How Wine Is Made

1. Grow grapes.
2. Pick the grapes.
3. Crush the grapes.
4. Collect the grape juice in a fermentation cask. In the cask, yeast transforms the sugar in the juice into alcohol through a process called fermentation.
5. Let the wine mature in casks for some length of time.
6. Age the wine in bottles.

How Good Wine Is Made

• Grape variety: The type of grape or grapes used to make a wine plays the largest role in determining the wine’s character. All grapes can be broken down into those that produce red wine and those that produce white wine. But there are differences among the grapes within these categories too: among reds, for instance, wine made from Pinot Noir grapes tastes different from wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
• Environment: The temperature, sunshine, humidity, rainfall, and soil in a particular region all affect a wine’s taste and character. Wines made with the same grape in different locations can taste quite different, as can wines made in the same location during different years (vintages). The particular environmental traits of a location are called its terroir.
• Cask material: Stainless steel casks are nonreactive, which allows the wine to keep its fruity flavor. Oak casks lessen the fruity flavor and impart an oaky or roasted nutty flavor along with a smoother texture.
• Aging time: Certain wines improve with aging in both the cask and the bottle. The ideal aging time varies from wine to wine. Wines improve with age until they reach a peak of quality and then decline.