Regardless of whether you are a beginner in the wine making business or a professional, it is important to keep up with modern winemaking methods and techniques. This article will cover some of the most popular and interesting advances in the winemaking industry, along with how they can be used to make better wines. What you ought to consider about Natural Winemaking.
Temperature Control
There are many ways to control the temperature of the fermentation tank or cellar. This allows the winemaker to adjust the temperature of the must or juice to a more manageable level, and can help to maintain a more consistent wine quality.
Oxygenation
Adding a small amount of oxygen to the wine during the fermentation and ageing process is an important advance in the winemaking industry. This can help to improve color and astringency, and stabilize the phenolic compounds in grapes.
Varietal Yeasts
The use of yeast strains is an important step in the winemaking process, as it can influence the type of result you will get from your must or juice. Different strains can be beneficial or harmful, so experimenting with them is an excellent way to determine which ones are best for your particular winemaking endeavor.
Fermentation and Inoculation
Fermentation is a natural, organic process in which sugars are metabolized into alcohol and carbon dioxide (Figure 1). If left to their own devices must or juice will naturally begin fermentation within 6-12 hours with the aid of wild yeasts in the air. For a variety of reasons, however, some winemakers prefer to interfere with this process by inoculating the must or juice with a strain of yeast of their choosing.
Basket Presses
Before the development of modern technology, basket presses were the primary method for pressing must and juice for most winemakers. These presses were made of wood and operated manually by loading the grapes or pomace into the basket and ratcheting down the plate until the desired amount of juice flowed out.
Today, winemakers are able to purchase presses that are made of stainless steel and can be automated. Using a program, the winemaker can control each pressure step, allowing them to adjust and standardize every press cycle.
The resulting juice or wine is then either bottled or stored in a barrel to age for another year or two before release. Some wines may even be aged for longer than this, depending on the grapes and the region.
Gelatin and Filtration
Winemakers often use gelatin to clear up their juice or must before bottling, which helps to remove any sediment that has accumulated in the bottle or vessel. The gelatin also reduces tannins, which can be an undesirable component of most wines.
Other filtration methods are available, too, and it is a good idea to experiment with them. They can be applied before, during, or after the fermenting and aging process to help to clarify the wine and remove any unwanted particles that are present in the juice.
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