Wine Basics
As we all know, wine (traditionally) is made out of grapes. Reds, whites, rosés, and ports are the wine styles we have all known an loved since we’ve been 21 (ish). The grapes used to make wine are not like the ones you would usually see in the grocery store. Wine grapes are smaller, tougher, have thicker skins, much sweeter, and they even contain seeds. A rule of thumb used by Vineyard Managers and Winemakers to determine if the fruit is close to harvest is to pluck a berry from the bunch and taste it. If it tastes sweet, and the seeds they spit out are browning, then harvest should be right around the corner.
Harvest ranges in months depending on the varietal and how quickly it goes through maturation, or veraison, which is the color changing process the grapes go through as the season dips into the later months. Winemakers have their own individual styles when it comes to how late they wait to harvest. Some like their grapes on the tarter side, having tougher fruit, so the berries are closer to the early ending stages of veraison and the sugar levels are usually lower. This would usually mean that the wine would have a heavier tannin component because the skins are so tough. Where as some Winemakers like the wait longer for the fruit to ripen, so the berries are larger, sweeter, juicier, and the sugar levels are much higher. This will create wines lighter in tannins while having a more fruit-forward taste.
Tannins are the bitter, acidic compound you taste in red wines. They are what give the red wine the thick, residue feeling as it coats your palette. Tannins come from the skins of red grapes, as they are left on during the crushing process. White wines lack tannins, as the skins are stripped during the crushing process. This means, only red wines have that distinct tannic taste and feel. Tannins are found all throughout nature; bark, wood, cacao, leaves, and obviously grapes. This means tannins are present in more things than you would think—coffee, chocolate, tea and most unripe fruits. In nature, tannins are used to deter animals from eating a fruits seed before it is ripe. Rosés are specifically known because this wine is made from red grapes, and are only fermented a short time with the skins before they are removed, essentially creating a mix between a red wine and a white wine.
One of the main deciding factors when deciding when to harvest the fruit is the sugar level, or more commonly know as the Brix levels. The percentages and numbers given by the Brix scale were invented by scientist Adolf Brix in the 19th century. Adolf Brix was a German scientist who invented the hydrometer, which is a device still used today to measure the sucrose, or sugar levels, in grape juice to make wine. Before the Brix scale was created, and the hydrometer was a pure thought in Adolf Brix’s head, Winemakers were determining the ripeness, subjectively, by taste. The Brix scale was created by Brix, as well as other scientists, preparing pure sucrose solutions whose strength is known, measured their specific gravities before preparing tables of percent sucrose by mass vs. measured specific gravity.
Briefly, to get scientifically technical on you just so we’re all on the same knowledgeable page, specific gravity is the ratio of the density of a substance, compared the density of a given reference material, such as water. Specific gravity for liquids is usually measured with respect to water at its densest. This is one way of calculating the alcohol content with a hydrometer before and after fermentation. There is some math involved, but we can save that for another time.
Now there are five main components of wine
Alcohol
Acidity
Flavors
Sweetness
Tannins
We already covered the basic tannic component of wine, so we can go ahead and cross that off the list!
Alcohol is something I believe to be misunderstood. But, then again, I am used to looking at just about everything from a scientific perspective. Alcohol is known as that burning sensation in the mouth and back of the throat when swallowed. Alcohol in wine is essentially yeast byproduct, or yeast farts, as those tiny, microscopic organisms breakdown the sugar content within the grape juice. There is a two step (more or less) process when the sugar is introduced into the grape juice (whether added sugar or naturally derived sugar from the juice alone). The first process is known as an aerobic respiration—this means air is involved. When yeast is added to the grape juice, they need air to survive and munch down on that sugar. When air is present, the yeast product is carbon dioxide and water. But, after a specific time, which varies by Winemaker, the air is sealed off and not allowed into whatever is being used as a tank. This then creates an anaerobic respiration. When the air is stripped from the yeast, fermentation begins and the yeast product is ethanol (alcohol) and some carbon dioxide. Some Winemakers take advantage of the carbon dioxide within the now fermented wine, place the fermented wine under heavy pressure, bottle it under said heavy pressure, and when the cork is popped, the pressure is released and we get…Sparkling wine!
What some people would mistake the bitter flavor in wine as alcohol when it would be the acidity content within the wine. You can sense the acidity on the sides on your cheeks. It also causes that salivating feeling, and causes your mouth to water. A large portion of a Winemakers job once the grapes are crushed is to determine the total acidity, or TA levels, to figure out what corrections to preform to stabilized the fermenting wine. There are two types of acidity measurements Winemakers will do to figure out what to add into the fermenting wine. TA’s, or Titratable Acidity, is best described as determining the total acid content to compare it to your senses—or how the acidity will effect your mouth. TA’s are also important in the stability component of the wine. The other type of measured acidity are VA’s, or Volatile Acids. VA’s are the measure of the wines volatile, or gaseous, acids. These acids work with the aroma and taste as well as the stability of the wine.
Flavors, or the aromas, of the wine are directly coordinated with the olfactory nerve in our nose, specifically known as retronasal olfaction. Retronasal olfaction is the perception of smells arising from the oral cavity during eating and drinking. This process is not preformed during smelling, but rather when something is inhaled through the mouth. Think of it as a straight shot way of connecting our noses to our mouths. This sense is how we best pair wines with foods, and where professional, licensed sommeliers pick up on the subtle hints of specific flavors and spices that creates the wines character.
Finally, sweetness is essentially the measure of residual sugars within the wine. Typically, the most sweetness in the wine, the heavier the wine will be. Knowing the sweetness content comes in handy really well when pairing wines with meals. Typically, wines on the sweeter side are used as dessert, or meal finisher, wines, or sweeter, chilled wines pair nicely with light meals such as fish or salads. This would be the opposite for heavy, bold wines that are on the tarter, more bitter, fuller bodied side; wines that are heavy, and not as sweet pair nicely with bolder meals such as red meats or heavy pastas.
Now with the wine basics nailed, please feel free to go explore the realm of wine and winemaking, and join me for a glass soon!
Also, remember to check out the Camping section for all my crazy camping and overlanding stories!
Cheers,
Sara
