Wine Production and Quality

Keith Grainger is a wine tutor and presenter. He was one of the founder members of the Association of Wine Educators. He is author of Grapewine - the first structured distance learning wine course. His previous books for Wiley are ‘Wine Production - Vine to Bottle' and ‘Wine Quality - Tasting and Selection, which won the Gourmand Award for Best Wine Education Book in the World. Hazel Tattersall runs wine courses, day schools and tutored tastings for professional and consumer groups. With a background in food and beverage education, and as an accredited WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) tutor, she offers tailor-made training for hotel and restaurant staff at all levels.

Preface, xv

Preface, xv

Acknowledgements, xvii

Part 1 Introduction to Part 1 – Wine Production, 1

Chapter 1 Viticulture – the basics, 5

1.1 The grape vine, 5

1.2 Grape varieties, 6

1.3 The structure of the grape berry, 7

1.3.1 Stalks, 7

1.3.2 Skins, 8

1.3.3 Yeasts, 9

1.3.4 Pulp, 9

1.3.5 Pips, 10

1.4 Crossings, hybrids, clonal and massal selection, 10

1.4.1 Crossings, 10

1.4.2 Hybrids, 11

1.4.3 Clones and massal selection, 11

1.5 Grafting, 11

1.6 Phylloxera vastatrix, 12

1.7 Rootstocks, 13

1.8 The life of the vine, 15

Chapter 2 Climate, 16

2.1 World climate classifications, 16

2.2 Climatic requirements of the grape vine, 17

2.2.1 Sunshine, 17

2.2.2 Warmth, 17

2.2.3 Cold winter, 17

2.2.4 Rainfall, 18

2.3 Climatic enemies of the grape vine, 18

2.3.1 Frost, 18

2.3.2 Hail, 19

2.3.3 Strong winds, 20

2.3.4 Excessive heat, 21

2.3.5 Drought, 21

2.4 Mesoclimate and microclimate, 22

2.4.1 Water, 22

2.4.2 Altitude, 22

2.4.3 Aspect, 22

2.4.4 Woods and trees, 23

2.5 The concept of degree days, 23

2.6 Impact of climate, 24

2.7 Weather, 25

2.8 Climate Change, 25

Chapter 3 Soil, 28

3.1 Soil requirements of the grape vine, 28

3.1. Good drainage, 31

3.1.2 Fertility, 31

3.1.3 Nutrients and minerals, 31

3.2 Influence of soils upon wine style and quality, 31

3.3 Soil types suitable for viticulture, 32

3.3.1 Limestone, 32

3.3.2 Chalk, 32

3.3.3 Clay, 32

3.3.4 Marl, 32

3.3.5 Granite, 33

3.3.6 Gravel, 33

3.3.7 Greywacke, 33

3.3.8 Sand, 33

3.3.9 Schist, 33

3.3.10 Slate, 33

3.3.11 Basalt and other volcanic soils, 34

3.4 Soil compatibility, 34

3.5 Terroir, 35

Chapter 4 The vineyard, 36

4.1 Vineyard location and site selection, 36

4.2 Density of planting of vines, 37

4.3 Training systems, 38

4.3.1 Main types of vine training, 38

4.3.2 Other training systems, 42

4.4 Pruning methods and canopy management, 42

4.4.1 Pruning methods, 45

4.4.2 Canopy management, 45

4.5 Irrigation, 45

4.6 The vineyard cycle and work in the vineyard, 47

4.6.1 Winter, 47

4.6.2 Spring, 48

4.6.3 Summer, 48

4.6.4 Autumn, 49

4.7 Grape]berry development, 50

Chapter 5 Pests and diseases, 51

5.1Important vineyard pests, 51

5.1.1Insects, mites and worms, 52

5.1.2Animals and birds, 53

5.2 Diseases, 54

5.2.1 Fungal diseases, 54

5.2.2 Bacterial diseases, 56

5.2.3 Virus diseases, 57

5.3 Prevention and treatments, 58

