WINE MAKING
SPARKLING & WHITE
INTRODUCTION
This module is all about sparkling and white
wines and how they are made. In this module,
we will introduce and explain the production and
the various sparkling wine and Champagne
styles. We will also give you a brief overview
of white winemaking.
MODULE OBJECTIVES
In this module you will learn:
• Sparkling wine and Champagne styles
• Methods used to make white wines
PART
1
MAKING
SPARKLING WINES
WHAT IS SPARKLING WINE?
• By definition, sparkling wine contains residual carbon dioxide
left over from the initial or a secondary fermentation.
• As you might remember from Module 1, carbon dioxide, or
CO2, is a natural by-product of fermentation. Most still table
wines have little, if any, CO2. That’s because the CO2 was
allowed to dissipate into the air during or after fermentation.
However, some very young white wines will retain a bit of
CO2 giving them a delightful and subtle spritz.
• The art of making champagne and sparkling wine is all
about, creating a second fermentation in the bottle, trapping
those tiny little bubbles in the bottle so you can enjoy them
in the glass. Cheers!
CHAMPAGNE VERSUS
SPARKLING WINE
The first thing to remember about sparkling wines is
that not all of them are created equal.
Though all Champagne is sparkling wine not all
sparkling wine is Champagne!
Only sparkling wines made in the Champagne
region of France may be legally called Champagne.
SPARKLING WINES
ARE BLENDS
The next thing to remember about sparkling wine is that,
unlike most other wines, practically all the best sparklers
are made from blends of different grape varieties. The
philosophy of the sum is greater than the individual parts
is definitely the name of the game when making fine
sparkling wines.
What’s also important to know is that not all grapes work
well with every method of making sparkling wines. Some
grape varieties, such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, work
best with the classic method, those with secondary
fermentation in the bottle, while other grapes work better
with one of the other winemaking methods.
GRAPE VARIETIES
FOR SPARKLING WINE
The primary grapes used in
making the best sparkling wines
and Champagnes are Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir — and in the case
of Champagne another red grape
called Pinot Meunier.
Other secondary grapes used to
make non-Champagne sparkling
wines include Pinot Blanc, Pinot
Grigio, Riesling, Chenin Blanc,
Muscat — and many, many others
depending on the specific location
where the grapes are grown and
the wine is made.
Chardonnay grapes
CLASSIC METHOD:
PRODUCTION METHOD
The entire process starts with the harvesting of grapes to
make the base wines. Unlike fruit for regular still table wines,
the grapes for sparkling wine are generally harvested earlier
in the season. That’s because the base wines for sparkling
wine must be light in body, lower in alcohol, and very high
in acidity.
The grapes are picked then pressed quickly and gently
to avoid oxidation and any color from the skins.
The classic method involves not one, but two separate and
distinct fermentations. And it’s the second fermentation,
especially when it is done in the bottle, that produces all
those wonderful little bubbles that make sparkling wine
what it is.
DRYNESS/SWEETNESS LEVELS
The dosage (a mixture of wine & sugar) added just before bottling
determines the dryness/sweetness level of the sparkling wine or
Champagne. Most wines are labeled simply as “brut,” which is fairly
dry. However, there are sweeter sparkling wines to be found. Here’s
a list of styles in ascending level of sweetness:
Brut Nature: bone dry. Also called Extra Brut, Brut Sauvage, or other
proprietary names.
Brut: dry
Extra Dry: off-dry
Sec: slightly sweet
Demi Sec: sweet
Doux: very sweet
SPARKLING WINE &
CHAMPAGNE STYLES
Brut Non-Vintage: A blend based on several
vintages made in a consistent “House Style”
Vintage: A Champagne or sparkling wine from a
single year. Vintage Champagnes or sparkling wines
are made in outstanding years from superior
vineyards.
CHAMPAGNE STYLES II
Rosé: A pink Champagne or sparkling wine
produced either by leaving the skins in contact with
the must during fermentation, or blending white wine
(Chardonnay) and red wine (Pinot Noir and Pinot
Meunier) together.
Blanc de Blancs: A Champagne or sparkling wine
made from white grapes only (usually Chardonnay).
CHAMPAGNE STYLES III
Blanc de Noirs: A Champagne or sparkling wine
produced from “black grapes” such as Pinot Noir and
Pinot Meunier grapes.
