Wine Wired Wine Wired Learn from my journey through wine education
  • FaceBook |
  • Twitter |
  • Subscribe to RSS     
  • Pairing Wine & Food
    • Classic Pairings
    • Tough Matches
    • Weighing Food and Wine
    • Wine and Food Deconstructed
  • About Us
  • Out of the Bottle
    • How Do I Taste ?
    • Vine To Bottle
      • Making a Red
      • Making a White
      • Making Bubbly
  • Wandering Vines
    • Red Wine Grapes
      • Barbera
      • Bonarda
      • Cabernet Franc
      • Cabernet Sauvignon
      • Carignan
      • Carmenere
      • Cinsault
      • Gamay
      • Grenache
      • Malbec
      • Merlot
      • Mourvedre
      • Nebbiolo
      • Petite Sirah
      • Petite Verdot
      • Pinot Noir
      • Pinotage
      • Sangiovese
      • Shiraz/Syrah
      • Tannat
      • Tempranillo
      • Zinfandel/Primativo
    • White Wine Grapes
      • Albariño
      • Chardonnay
      • Chenin Blanc
      • Clairette
      • GEWÜRZTRAMINER
      • GRÜNER VELTLINER
      • Marsanne
      • Muscadelle
      • Muscat
      • Pinot Blanc
      • Pinot Gris
      • Riesling
      • Roussanne
      • Sauvignon Blanc
      • Semillon
      • Torrontes
      • Trebianno (Ugni Blanc)
      • Verdelho
      • Viognier
    • Wine Regions
      • Argentina
        • Buenos Aires Province
        • Catamarca Province
        • La Rioja Province
        • Mendoza Province
        • Río Negro and Neuquén Province
        • Salta Province
        • San Juan Province
      • Australia
        • New South Wales
        • South Australia
          • Barossa Zone
          • Far North Zone
          • Fleurieu Zone
          • Limestone Coast Zone
          • Lower Murray Zone
          • Mount Lofty Ranges Zone
        • Victoria
        • Western Australia
      • Chile
        • Aconcagua
        • Atacama
        • Central Valley
        • Coquimbo
        • Southern Chile
      • France
        • Alsace
        • Bordeaux
        • Burgundy
        • Champagne
        • Loire Valley
        • The Rhône Valley
      • Germany
        • Ahr
        • Baden
        • Franken
        • Hessische Bergstraße
        • Mittelrhein
        • Mosel
        • Nahe
        • Pfalz
        • Rheingau
        • Rheinhessen
        • Saale-Unstrut
        • Saxony
        • Württemberg
      • Italy
        • Abruzzo
        • Aosta Valley (Valle D'Aosta)
        • Apulia (Puglia)
        • Basilicata
        • Calabria
        • Campania
        • Emilia-Romagna
        • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
        • Lazio
        • Liguria
        • Lombardy (Lombardia)
        • Marche (Le Marche)
        • Molise
        • Piedmont (Piemonte)
        • Sardinia (Sardegna)
        • Sicily (Sicilia)
        • Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
        • Tuscany (Toscana)
        • Umbria
        • Veneto
      • New Zealand
        • Auckland
        • Canterbury/Waipara Valley
        • Central Otago
        • Gisborne
        • Hawkes Bay
        • Marlborough
        • Nelson
        • Northland
        • Waikato/Bay of Plenty
        • Wellington/Wairarapa
      • South Africa
        • Breede River Valley
        • Constantia
        • Klein Karoo (Little Karoo)
        • Overberg
        • Paarl
        • Stellenbosch
      • Spain
        • Bierzo
        • Jerez
        • Navarra
        • Penedes
        • Priorato
        • Rias Baixas
        • Ribera del Duero
        • Rioja
      • United States
        • California
          • North Coast
            • Alexander Valley AVA
        • Oregon State
          • Snake River Valley AVA
          • Southern Oregon AVA
          • Willamette Valley AVA
            • Chehalem Mountains AVA
            • Dundee Hills AVA
            • Eola-Amity Hills AVA
            • McMinnville AVA
            • Ribbon Ridge AVA
            • Yamhill-Carlton District AVA
        • Washington State
          • Columbia Gorge
          • Columbia Valley
          • Horse Heaven Hills
          • Lake Chelan
          • Puget Sound
          • Rattlesnake Hills
          • Red Mountain
          • Snipes Mountain
          • Wahluke Slope
          • Walla Walla Valley
          • Yakima Valley
  • Wine Classes/Services