Chapter 6 Environmentally sensitive vineyard practices, 59

6.1 Conventional viticulture, 59

6.2 IPM, 60

6.3 Organic viticulture, 61

6.4 Biodynamic viticulture, 63

6.4.1 Rudolf Steiner, 65

6.4.2 Biodynamic preparations, 65

6.4.3 Certification, 67

6.5 Natural wine, 68

Chapter 7 The harvest, 69

7.1 Grape ripeness and the timing of picking, 69

7.2 Harvesting methods, 70

7.2.1 Hand picking, 70

7.2.2 Machine picking, 72

7.3 Style and quality, 74

Chapter 8 Vinification and winery design, 75

8.1 Basic principles of vinification, 75

8.2 Winery location and design, 76

8.3 Winery equipment, 78

8.3.1 Fermentation vats, 78

Chapter 9 Red winemaking, 82

9.1 Sorting, destemming and crushing, 82

9.2 Must analysis, 83

9.3 Must preparation, 84

9.3.1 Sulfur dioxide (SO2), 84

9.3.2 Must enrichment (chaptalisation), 84

9.3.3 Acidification, 85

9.3.4 De]acidification, 85

9.3.5 Yeast, 85

9.3.6 Yeast nutrients, 85

9.3.7 Tannin, 86

9.4 Fermentation, temperature control and extraction, 86

9.4.1 Fermentation, 86

9.4.2 Temperature control, 86

9.4.3 Extraction, 87

9.4.4 Fermentation monitoring, 88

9.5 Maceration, 89

9.6 Racking, 89

9.7 Pressing, 89

9.8 Malolactic fermentation, 90

9.9 Blending, 90

9.10 Maturation, 90

Chapter 10 Dry white winemaking, 92

10.1 Crushing and pressing, 92

10.1.1 Crushing, 92

10.1.2 Pressing, 93

10.2 Must preparation, 93

10.3 Fermentation, 93

10.4 MLF, 94

10.5 Lees ageing, 94

10.6 Maturation, 95

Chapter 11 Red and white winemaking – detailed processes, 96

11.1 Must concentration, 96

11.1.1 Must concentrators and reverse osmosis, 96

11.1.2 Cryoextraction, 98

11.2 Methods of extraction, 98

11.2.1 Cold soaking (pre]fermentation maceration), 98

11.2.2 Pump overs – remontage, 98

11.2.3 Rack and return (délestage), 99

11.2.4 Punching down – pigeage, 100

11.2.5 Rotary vinifiers, 100

11.2.6 Thermo]vinification – heat extraction, 100

11.2.7 Flash détente, 100

11.2.8 Whole grape fermentation, carbonic and semi]carbonic maceration, 101

11.2.9 Fixing colour, 101

11.2.10 Post]fermentation maceration, 101

11.3 Macro], micro] and hyper]oxygenation, 101

11.3.1 Hyper]oxygenation, 102

11.3.2 Macro]oxygenation, 102

11.3.3 Micro]oxygenation, 103

11.4 Removal of excess alcohol, 103

11.5 The choice of natural or cultured yeasts, 103

11.6 De]stemming, 104

11.7 Fermenting high]density musts to dryness, 105

11.8 Wine presses and pressing, 105

11.8.1 Continuous press, 105

11.8.2 Batch press, 106

11.8.3 Horizontal plate press, 106

11.8.4 Horizontal pneumatic press, 106

11.8.5 Vertical basket press, 107

11.9 Technology and the return to tradition, 109

Chapter 12 Barrel maturation and oak treatments, 110

12.1 History of barrel usage, 110

12.2 Oak and oaking, 111

12.3 The influence of the barrel, 111

12.3.1 Size of the barrel, 112

12.3.2 Type and origin of oak (or other wood), 112

12.3.3 Manufacturing techniques including toasting, 113

12.3.4 Stave thickness, 113

12.3.5 Amount of time spent in barrel, 113

12.3.6 Where barrels are stored, 114

12.4 Oak treatments, 115

Chapter 13 Preparing wine for bottling, 116

