Wine can be an intimidating subject to tackle. Whether you're headed to a winery for your first wine tasting, talking to a waiter at a restaurant, or trying to pick up a bottle for a dinner with your significant other, the subject of wine can be overwhelming. While there are many subtleties, differences and unique qualities of wine, there are some general and simple characteristics too.
Below is a general description of wine and the winemaking process.
Red Wine
Red wine is made from red grapes that are gathered and put into a crushing machine to remove the stems. The crushing process is what brings out color from the skins. Fermentation is then used to turn a desired amount of sugar into alcohol depending on how dry or sweet the wine is intended to be. The average amount of alcohol in most red wines is 13-15%. For sweeter red wine, fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is used up, and alcohol is then added to get the mixture to it's 13-15% alcohol content. Dry wine is made by fermenting all the sugar to alchohol. The wine is then placed is wooden barrels for aging.
White Wine
The process for white wine is very similar to that of red, but with a few key differences. White and red grapes are both fed into the crushing machines to remove the stems breaks free the grape pulp. For white wine, the crushing machine then removes the colored skins. After this, similarly to red wine, dry white wine is allowed to naturally ferment, while sweet white wine has unfermented sugars left in the liquid, and alcohol added. White wine is generally stored and aged in stainless steel as opposed to oak barrels and is generally served chilled.
Champagne
The "Champagne" region of France is technically where the only true champagne comes from. The main difference of champagne as opposed to wine is that there is a second fermentation process that actually occurs in the bottle. The crushing process of the grapes is similar to that of red and white wine.
These are some of the universal simplified aspects of wine making and wine. To make specific types of wine requires particular grapes unique to the wine. These may cabernet, pinot noir, or norton grapes which are all red wine grapes. Chardonnay, pinot grigio, and riesling are all white wine grapes. The quality and cost of the wine depends on the growing, harvesting and aging process of the wine.
Below is a general description of wine and the winemaking process.
Red Wine
Red wine is made from red grapes that are gathered and put into a crushing machine to remove the stems. The crushing process is what brings out color from the skins. Fermentation is then used to turn a desired amount of sugar into alcohol depending on how dry or sweet the wine is intended to be. The average amount of alcohol in most red wines is 13-15%. For sweeter red wine, fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is used up, and alcohol is then added to get the mixture to it's 13-15% alcohol content. Dry wine is made by fermenting all the sugar to alchohol. The wine is then placed is wooden barrels for aging.
White Wine
The process for white wine is very similar to that of red, but with a few key differences. White and red grapes are both fed into the crushing machines to remove the stems breaks free the grape pulp. For white wine, the crushing machine then removes the colored skins. After this, similarly to red wine, dry white wine is allowed to naturally ferment, while sweet white wine has unfermented sugars left in the liquid, and alcohol added. White wine is generally stored and aged in stainless steel as opposed to oak barrels and is generally served chilled.
Champagne
The "Champagne" region of France is technically where the only true champagne comes from. The main difference of champagne as opposed to wine is that there is a second fermentation process that actually occurs in the bottle. The crushing process of the grapes is similar to that of red and white wine.
These are some of the universal simplified aspects of wine making and wine. To make specific types of wine requires particular grapes unique to the wine. These may cabernet, pinot noir, or norton grapes which are all red wine grapes. Chardonnay, pinot grigio, and riesling are all white wine grapes. The quality and cost of the wine depends on the growing, harvesting and aging process of the wine.
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