Prestige Cuvée: The finest Champagnes made only
in exceptional vintages. Moët et Chandon’s Cuvée
Dom Perignon and Roederer’s Cristal are two of the
most well-known Prestige Cuvée Champagnes.
PART
2
MAKING
WHITE WINE
HARVEST
White wine grapes are picked
in the earlier stages of the
harvest. Unlike red grapes
where longer “hang time” on
the vine is needed to mature
the flavors and tannins, white
grapes are harvested when the
perfect balance of ripe fruit and
natural acidity is achieved.
Many wineries harvest white grape varieties at night or
early in the morning to retain as much natural freshness as
possible. It’s also crucial not to crush or bruise the grapes
which would cause oxidation and bitter flavors in the juice.
CRUSH
The juice is obtained by placing
whole bunches of grapes into
a crusher-destemmer, which
removes the stems. The whole
clusters may also be placed directly into the press, stems
and all.
Unlike red wine which relies on skin contact to supply color
and tannins, the juice for white wine is separated off the skins
immediately after going through the crusher-destemmer to
avoid any oxidation or bitter flavors.
A winemaker may choose to chill the grapes before crushing
or pressing to retain the grapes natural freshness and delicate
flavors. The more common practice is to chill the juice after
pressing and before fermentation.
PRESSING
Most modern wineries
use bladder presses instead
of the more traditional
basket presses.
A bladder press is a closed
cylindrical tank with an
inflatable bladder that gently
presses the grapes against a screen as it inflates
without crushing the seeds or stems. Think of a
slowly inflating balloon and you’ll get the idea of a
bladder press.
SETTLING THE JUICE
Once pressed the juice is transferred to a
settling tank so that it can clarify. The particles
suspended in the juice are, for the most part,
grape pulp.
Many winemakers today speed up the settling
process by filtering the juice or using a centrifuge.
Once settled the juice is ready for fermentation.
FERMENTATION:
ADDING YEAST
As with red wine, white wine will ferment on its own “native”
yeasts — the yeasts that develop naturally on the grapes in
the vineyard.
Native yeast fermentation has been used throughout history
to make wine and is still used by many winemakers today.
The only potential drawbacks to native yeast fermentation
are the unpredictability of the fermentation (many competing
strains of yeast working at the same time) and stuck — or
stopped — fermentations. Stuck fermentations will leave
unfermented residual sugars or sweetness and in most
wines this is not desirable.
Many winemakers choose to add a cultured yeast to achieve a
more controlled fermentation and to avoid stuck fermentations.
FERMENTATION
The goal in fermenting white wine is to preserve
the freshness and natural delicacy of fruit of
the grape.
To achieve this goal winemakers ferment
white wines at a much cooler temperature
than red wines:
50° to 65° vs. 75° to 85° in red wines.
STAINLESS STEEL
FERMENTATION
Many white wines are fermented in large
stainless steel tanks.
These tanks are often wrapped on the outside
with jackets filled with glycol, a cooling agent that
helps to control the fermentation temperature.
Fermenting in stainless steel captures all the
natural pure fruit flavors of the wine.
BARREL FERMENTATION
Some white wines, most notably Chardonnay, are
fermented in smaller 55–60 gallon oak barrels.
These barrels are filled only ¾ full so as to not
foam over.
In barrel fermentation the yeasts help to draw
out toasty vanilla notes from the wood. The
barrels also contribute a creamy texture to
the young wine.
Barrel fermentation is definitely not for delicate
white grape varieties such as Riesling.
BARREL AGING
Once the wine is cold
stabilized the winemaker
may choose to age the wine
further in oak barrels.
Oak aging can dramatically
alter the natural fruit flavors
of white wine. Thus whites
are aged for less time in oak
compared to red wines.
If white wine is aged too long
in wood it loses its natural fruit
and takes on too much wood character — and tannin.
REVIEW
You should now have a good
understanding of:
• Sparkling wine and Champagne styles
• Methods used to make white wines
RED & DESSERT
INTRODUCTION
For many, red wines are the greatest wines
created. In this module Part 1 is all about red
wines and how they are made.
Part 2 covers methods used to make different
kinds of dessert wines. We will also describe
processes and terms such as maceration,
botrytis, late-harvest, fortification and more.
MODULE OBJECTIVES
In this module you will learn:
• Methods used to make red wines
• Methods used to make different kinds of
dessert wines
• Processes and terms such as maceration,
botrytis, late-harvest, fortification, and more
PART
1
MAKING RED WINE
HARVEST
Red wine grapes are picked during the mid and later
stages of the harvest. In harvesting white grapes, the
major concern is preserving as much of the vibrant
fresh fruit flavors as possible. With red grapes longer
“hang time” on the vine is needed to mature the
flavors and tannins.
