From the vine to the bottle on your table, the process of making red wine is called red wine vinification. Making red wine consists in following a series of steps to obtain an excellent elixir ready to be tasted. In this article, we invite you to understand in depth the mechanism of red wine vinification. Naturally, the process used to make red wine is not the same as the one used to make white wine. The latter will be the subject of a future article.
The steps of red wine vinification
There are several steps to making red wine: destemming and crushing, maceration, drawing off and pressing, ageing, sulphiting, blending and filtration, and, finally, bottling.
First step: destemming and crushing
Just after being picked during the harvest, the bunches of grapes are brought to the cellar. From then on, two operations take place to make red wine. First, the cellar staff carry out destemming. This operation consists in separating the grape berries from the stems. This step is not systematic. Indeed, the stems are sometimes kept (in whole or in part) to let the tannins express themselves more. Once destemming is done, it is time to move on to crushing. This involves bursting the grape berries by crushing them. It is then possible to extract the juice, but also to let the tannins express themselves: these are present in the stems and in the skin of the berries.
Second step: maceration
The second step in making red wine consists of maceration. During this step, the grapes are placed in vats. These can be made of wood or stainless steel depending on the techniques chosen and the desired result. It is a particularly important moment in the vinification of wine. The vats have a regulated temperature. The duration of this step varies between several days and three weeks.
Alcoholic fermentation
Alcoholic fermentation takes place during maceration. It is the process that transforms the sugars present in the juice into alcohol, thanks to the yeasts. This essential step in making red wine lasts about 10 days. During it, yeasts are sometimes added to allow for a more efficient fermentation. This step is also called the first fermentation (as opposed to the second one during ageing).
Pumping over or punching down
During maceration, inside the vat, the solid matter present in the liquid rises to the surface. The accumulation of this solid matter is called the cap. It is inside it that we find the pigments that give red wine its colour. It is also within the cap that we find the tannins as well as certain aromas. Controlling the cap is crucial during red wine vinification: it partly determines the character of the wine. To ensure the best possible extraction from this cap, we practise pumping over (also called punching down).
Carbonic maceration
Sometimes, another technique is adopted in red wine vinification: carbonic maceration. In this case, the grapes are inserted whole into a vat full of carbon dioxide. At this point, the alcohol develops within the fruit itself. This process is notably used in Beaujolais and gives the wine a real suppleness.
Third step: drawing off and pressing
Once maceration is done, two options are possible to recover the juice and continue the vinification of the red wine. First, drawing off consists in obtaining the juice from the bottom of the vat. Pressing, for its part, corresponds to pressing the cap to recover all the juice. This latter process is more used to obtain wines high in tannins. The wines that come from drawing off are called free-run wine. For their part, the wines coming from pressing are called press wine.
Fourth step: ageing
At the end of the previous step, ageing begins. The duration of ageing varies from a few weeks to several years. In this step of making red wine, the wine is placed in vats or in barrels. During this process, new aromas appear and the wine gets closer to its final character. !aging the wine - making red wine Furthermore, during ageing, a second fermentation takes place: malolactic fermentation; thus allowing a less aggressive juice to be obtained.
Sulphiting, blending, and filtration: optional steps in making red wine
Once the previous step is finished, the wine is racked. In other words, it is moved to another container to remove the deposits and yeasts. It is at this precise moment that it is possible to add sulphur dioxide to the wine in order to ensure protection against oxidation. This process is called sulphiting. Furthermore, it is possible to carry out other operations before bottling the wine. It is thus possible to blend several cuvées, to make the wine more brilliant or to carry out a filtration. All of these elements are absolutely not mandatory and depend on the type of wine desired, but also on the philosophy of the producer.
Last step: bottling
Finally, the last step in making red wine: bottling. The precious juice is placed in the bottle. A cork seals it. It then joins a table or a cellar before being enjoyed around a fine table!
Making red wine: the new methods
So you now know in detail the process of red wine vinification. However, it is possible to opt for new methods to make red wine. Resorting to these new methods can be necessary because of local particularities but also with the aim of obtaining a particular wine.
Thermovinification: a new vinification method
Thermovinification is a new method for making red wine. It consists in heating the harvest to 70°C before pressing it. Such a technique allows the extraction of colouring matter. So, with this technique, the steps of maceration and fermentation are distinct. As a result, using thermovinification to make red wine allows for more deeply coloured wines, even from barely ripe fruit.
Making red wine with pectolytic enzyming
On the other hand, pectolytic enzymes can be used to make red wine. These accelerate the destruction of the membranes of the grape cells. So, using such a process allows for a greater diffusion of tannins. However, it is only possible to carry out this process during a specific phase of red wine vinification: during the fermentation period. In conclusion, making red wine consists in taking the grapes, then the juice, through a series of steps. These steps allow an original juice to be transformed into a delicious elixir via fermentations, macerations and ageing. Furthermore, the vinification of wine (and all of its components) can have significant impacts on the quality and the type of wine obtained. The vinification of white wine or of champagne is not the same. These techniques will be the subject of future articles. You now know everything there is to know about making red wine. We hope you are now familiar with this concept, which will surely be the subject of a podcast soon!
