When you examine the process of making white wine, you’ll see that it differs from the process of making red wine. Let’s take a look at the process of making white wine, from grapes to your glass. One common misperception regarding white winemaking is that peeled grapes are required. True, the majority of white wine fermentation processes don’t want grape skins, but the procedure isn’t that difficult!
Because white wines are manufactured differently from red wines, understanding white winemaking gives clarity. You’ll also be capable of improving your wine evaluating skills.
So, let’s take a look at the stages that go into making white wine.
- White wine can be made with either red or white wine grapes. Because the skins aren’t needed in the fermentation process, red wine grapes can be used. Some other amazing statistic is that white wine grapes are often plucked sooner in the grape harvesting period than red wine grapes.
- Grapes are immediately transported to the winery and placed in a wine press. The grape juice is squeezed out of the grapes and stored in a barrel by the press.
- The hazy, delicious juice is freshly squeezed! It spends some time in a barrel to set and cool off. The settling procedure eliminates suspended particulates that would otherwise give the produced wine a harsh taste.
- To initiate the wine fermentation, add yeast.
- A white wine takes approximately 14 days to ferment. White wines fermented at lower temperatures to maintain beautiful floral aspects. Furthermore, white wine is almost never fermented in an open barrel
- Because wine rests in barrels for a short time, it requires stirring after it is finished.
- It’s time to combine the wine after it’s been aging for a while. While single variety white wines are typical, the brewer can still generate a unique variety mix by using a barrel selection procedure. Because the wine is still a little difficult at this point, the winemaker concentrates on texture to create a final product.
White Wine Blend
White Wine blends are produced from a mixture of white grapes that are typically crushed and fermented separately before being blended. Traditional white blends can, of course, follow age-old formulas like White Bordeaux, Sauternes, or White Rioja. Many white blends have a higher bottle ageing potential than most varietal whites. The flavors differ, although most white blends have traces of grapefruit and white fruit. White blends, just like every other white wine, should be served chilled.
Several brewers employ refining chemicals to remove suspended particles from the wine. The winemaker may just sit back and wait for the white wine to clear out over time! A tiny amount of sulphur dioxide is often added to wines before bottling and labelling to help preserve them.
Any mixture of grapes can be used to make a white wine blend. White blends differ in flavor, texture, bitterness, and alcohol content, but as a basic rule, they should be served with lighter food. White wine, in comparison to most red wines, has a lighter weight and lacks acids, making it best suited for light foods. Fish, crabs, and sometimes even salad go well with dry white blends. White blends with a sweet flavor go well with fruit or dessert.
While tasting the excellent White Wine Blend available at The Liquor Store, gain experience and increase your expertise.