Making a Red

Differences in Making A Red:

  • Black grapes picked, destalked and crushed
  • The resultant mass of juice, skin, pips, etc are put into a vat to ferment
  • Fermentation begins about 20°C and allowed to rise to 32°C (warmer temps improve extraction of color and tannin)
  • Temperature control needed since fermentation ceases at 35-38°C
  • Often less SO2 used with red as compared to whites (higher tannins take over the antioxidant function the SO2 has)
  • As the fermentation occurs, CO2 is formed and causes the must solids to rise to the top of the tank creating a “must cap”
  • The cap must be mixed to keep optimal juice to skin contact and to prevent exposure to air (creating potential off odors and flavors due to microbial growth)
  • Color, flavors and tannins are extracted from the skins
  • When to pull off the juice and press the pomace depends upon the style of wine being made
  • The longer the extraction, the more color and tannins will be in the juice
  • To a large part, the tannin levels determine how long the wine will need to age before drinking
  • Extended maceration: continued skin contact beyond the point that alcoholic fermentation has ended : this produces desirable changes that make the wine more palatable at an early age but will not diminish the ability of the wine to improve with bottle aging
  • Fermentation takes 1-3 weeks –>maceration takes 6-12 days
  • Juice pressed and placed in vats or barrels (here it will undergo malolactic fermentation and ageing)
  • Malolactic fermentation in red wines is much more common than in white
  • Plays a more important role in development and complexity
  • Encouraged in cooler growing areas
  • Discouraged in warmer regions where wines have a natural lower acidity
  • During the early stages of aging, after fermentation, reds are exposed to air to help reduce off odors and to provide the necessary oxygen for normal aging

The Tasting Room

COMMING SOON !!

Link to Tasting Room Events (Page)

Pay Pal button to purchase ticket

Educational Classes, Guided Tastings, Wine Sales

 
DOWN

Beverage Articles

  • Languedoc new IGP changes
  • Interesting tech uses inside the barrel
  • Aromatics for Chemistry Geeks
  • Organic vineyard experiment in New Zealand
  • New Trapiche winery
  • Scotch Anyone…
  • Drink wine to fight a cold?
  • What makes Argentina great for viticulture?
  • Prosecco shortage or not ?
 
DOWN

WSET

  • Masters of Wine Masters of Wine
  • Wine and Spirits Education Trust Wine and Spirits Education Trust
 
DOWN

Bottle Talk Article

  • Drink Pink – October 2014
  • Thanksgiving wines – November 2014
  • Nostalgic Wines – December 2014
  • Budget Bordeaux – January 2015
  • Southwest France – Feb 2015
  • Loire Valley – March 2015
  • Italy's Piedmont – April 2015
  • Trendy Southern Rhone – May 2015
  • Pinot Noir – June 2015
  • Wines to Beat the Heat July 2015
 
DOWN

Micky Finns

WineWired

Recent Posts

  • More Wines from Morning News July 2015 Bottle Talk Article
  • Damilano Lecinquevigne Barolo
  • Dry Creek Valley AVA – Pedroncelli Cabernet Franc
  • BOTTLE TALK: Wine and Football
  • BOTTLE TALK: Chianti

Wine Wired

Email: dennis@winewired.com
PO Box 7624
Florence, SC 29502

© 2025 Wine Wired. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by Wordpress. Hosted by Florence Hosting