Wine: The Making & The Storage

Wine is made from two ingredients: yeast and grape juice. Though, any fruit can be used, like pineapple for tequila, but still grape dominated. Traditionally, the wine making process is to crush the grapes. Today, the wine maker used crusher machine to break the grape skin to release the juice.

Yeast turns grape juice into wine. Wild yeast spores in the air and all that is really needed to make wine is time and an open container of grape juice.

During fermentation, yeast spores will reproduce exponentially until all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed. During this fermentation process, the sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

The making process of wine is not simple and either the storage. Avoid bottles that have wine residue near the foil covering the cork. Cork was developed as a bottle closure in the late 17th century. It was only after this those bottles were laid down for aging, and the bottle shapes slowly changed from short and bulbous to tall and slender.

The wine may have been damaged by heat. Wine must be stored in a cool place and away from direct sunlight, with bottles on their sides to keep the cork moistened. Wine stays fine for several days if recorked and refrigerated.

Sparkling and white wines should be opened just prior to serving. Red wines can be opened well before serving to allow them for “breathing”, mix with air to develop their full aroma and flavor.

The screw cap on wine bottle seems to have a divisive effect on wine drinkers. It puts some in mind of lower quality wines. But to others, it is the savior of wine by protecting its quality. The screw cap wine has been used since the mid-1970s. In the last 10 years that it has become an acceptable alternatively to corks.

The alternatives are not cheaper than corks. The price that wine makers pay for them is similar to that of high grade corks. Lower grade corks have more grains in them and, depending on the way they are handled, have a great risk of mould infection.

Wines that are meant to be consumed within five years should be put under screw caps. The technology has improved and wine producers have become more aware of the downsides. The major one being that the seal is so good that the wine is not exposed to enough air. This can cause odd smells from trapped sulphur. If you encounter this, just let the wine breathe or better still, decant it.

Winemakers now take every effort to ensure their product is free of faults and they deserve a reliable closure. The issue is when it comes to store wine is that it needs to be maintained at a cool temperature of between 12 and 16 degrees Celcius. Several modern wines do not need to be aged over a great period of storage time.