You may enjoy it often, but do you know how red wine is made? By what magic do those grapes give birth to a beverage whose aromas are so varied?
Red wine is produced from black grapes. The winemaker will select mature black grapes and release the juice by crushing them (pressing the grapes). But at this stage, the grape juice has not yet become wine!
In this article we will focus on dry red wine for not being scattered. Indeed, for the sweet red wine like Banyuls, the techniques are very different. We will address this topic in an other article.
Fermentation
After pressing the grapes and obtaining the must (unfermented grape juice), the winemaker sets this must aside while it then produces alcohol. The yeasts, naturally present in grapes, will transform the grape sugar into alcohol. The hotter regions often produce sweeter grapes. Therefore, the wines made from such grapes will generally be higher in alcohol. This chemical process, called alcoholic fermentation, lasts 4 to 10 days.
Maceration
To produce red wine, to make the wine red, the winemaker leaves the skins of red grapes in contact with the extracted juice. The skin contains natural colorings and tannins. It is these elements that will give red wine its color, body and aroma. If the grower does not leave the skins of red grapes in contact with the juice, they will obtain not red wine but white wine! This is the method used by the Soutiran vineyard for its Perle Noire (Black Pearl) vintage Champagne. This champagne is white, but it is nevertheless 100% made from black grapes (pinot noir). Also by changing the time of maceration, the winemaker can get different types of red wines. If the winemaker wants to get a light red wine, he opts for a period of several days of maceration. On the other hand, if he wants a red wine that can be kept (a wine that will age and improve over time); he then opts for a period of maceration of up to four weeks. To end the maceration, the winemaker separates the liquid from the solid, that is to say the marc that is made up of seeds, skins, etc...
The winemaker then lets the liquid drain from the tank, thus receiving the "vin de goutte" (free-run juice). Then he presses the solid part (the marc) and gets the "vin de presse" (pressed juice), which is a juice that is much fully colored and rich in tannins than free-run wine.
The free-run juice and pressed juice thus obtained, the winemaker usually leaves these two wines separate so that they undergo a second fermentation: this is known as malolactic fermentation. During malolactic fermentation, malic acid is transformed into lactic acid by a natural chemical process, which lowers the acidity, thus making the wine smoother and giving it more stability.
When the maceration and the two fermentations are completed, the wines are aged in tanks or barrels. This operation is used to age the wine, develop its flavor and remove impurities. The winemaker then carries out the process of fining (which involves adding an adjuvant to wine to make it clearer and refine its taste), then decanting (which separates the wine from its deposits). Finally, the free-run juices and pressed juices are assembled, sometimes filtered and bottled. The red wine bottle is ready to be drunk or to spend long years in a wine cellar to reveal its full potential.
There are many types of red wine brands in China, some are produced in the country, many are imported. Of course you can find the Grand crus like Château Lafiite-Rotschild, Château Latour, etc… or very famous and expensive wines like Petrus or Romanée-Conti. But Le Baron try to offer more than famous wines. We have selected some very exclusive French red wines, sometimes produced in such small quantities that they are only well-known by connoisseur. If you want to purchase vintage red wine or very specific wines like pink Champagne “rosé de saignée” or Banyuls, if you want to discover the French vineyards we represent or read our magazine online, join us at lebaronwine.cn and you will discover the most exclusive red wine online in Beijing.