The Art of Winemaking

Winemakers, called vintners, have found that the properties of crushed grapes allow the drink to be naturally produced, but by intervening at specific points throughout the process, certain characteristics of the grapes can be brought out in the wine. To know more about how they can be manipulated, the ingredients of wine grapes, including tannins, have been meticulously studied.

Wine Grapes

The main ingredient of wine, grapes can be specific to certain regions or can be of an international variety, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot. There are over 600 different types of wine grapes, each with specific characteristics. These qualities, which include size, color, acidity and thickness of grape skin, are what create the various flavors and types of wine.

Once picked, the ingredients are taken to be crushed to quickly extract juices from the grapes. The longer they are left on the vine, the sweeter they become. The grapes of sparkling wines are therefore picked first, to yield lower sugar levels. White wine grapes are next, followed by red. The grapes of ice wines, or dessert wines, are picked last to ensure a high level of sugar content.

The various quality levels of wine are determined by the types of wine grapes that are used throughout wine production. Table (or quaffing) wine, premium wine, fine wine, and reserve wine are all classified based on their main ingredient, with only a small amount of grape varieties having the ability to yield high quality finer wines. The higher quality wines also have to be cultivated in certain climates and with careful techniques to produce to their full potential. For example, from vineyards that are on a hilltop, wine will taste differently than vineyards in valleys.

Tannins, Acids, Sugars
Tannins are the ingredient in wine that produces a clean palate for you to enjoy the beverage through an astringent, bitter flavor. They reduce oxidation in wine that is aging. Tannins mostly come from grape skin, stems, and seeds, and might also be found in the wood barrels and caskets where wine ages. White wine does not contain many tannins because the grape skin, stems and seeds are not released into the juice during fermentation and is typically not aged. Red wine, however, is fermented with all elements of the grapes and let to age for some time. The natural acids and sugars found in wine grapes also determine the flavors and quality of the final product. The more sugar that is left in the juice, the result will be more like dessert wine.