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Tips and Advice On Red Wine

Tips and Advice On White Wine

An Overview of Wine Making

1 - Cleaning
Make sure all fermentation, storage containers and equipment are clean and sterile. Products like oxyper are used for cleaning, while proxitane or SMS/Citric Acid are used for sterilization.

2 - Destemming & Crushing
Stems are separated from the berries, and skins are broken to release the juice. It is important stems are separated as these impart “green & sappy” characters in the wine. Therefore the purchase of a Crusher/Destemer is important.

3 - Determining the Sugar & Acidity of the Juice
Sugar can be measured with a hydrometer in various scales, and the acidity of the juice by pH meter or paper (paper being used for white wines only). This needs to measured prior to and at the end of the fermentation.

4 - Fermentation
The addition of Lalvin cultured yeasts facilitates a clean, consistent and complete fermentation. These yeasts converts the sugar into alcohol, a process which generally takes one week for red wines and up to 3 weeks for white wines. Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), is added a yeast nutrient to the crushed grapes. This importantly provides Nitrogen for the yeast which is important for complete fermentations and reducing the incidences of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S or rotten egg smell). For red wines, MLF bacteria needs to be added at the end of the yeast fermentation. This secondary fermentation is needed to soften the wine by reducing the acid, and must be completed prior to bottling.

5 - Pressing
Skins & seeds are separated from the juice. For White grapes this is processed prior to fermentation. For Red grapes this occurs at the end of fermentation.

6 - Racking from the Lees
After fermentation the dead yeast and other solids settle to the bottom of the vessel forming a sediment. Subsequently the clean juice is transferred out, but without disturbing the sediment.

7 - Adding Sulphur Dioxide
Sulphur Dioxide (preservative 220), SMS or PMS are the common forms, are added at various stages of the winemaking process. Sulphur is added at crushing for red wines only if the grapes are mouldy or wild fermentation is wanted. For white wines sulphur is added to protect the juice while settling occurs. After the Fermentations, at each Racking process and prior to Bottling, sulphur is added to help prevent against oxidation and fight against bacteria and other microorganisms.

8 - Aging & Clarification
Aging for red and some white wines should occur in oak barrels (either French or American). Aging in barrels not only provides an oak taste in the wine, but also infuses slow and small amounts of oxygen into the wine which softens and matures the wine. Aging in S/Steel tanks with oak chips or staves does not replicate this process.

Clarification by finning or filtration is best done after the aging process and is undertaken by almost all commercial wineries.

9 - Bottling
Prior to bottling clarification and fermentations should be complete. A final addition of sulphur should also be completed to minimize any oxidation. For white wines injection of inert gas into the bottles or the bottle filler should be considered to help minimize oxygen contact.

Relevant Technical Data

Sugar, pH & Acidity levels to aim for freshly crushed grapes.

Alcohol, pH & Acidity levels to aim for on a finished wine.

Chemicals to be used per 200 kg grapes or 140Lts of wine

Tartaric Acid
400 – 800grams (depending on pH reading)
with a pH reading of 4.0 add 330grams,
with a pH reading of 3.6 add 110 grams

Lalvin Cultured Yeast
50 grams (different strains available for red and white wines)

DAP (Yeast Nutrient)
30 grams should be added prior to the ferment and another 30 grams added again 3 days later.

PMS
15 grams

Bentonite
100-150 grams (used as a clarifying agent for white wines.)

For Cleaning and Sterilizing of Fermentation Equipment
Oxyper (cleaning) 7 grams per 1 litre of Hot water. Apply 2 Rinses after use.
SMS & Citric Acid 1 gram of SMS & ½ gram of Citric Acid per litre of water.
Rinse once after use.