13.1 Fining, 116

13.2 Filtration, 117

13.2.1 Traditional methods in common use, 117

13.2.2 Sheet filtration (sometimes called plate filtration), 119

13.2.3 Membrane filtration and other methods of achieving biological stability, 120

13.3 Stabilisation, 121

13.4 Adjustment of sulfur dioxide levels, 123

13.5 Choice of bottle closures, 123

Chapter 14 Making other types of still wine, 126

14.1 Medium]sweet and sweet wines, 126

14.1.1 Medium]sweet wines, 127

14.1.2 Sweet wines, 127

14.2 Rosé wines, 130

14.2.1 Blending, 130

14.2.2 Skin contact, 130

14.2.3 Saignée, 131

14.3 Fortified (liqueur) wines, 131

14.3.1 Sherry production, 131

14.3.2 Port production, 133

14.3.3 Other well]known fortified wines, 134

Chapter 15 Sparkling wines, 136

15.1 Fermentation in a sealed tank, 136

15.2 Second fermentation in bottle, 137

15.3 Traditional method, 138

15.3.1 Pressing, 138

15.3.2 Débourbage, 138

15.3.3 First fermentation, 138

15.3.4 Assemblage, 139

15.3.5 Addition of liqueur de tirage, 139

15.3.6 Second fermentation, 139

15.3.7 Maturation, 139

15.3.8 Rémuage, 140

15.3.9 Stacking sur pointes, 141

15.3.10 Dégorgement, 141

15.3.11 Dosage (liqueur d’expedition), 142

15.3.12 Corking and finishing, 142

15.4 Styles, 142

Part 2 Introduction to part 2 – wine quality, 143

Chapter 16 wine Tasting, 147

16.1 Wine tasting and laboratory analysis, 148

16.2 What makes a good wine taster?, 149

16.3 Where and when to taste – suitable conditions, 150

16.4 Appropriate equipment, 151

16.4.1 Tasting glasses, 151

16.4.2 Water, 155

16.4.3 Spittoons, 155

16.4.4 Tasting sheets, 156

16.4.5 Use of tasting software, 156

16.4.6 Tasting mats, 157

16.5 Tasting order, 158

16.6 Temperature of wines for tasting, 159

16.7 Tasting for specific purposes, 159

16.8 Structured tasting technique, 160

16.8.1 Appearance, 160

16.8.2 Nose, 161

16.8.3 Palate, 161

16.8.4 Conclusions, 162

16.9 The importance of keeping notes, 163

Chapter 17 Appearance, 164

17.1 Clarity and brightness, 164

17.2 Intensity, 165

17.3 Colour, 167

17.3.1 White wines, 167

17.3.2 Rosé wines, 167

17.3.3 Red wines, 168

17.3.4 Rim/core, 170

17.4 Other observations, 171

17.4.1 Bubbles, 171

17.4.2 Legs, 172

17.4.3 Deposits, 173

Chapter 18 Nose, 175

18.1 Condition, 176

18.2 Intensity, 176

18.3 Development, 176

18.3.1 Primary aromas, 177

18.3.2 Secondary aromas, 177

18.3.3 Tertiary aromas, 177

18.4 Aroma characteristics, 178

Chapter 19 Palate, 181

19.1 Sweetness/bitterness/acidity/saltiness/umami, 182

19.2 Dryness/sweetness, 182

19.3 Acidity, 184

19.4 Tannin, 184

19.5 Alcohol, 186

19.6 Body, 187

19.7 Flavour intensity, 187

19.8 Flavour characteristics, 188

19.9 Other observations, 188

19.10 Finish, 191

Chapter 20 Tasting conclusions, 192

20.1 Assessment of quality, 192

20.1.1 Quality level, 192

20.1.2 Reasons for assessment of quality, 192

20.2 Assessment of readiness for drinking/potential for ageing, 193

20.2.1 Level of readiness for drinking/potential for ageing, 194

20.2.2 Reasons for assessment, 195

20.3 The wine in context, 195

