Wine is the fermented juice of fruits or vegetables, predominantly made from grapes due to their ideal balance of sweetness, acidity, and alcohol content. The winemaking process includes harvesting, crushing the grapes to produce 'must', fermentation, and optional aging in oak barrels before bottling. Most wines are meant to be consumed within three years, though some fine wines improve with additional bottle aging.

1. What is Wine
What is Wine?
“To Serve with Knowledge & Pour with Skill”
copyright 2002 The Wine Society of Texas
all rights reserved

2. Wine - The Definition
Wine is the fermented juice of any fruit or
vegetable.
You can make wine from almost any organic
substance that contains sugar and water
typically found in fruits and vegetables.
Five basic types of wine are:
Red Wine
White Wine
Rose Wine
Sparkling Wine - carbonated
Fortified Wine - high alcohol content
– Sherry - Spanish style wine (amber to brown) can be made sweet or not sweet.
– Port - Sweet red wine originally from Portugal
– Madeira - from Madeira Islands made from cooked grapes & aged
– Marsala - Italian wine made from concentrated grape juice.

3. Why use grapes to make wine?
Winemaking is the art of making
wine.
It involves working with grape juice
(natural sugars, water, grape
solids) and yeast to achieve a
balance of wine qualities:
sweetness
acidity
alcohol content
Why grapes? Wine from grapes
possesses a good combination of
these qualities.
While natural occurring yeast on
the grapes will work, winemakers
tend to use developed strains of
yeast today.

4. How is wine made?
It starts in the vineyard at harvest:
It is important to wait until the grapes
reach the proper maturity for the
varietal of grape & style of wine being
made.
As the grapes ripen, the sugar level
increases and the acidity decreases.
The sugar level is measured in units of
“Brix”; wine grapes are usually
harvested at a Brix of 22 to 28.
Ripening will depend on many factors,
such as the temperature, amount of
sun and rainfall, availability of nutrients.
The grapes can be harvested manually
or by mechanical pickers. Manually
picked grapes are typically higher
quality.
Manual picking
Mechanical picking

5. How is wine made?
After harvesting:
The grapes are transported to the
winery where they undergo
destemming and crushing.
There are a variety of presses that are
used to produce the juice, which is
called “must”.
The sugar in the wine is used by the
yeast to produce ethyl alcohol and
carbon dioxide gas, thus making wine.
The type of yeast can affect
the qualities of the wine as will
other compounds in the wine -
some naturally occurring and
some that are byproducts of the
winemaking process.
Crusher
Small Bladder Press
Large Rotary Press

6. How is wine made?
Fermentation and Aging:
After crushing and pressing the must is
transferred to large, refrigerated stainless
steel tanks where it is fermented to produce
wine.
Once fermentation is complete, the wine
can be transferred to oak barrels for aging
for 6 to 24 months. But, not all wine is oak
aged.
The barrels are usually made from either
French or American Oak, which give
differing qualities to the wine.
Some wine is aged in old barrels and some
in new to produce different characteristics,
as well.
The wine maker will then blend the various
lots of wine to produce a finished wine
ready for bottling.
Fermentation Tanks
Barrel filling
Barrel aging
Active Yeast Cells

7. How is wine made?
Bottling and Cellaring:
After the wine is complete it is
transferred to bottles.
Most wine is consumed within
three years of bottling.
But some fine wines gain
added flavor and bouquet with
time in the bottle if it is stored
at 50 to 60 F. But, humidity is
also important so that the
corks do not dry out, which
spoils the wine.
The wines commonly aged in
the bottle are:
– Cabernet Sauvignon (Red)
– Pinot Noir (Red)
– Chardonnay (White)
– Champagne (White Sparkling)
– Port
– Sherry
Bottling line
Bottles being filled
Large Commercial Cellar
Small in-home cellar

8. Differences in making red & white wine
White Wine:
Grapes for white wine are
harvested and pressed.
The must is fermented in
stainless steel tanks.
Some white wines, such as
Chardonnay, is aged in oak
barrels.
The wine is bottled
Most white wines are not bottle
aged but consumed with in 3
years of bottling.
However, an exception is
particularly fine wines made from
Chardonnay and Champagne.
Red Wine:
Grapes for red wine are
harvested, crushed.
The must is left with the skins
during fermentation to produce
the red color.
Red wine is commonly aged in
oak barrels for 6 to 24 months.
The wine is bottled.
Many red wines are ready to
drink after bottling.
However, some red wines, such
as Cabernet Sauvignon, will
benefit with some bottle age.

9. Making blush & sparkling wines
Blush Wine:
Red grapes are harvested for Rose
or Blush wine.
Before fermentation the must is left
with the skin for a short time.
The must is fermented in stainless
steel tanks.
If a sweet wine is desired then the
fermentation is stopped before all
of the sugar is consumed.
The wine is bottled
Blush wines are not
commonly bottle aged
but consumed within 3
years of bottling.
Champagne (Sparking) Wine:
Grapes for sparking wine are
harvested and pressed.
It is fermented like a white wine.
More sugar and yeast is added to
the wine.
The wine is bottled.
The additional sugar and yeast
produce carbon dioxide, which
carbonates the wine.
The second fermentation is
stopped.
Most sparkling wines are made to
drink young. But, fine Champagne
will benefit with additional bottle
age.

10. Making fortified wine
Fortified Wine:
Grapes for fortified wines are
harvested like for other wines.
Depending on the type of wine,
the must may be handled in
different ways to intensify the
flavor before and during
fermentation.
Most fortified wines have an
addition of alcohol (brandy) to
stop fermentation and increase
the alcohol content.
Fortified wine maybe aged in
oak barrels before bottling.
Many fortified wines will benefit
with bottle age.

11. Summary
Wine grapes are harvested either manually or mechanically.
Manually harvested grapes are usually preferred.
Wine can be made from many fruits and vegetables.
However, wine from grapes can possess a good balance of three
important qualities: sweetness, acidity and alcohol.
After harvesting, grapes are destemmed, crushed (or pressed) to
produce the juice, referred to as “must”.
The must is fermented and sometimes aged in oak to add flavor
and aroma in some wines before bottling.
Sparkling wines such as Champagne are made by imposing a
secondary fermentation in the bottle to produce carbonation.
Most wine is made to be consumed within 3 years of production.
However, some fine wines may gain special qualities by further
bottle aging.