|
|
rrenc ntres.freesrevers.com |
Visit www.WineDevelopment.com fine Wines of France | ||
| Wine: history and tradition | |||
|
3Mi création Web | Home | |
|
What wine? Wine is the alcoholic liquor obtained by fermentation of the grape juice. There are an infinite number of varieties differing by color, taste and force, although containing generally the same constituent principles, but in various proportions. The qualities, that distinguished them, came both from the diversity of the type of wine considered, and from a lot of other circumstances such as climate, nature of the ground, mode of culture, depending on their influence upon the formation and the maturity of the fruit as well. Most of the substances contained in the wine preexist in the juice of the grape. Others like alcohol and esters are the result of fermentation. Their proportions and harmonies of these 2 elements which to a great extent are a result of a sound know-how, are what gives its particular taste, to each kind of wine. The main constituant element of a wine is water, of course. A good red wine contains 878 shares for 1000 of water. Alcohol, which comes after, gives the wine its intoxicating property.The more it contains alcohol, the more the wine is known to be hot and generous. 5 to 18% alcohol may be found in a natural wine. As regards the France's wines; this proportion can start from 12 to 15% in Burgundy to 11 with 13% in the wines of Bordeaux The wine from Rousillon may contain 16 to 18 % of alcohol. Some Sapanish and Portugal wines may be higher in alcohol content (up to 18 or 22 %), but this comes from the habit of adding some alcohol some alcohol to them. |
||||||||
| Red Wines and white Wines. Red wine color come from a blue matter within a must that free
acids in it turn into a red colour. This blue matter itself originates from a yellow one,
which owes its color to both hight and air oxygen effects. The proportions of these two principles are thus, the explanation of so various colours in wines. It's by letting much ferment more or less longer, you proportion the color of the wine. In fact, the red grape will produce white wine provided that the juice is tapped as soon as the grape is crushed preventing it to ferment on its marc; the coloring matter which is on the external film dissolves only after the formation of alcohol. The tannin, which gives its roughness to the wine, is found in the peduncle, the film and the pips of the grape. It confers to the wine, which is well charged with it, the property to be preserved and improved by aging. That is the case of Bordeaux wines (Clarets). Acetic, malic acids and tartar will give greenness to the wine. The tartar settling little by little at the bottom of the barrels and bottles alike, which is why wines improve in quality by getting older. By so doing, the wine will also los part of its coloring matter by taking this particular hue calles"onion skin". the esters and their relative proportions will confer to the wine its perfume or bouquet. The great quantity of carbonic acid released by sparkling wines, is the chemical processed product of sugar by leavens present in it, which has already allowed the production of alcohol. In fact the same type of grapes will produce red or white wine.One will also speak of astringent, alcoholic, sparkling, acid, complete wines, depending of the more or less presence of such ingredients or the other. Wine traditional manufacture Back to Top Some progress has been made.Today, great breakthroughs everywhere and in all the fields relating to wine manufacture have been made namely:the type of vines' choice according to the ground and sunshine periods, the size of the vine, the good care you give them, the wine making itself, various handlings of the finished product, its transport and conservation, let alone moving it and serving it ina wine tasting glass. All the foregoing has been the object of many studies and observations. The discoveries thus made, tested and refined by experiment, are jealously protected in their details and practices. What in any case id known to have always given wines their good testes qualities, is the traditional wine making process, that also keeps its skill and knacks very secret as well. Vinification Here are its different stages: An observation and a simple principle If you keep a bunch of grape suspended, you will see it drying out little by little. If on the contrar, you puncture the grain's envelope, the property of the juice changes at once, and an alcoholic fermentation immediately starts. This is because the leaven present on the ripe fruit film causes the juice to bring about the fermentation phenomenon of .Louis Pasteur was the first to explain the mystery that surrounded this age-old process. The leaven involved is Sacharomyces cerevicsiae. It reacts with natural sugars, glucose and fructose present in the juice. Pressing Currently mechanized so the first operation is pressing. Traditionally, this pressing was done by literally pressing the bunches in the tank.For the red wines of quality the operation of picking off is practiced; it consists in separating the grapes from its woody stalk in order to avoid communicating a too important astringency to the wine. This operation is bad to white wines. 1' Fermentation Back to Top It starts at oncewhen the temperature is lower than 15°. with the formation of small bubbles, which occur in the mass and come to burst on the surface. You alo observe a rise in the temperature within the tank's center and in its whole content as well. If this temperature rises too much, it is necessary to sprinkle the tank in order to avoid the leaven destruction . The carbonic acid is released in abundance, causing a kind of boiling in the tank. The solid remains and the spolt leavens come on the surface, forming a hemispherical crust; That is the Cap. Then effervescence decreases, causing the cap to subside. With a special pole, the crust will be punctured and tank's bottom moved so as mix all the ingredients and get fermentation revived. When finally the boiling has ceased, it is said that the must does not boil anymore. The Wine is made When the must no longer boils, the liquid has already lost its softness to a vinous savour now. This process may require six or seven hours for some wines whereas other wines will require up to 9 hours in the tank. Racking. The wine is now tapped and poured into barrels and put in cellars with the favorable climate :neither too dryness, nor too wet. Films and grapes are collected and put in the press to extract the residual juice from them. The first pressing gives a wine considered a good one and mixed with the first batch. While sprinkling with water what remains in the press, a 2nd pressing gives a very common wine. 2nd Fermentation. The cloudy wine which is into the barrels, must undergo a second fermentation. The wines now improves in quality while getting rid of the remains of sugar left by the 1° fermentation; a process that can last fifteen days. The wine grower must see to have his open barrels always full of wine in order to allow all residues re-installed by scum to be evacuated. This is called "the Ullage of the barrel". This fermentation is being supervised and calmed down in eight days without aging. The barrels are finally stoppedwith a "hydraulic plug" which will allow carbon dioxide to escape frely. It is a bung with a hole and provided with a light ball acting as a valve. When the wine is cleared up, the remains drop down the bottom, you've got the dregs. Now, you've got to tap the wine.
|
|||||||||
| Back to Top | |||||||||
It refreshes the lovers and excites the man of war. A
drink of life or a drink of death. With or without reasons, and sometimes
unreasonably, wine is lovred by certain people and cursed by others. It does not
leave anybody indifferent.