20.3.1 Origins/variety/theme, 195

20.3.2 Price category, 195

20.4 Grading wine – the award of points, 196

20.4.1 Grading on a 20]point scale, 197

20.4.2 Grading on a 100]point scale, 197

20.5 Blind tasting, 198

20.5.1 Why taste blind?, 198

20.5.2 Blind or sighted?, 199

20.5.3 Tasting for quality, 199

20.5.4 Practicalities, 199

20.5.5 Examination tastings, 199

Chapter 21 Wine faults and flaws, 201

21.1 Chloroanisoles and bromoanisoles, 202

21.2 Fermentation in the bottle and bacterial spoilage, 203

21.3 Protein haze, 204

21.4 Oxidation, 204

21.5 Excessive volatile acidity, 205

21.6 Excessive sulfur dioxide, 205

21.7 Reductivity, 206

21.8 Brettanomyces, 207

21.9 Dekkera, 208

21.10 Geraniol, 208

21.11 Geosmin, 208

21.12 Ethyl acetate, 208

21.13 Excessive acetaldehyde, 209

21.14 Candida acetaldehyde, 209

21.15 Smoke taint, 209

Chapter 22 Quality – assurances and guarantees, 210

22.1 Compliance with PDO and PGI legislation as an assurance of quality?, 210

22.1.1 The EU and third countries, 210

22.1.2 PDO, PGI and wine, 211

22.1.3 The concept of AOP (AC), 213

22.2 Tasting competitions and critical scores as an assessment of quality?, 215

22.3 Classifications as an official assessment of quality?, 216

22.4 ISO 9001 certification as an assurance of quality?, 218

22.5 Established brands as a guarantee of quality?, 219

22.6 Price as an indication of quality?, 221

Chapter 23 The natural factors and a sense of place, 223

23.1 Conceptual styles, 223

23.2 Typicity and regionality, 224

23.3 The impact of climate upon quality wine production, 225

23.4 The role of soils, 226

23.5 Terroir, 226

23.6 The Vintage factor, 231

Chapter 24 Constraints upon quality wine production, 233

24.1 Financial, 233

24.1.1 Financial constraints upon the grower, 234

24.1.2 Financial constraints upon the winemaker, 236

24.2 Skills and diligence, 238

24.3 Legal, 240

24.4 Environmental, 240

Chapter 25 Production of quality wines, 242

25.1 Yield in vineyard, 242

25.2 Density of planting, 243

25.3 Age of vines, 244

25.4 Winter pruning and vine balance, 245

25.5 Stressing the vines, vine and nutrient balance., 246

25.6 Green harvesting, 248

25.7 Harvesting, 248

25.7.1 Mechanical harvesting, 249

25.7.2 Hand picking, 249

25.8 Delivery of fruit, 250

25.9 Selection and sorting, 250

25.10 Use of pumps/gravity, 251

25.11 Control of fermentations and choice of fermentation vessel, 254

25.12 Use of gases, 256

25.13 Barrels, 257

25.14 Selection from vats or barrels, 258

25.15 Storage, 259

Chapter 26 Selection by buyers, 260

26.1 Supermarket dominance, 262

26.2 Price point/margin, 263

26.3 Selecting wines for market and customer base, 264

26.4 Styles and individuality, 264

26.5 Continuity, 265

26.6 The place of individual wines in the range, 267

26.7 Exclusivity, 267

26.8 Specification, 267

26.9 Technical analysis, 268

Appendix WSET Diploma Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®, 271

Glossary, 273

Bibliography, 285

Useful websites, 288

Wine and vineyard & winery equipment exhibitions, 291

Index, 000