient for this. However, when it comes to sweetening the wine, this can be achieved through some methods. It should be added that it is not legal to make wine sweet by adding sugar. However, some sweet liquids can be used to sweeten it. For example, unfermented must (süssreserve) is used to sweeten many medium or sweet German wines. Except for Pedro Ximénez, traditional Sherry styles (Fino, Amontillado, and Oloroso) are dry. In the production of medium or sweet Sherries like Oloroso Dulce, commercial Amontillados, and Pale Creams, sweet Pedro Ximénez Sherry or mixtures of must and alcohol or concentrated must can be used to provide sweetness. Also, when the alcohol level reaches 15%, the yeasts die. In musts with a high initial sugar level, some sugar may remain in the wine. The sugar level required to provide a 15% alcohol level is not found in grapes of normal ripeness. However, there are methods that can be used to concentrate the sugar level in grapes. Drying grapes, freezing them, or noble rot (Botrytis/Noble rot) are among these methods.

Drying Grapes: What is Passito?

Unique to Italy, originally from Veneto, it is a sweet wine made from dried grapes and generally has a high alcohol content. After drying, using only healthy clusters, grapes harvested early to have sufficient acidity are left to dry under the sun or in rooms provided with airflow called "Fruttaio". Depending on the style of the wine and the climate conditions of that period, the period for drying grapes can last from a few weeks to 6 months. If we give examples of wines produced in the Passito style:

• Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG
• Recioto di Soave DOCG
• Vin Santo DOC
• Passito di Pantelleria DOC

Freezing Grapes: What is Ice Wine (Eiswein)?

Sweet wines produced in Canada, Germany, and Austria with distinct fruit aromas, high acidity, and a full body are called Eiswein (ice wine). In these regions, healthy grapes are sometimes not harvested and are left on the vine. Harvesting is done in the winter season (late December or early January) when the grapes freeze. For this reason, the water in the grape berries binds by turning into ice, i.e., freezing, and the acid-sugar ratio of the grape rises. These frozen grapes are crushed; thus, they are separated into ice crystals. The remaining intensely sugary must is used in the production of sweet Eiswein (icewine).

What is Noble Rot?

Noble rot, or Botrytis cinerea, has an important role in the production of many classic sweet wines, primarily Sauternes, Tokaji, Austrian and German BA (Beerenauslese) and TBA (Trockenbeerenauslese) wines, and Loire sweet wines. When Botrytis cinerea mold attacks healthy and ripe grapes, it weakens the skin, accelerating the evaporation of the water in the grapes and causing the grapes to shrivel. Besides increasing the sugar and acid concentration, it adds unique aromas to the wine. For the production of these wines, several factors must come together: a problem-free ripening process to obtain completely ripened and healthy grapes; damp, misty mornings that support the growth and spread of the botrytis mold; warm and dry afternoons that will accelerate the drying of the grapes. These conditions exist in very few wine production regions and it is not possible for it to happen every year. Noble rot does not affect all grapes in the same way. For this reason, the vineyard must be checked many times to pick the grapes at the molding stage. Since it is necessary to pick the grapes by hand, the production of these wines is quite costly. Some grape varieties such as Riesling, Sémillon, and Chenin Blanc are more sensitive to noble rot. It is difficult to describe the characteristics of noble rot and the best way to get to know these wines is to try some examples. Dried apricots, rye bread, sweet biscuits, cabbage, orange marmalade, pineapple, and mushrooms are some of the words used in the descriptions.