Red wine can only be made from grapes that have red or purple skin. The grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness to ensure the best flavors and quality.
A boutique winery and anyone making high-end (more expensive) wines will sort out the grape clusters that are less than perfect. Underripe grapes can impart bitterness, and overripe can add a jammy sweetness to the wine that may not be desired. Removing these grapes from the lot will allow the winemaker more control over the finished product. This step can make wine cost more because the personnel and equipment needed to sort the berries are an added cost to the winery.
The technique for harvesting the grapes will affect what comes next. When harvested by hand, a person cuts the cluster from the vine. The individual grape berries need to be removed from the rachis (pronounced RAY-kiss), which is the backbone that holds the grapes together in a cluster. This process is called destemming and is done by a heavy-duty machine called a crusher-destemmer. When the grapes are destemmed, the process also breaks apart the skin, allowing the juices to flow out. When a machine harvests the grapes, it gently shakes the grapevine, causing ripe grapes to fall off the rachis. This means the destemming process is complete before the grapes reach the winery, where the grapes will be crushed (or squashed) to release their juices.
The mixture of broken grapes and juice is called must. A yeast strain is selected based on the desired characteristics of the finished wine. The yeast is added to the must and will consume the sugars in the grape juice, converting it to alcohol and carbon dioxide and fermenting the juice into wine. The grape skins impart color, tannins, and flavor into the finished wines.
Maceration refers to the time the grape skins are left in contact with the juice during fermentation. This period can last a few days up to several weeks, which varies depending on the desired style of wine. Longer maceration results in wines with deeper color and more tannins.
Next, the liquid needs to be separated from the grape skins, seeds, and pulp, which can be done by letting the wine flow through a screen that holds back any solids. The liquid is called free run and is considered the purest form of the wine. A machine presses the solids to force more juice from the grapes, ultimately creating more wine. Right now, you may be conjuring images of Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes in the old television show I Love Lucy. Most wineries don’t use their feet these days but instead use technology to get the job done. Some winemakers separate the free-run wine from the pressed wine, which is another step that can increase the price of a bottle.
Red wines are often aged to develop flavors and soften tannins, making the finished wine more pleasing. A wine can age in stainless steel tanks, oak barrels, concrete tanks, or even clay pots called amphora, which date back to ancient times. Stainless tanks will age the wines without much change, making light-bodied, fresh wines. Aging in oak will impart flavors of vanilla, spice, and toast. The method and duration of aging depend on the winemaker’s preferences.
The winemaker may blend different batches to achieve a particular style or flavor. Often, the winemaker has aged the wine in different vessels, and even though they are all the same grape, the different vessels must be blended together. Blending is a useful tool in crafting unique, complex wines.
Once the wine is appropriately aged and blended, it is time to bottle the finished product. Some red wines may continue to improve with aging in the bottle, while others are ready to drink immediately.
Even though this is a simplistic summary of the steps needed to make a red wine, it’s easy to see that winemaking is a complex process.
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