A brief account of the steps in preparation of Red Wine

1. PREPARATION OF WINE
Dr Saji Mariam George
Associate Professor
Assumption College Autonomous
Changanacherry

2. PREPARATION OF WINE
Alcoholic beverage produced by fermentation of
fruits(mostly Grapes), honey ( Mead - a wine
made with honey)
Red wine
 Prepared by the fermentation of black, purple or
red varieties of grapes.
 Red colour is due to the red pigment from the
skins of the grapes.
White wine
 Prepared from white grapes i.e, green grapes or
the expressed juice of other grapes, fermented
free of the skins.

3. PREPARATION OF RED WINE
STEPS
1. Harvesting
 Harvested at a stage when the grapes have
the desired sugar content(vary from 15 -25%
depending on the variety & degree of
ripening).
 Harvested by hand or by machine

4. 2. Preparation of juice
 Grapes are crushed by machine →grape
juice(“Must”).
 Treated with chemical preservative – SO2(75-
200ppm) or Potassium metabisulphite in
equivalent amounts – inhibit the growth of
undesirable competitors of the wine yeast.

5. 3. Primary Fermentation
 A “ natural inoculum”(Yeasts present on the
grapes) or 2 to 5% of a special wine yeast – a
strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var.
ellipsoideus is added to the “Must” (Grape
juice).
 Contents of the tank are mixed twice a day to
aerate – enhance the growth of yeasts & aid
in the extraction of colour from the skin.(Or
red pigments may be extracted from the
skins by heat and added to the juice).

6. • Later the contents of the tank are not stirred
→anaerobic conditions for alcoholic
fermentation by yeast → Ethyl alcohol & CO2
→ both help to inhibit the growth of
organisms other than wine yeasts.
• Temperature is maintained at 24 – 27° C
• Active fermentation → 3 – 5 days →heat is
generated → artificial cooling of the “must”

7. 4. Secondary Fermentation
 The fermented juice is drawn off from the
residues (Pomace) and placed in a storage
tank – Stainless steel / Oak barrels under a
light pressure of CO2 → Secondary
fermentation → 7 to 11 days at 21 – 29 ° C .
 Clear wine is drawn off or “racked” from the
sediment at the bottom of the tank.

8. 5. Storing and Aging
 Wine is transferred to wooden tanks or
plastic coated concrete tanks – filled
completely and sealed to keep out air.
 Periodically the wine is drawn off (racked)
from the bottom sediment.
 Aging for months /years → desirable changes
and influence the flavour of the wine.

9. 6. Filtration
 After aging , the wine is filtered.
7. Bottling
 Add preservative to bottles- Sulphite
 225 ± 25 mg Potassium sorbate and 30 ± 10
mg SO2 → prevent refermentation and
souring of wine.
 Some wines are pasteurized after aging →
barreled or bottled and stored.
 Final alcohol content varies widely – usually
11 to 16% by volume.

10. WINE - TYPES
1. Table Wines (Natural or Still wines)
Include
 Red – e.g Chateau latour
 White – e.g Moserblumohen (Germany)
 Rose wines - eg. Rose Tavel which do not
retain CO2 produced during fermentation
 Alcoholic content – 14 to 16%
 Consumed primarily as complements to
food

11. 2. Sparkling Wines
 Alcohol content, < 14%
 Contain CO2 , achieved by secondary
fermentation in bottle
e.g. Champagne – distinguishable by their
effervescence – used in festive occasions.
3. Fortified Wines Fortified or strengthened by the
addition of alcohol either during or after
fermentation – increases alcohol content → 15
to 21% .
e.g. Sherry – used before or after meals and are
also used in cooking.

12. 4. Aromatized Wine.
 Prepared with addition of Brandy and
flavoured with herbs, barks etc.
 Served in combination with other alcoholic
beverages as Cocktails.
 Alcoholic content , 15 – 55%.
e.g. Vermouth.

13. THANK YOU