Red grapes are harvested only when the perfect
balance of ripe fruit and natural acidity is achieved —
and when the all important tannins, in the seeds and
grape skins, have matured.
CRUSH
Ripe bunches of grapes are
hand-harvested (or machine
harvested in many cases) and
placed in small plastic bins then
taken to the winery.
At the winery the grapes are placed on a sorting table
and any unripe or moldy grapes or leaves are removed.
The bunches of grapes then travel by conveyor belt to the
crusher-destemmer, pictured above.
As with white grapes, juice is obtained by placing whole
bunches of grapes into a crusher-destemmer, which
crushes the grapes and, as the name implies, removes
the stems.
ADDING YEAST
White & red grape must (“must” is the unfermented juice, skins
and seeds of grapes) will naturally ferment on its own vineyard
yeasts — the yeasts that develop naturally on the grapes in
the vineyard.
Vineyard yeast fermentation has been used throughout history
to make wine and is still used by many winemakers today.
As with white wines, a potential drawback to using vineyard
yeast fermentation is the unpredictability of the fermentation
due to many competing strains of yeast working at the same
time. One can also have stuck — or stopped — fermentations
leaving residual unfermented sugar which most the time is
not desired.
Many winemakers choose to add a cultured yeast to achieve a
more controlled fermentation and to avoid stuck fermentations.
TANNIN
Tannin, or tannic acid, is one of the most vital components of
red wine. Tannin is derived from the skins and seeds of the
grape as well as from the barrels that are often used to age
the wine.
Tannin is a valuable preservative that gives any red wine the
potential to age. It also provides the structure that gives red
wine balance. Too little tannin and the wine will lack character
and structure. However, too much tannin will render a wine
harsh, bitter, and undrinkable.
Various red wines have different levels of tannin. A Beaujolais
has low tannins while a young Cabernet Sauvignon may have
very high tannins.
Tannin tastes bitter and can have a gritty, or astringent,
sensation on the back of the tongue if present in high quantities.
FERMENTATION
Unlike white wine fermentation, the goal in fermenting red
wine is to extract color, flavors, and tannins from the pulp,
seeds (and sometimes stems), of the grapes.
To achieve these goals winemakers ferment red wines
at warmer temperatures than white wines; 75° to 85°
vs. 50° to 65°.
Most red wines are fermented in
temperature-controlled stainless
steel tanks. Some red wines
are fermented in large, upright
oak barrels.
THE CAP
As the must ferments, the carbon dioxide given off
forces the skins and pulp to form a mass on the top
which is called the cap.
The cap protects the fermenting must against
oxidation.
The cap will periodically be punched down or pumped
over the fermenting must to; increase color from the
skins, release captured carbon dioxide and prevent it
from drying out.
COLOR & MACERATION
Believe it or not, the juice of practically all red wine
grapes is clear! The color in red wine is derived
from the grape skins. Thus it is critical for the juice
to spend time in contact with the skins. This process
is called maceration.
Maceration, or skin-contact, takes place either
before fermentation starts or after fermentation
has been completed.
Maceration not only gives the wine color. It also
adds the all important tannins providing structure
and aging potential.
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION
After maceration the young red wine must be put
through malolactic fermentation (or ML) — the
bacterial process that converts the tart malic
acids to softer lactic acid.
White ML is a winemaking option for white wines,
all red wines must go through ML or else they
would be undrinkable.
PRESSING & PRESS WINE
After malolactic fermentation is complete the young
wine is drawn off the skins, seeds, and stems then
transferred into another container.
The remaining skins, seeds, and stems are then
pressed. The resulting “press wine” is quite tannic,
even astringent, and is kept separate from the from
the free-run wine.
A portion of the press wine is usually added back into
the free run wine to add tannin and structure to the
finished wine.
BARREL AGING
Racking is the term used for transfering wine from one
container to another.
Once the young red wine has been racked off the lees (dead
yeast cells) and pressed, it is usually transferred into oak
barrels to age.
Unlike white wine, oak-aging is desirable for most red wines.
Oak aging adds to the texture, tannic structure, and complexity
of the finished wine.
Red wines are aged between six and 24 months in oak. During
that time some evaporation will occur and the barrels must be
topped up to prevent oxidation and other problems. The young
red wine will also be occasionally racked off its sediment into a
new barrel to aerate it and prevent harmful compounds and off
aromas from forming.
FINING & FILTRATION
Fining and filtration are the last steps before the
young red wine is bottled.
Fining red wine is usually accomplished by adding
egg whites to the wine in barrel (six per barrel). The
egg whites clarify the wine by coagulating with the
grape solids as they drift to the bottom of the barrels.
The wine is then filtered for further clarity and to also
removed residual yeasts or any microbes that could
cause the wine to spoil.
BOTTLING
The final stage of the
winemaking process is
bottling. Before bottling the
winemaker may choose to
make a final blend.
Modern bottling lines are now universally used
to prevent oxidation in the wine and to ensure
consistency in the corking and labeling.
After bottling, some winemakers may choose to
further age the young red wine before release.
Et voilá! The finished product.
RED WINE MAKING REVIEW
Harvest
Pre-fermentation
Stemming  Crushing Settling Maceration
Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation  Pressing
Post-fermentation
Aging  Racking  Fining Filtering Bottling
PART
2
MAKING
DESSERT WINE
DESSERT WINES
Dessert wines generally fall into two
distinct categories:
• Late-Harvest Wines
• Fortified Wines
LATE HARVEST WINES
As the name implies, late-harvest dessert wines are
made from grapes left on the vines long after fruit for
the regular harvest has been picked.
Late-harvest grapes are very ripe and contain much
higher levels of grape sugar than grapes destined to
become dry table wines.
The key for the winemaker is to find the best quality
late-harvest grapes for their wine. And believe or not,
the best grapes for dessert wines may not always be
the prettiest!
GRAPES FOR
LATE HARVEST WINES
Though it is theoretically possible to make late-harvest
dessert wine out of any grape, not all of them work —
or even taste good.
White grapes generally do well for making late-harvest
dessert wines; however, certain red grapes work
as well.
Grapes commonly used for late-harvest wine:
•White grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Riesling,
Gewürztraminer, and Muscat
•Red grapes: Zinfandel, Grenache, Touriga Nacional,
and others
BOTRYTIS
A majority of the world’s best late- harvest
dessert wines are made from grapes affected
by botrytis (boe-try-tis).
Botrytis is a mold that develops under certain
conditions during autumn — foggy mornings
followed by warm sunny afternoons.
When botrytis forms in the vineyard the spores of the mold pierce
the grape skins dehydrating the grapes.
Botrytis then concentrates the grape sugars, decreases the overall
acidity, and changes flavors in a very delightful way.
However, botrytis does not develop uniformly and several trips
through the vineyard are required to complete harvest.
The process is very labor-intensive as the grapes must be picked
individually. Thus it is no surprise that botrytis dessert wines are some
of the most expensive to be found.
FORTIFIED DESSERT WINES
Fortified wines are the second major category of
dessert wines.
The term “fortified” means to make stronger, in
this case by the addition of neutral grape alcohol,
or brandy.
The brandy used to make fortified wines has an
alcohol content of approximately 77%, or 154-proof —
roughly twice the alcohol content of most hard liquor.
FORTIFIED WINE STYLES
Fortified wines are made in both dry and sweet styles.
Regardless of the level of dryness/sweetness, all fortified
wines are intensely flavored and contain between 15% to
20% alcohol.
Many fortified dessert wines are aged in oak before bottling.
Some wines, such as tawny ports, may spend decades in
oak, affecting their color, flavor, and texture.
Other fortified wines are bottled sweet without any oak
aging whatsoever.
Some fortified dessert wines have the potential to age
for decades (even centuries!) because of the magic
combination of high alcohol level, high residual sugar
content, and oxidative winemaking techniques.
WELL-KNOWN
FORTIFIED WINES
Port (Portugal), Sherry (Spain), and Madeira (Portuguese
island of Madeira) are the three most well-known fortified
wines. However, fortified wines are made throughout the
wine world.
Some sherries and Madeiras are dry and not considered
dessert wines. These dry wines are still considered
fortified wines.
In the case of sweet fortified wines, neutral grape spirits
are added to the must during fermentation killing the
yeasts, stopping the fermentation and leaving residual
sugar in the wine.
REVIEW
You should now have a good understanding of:
• Methods used to make red wines
• Methods used to make different kinds of
dessert wines
• Processes and terms such as maceration,
botrytis, late-harvest, fortification and more