Jessica Weber

CBE 555
Spring 2008

Background Information
Stages of production
White vs. Red

Reactions
Role of Acids/controlling pH

Quality
Problems that arise
Next Steps
Questions

enology also oenology (-nl'-j)

n. The study of wine and the making of wine;

viticulture.
Wine Production Categories
Still Wine Production (without carbonation)
Alcohol concentration is about 7-14%
Sparkling Wine Production (with carbonation)
Use grapes with a lower sugar level
Fortified Wines (higher alcohol concentration)
Alcohol concentration is about 14-30%

Wisconsin produced 375064 tons in 2004

accounted for .1% of total production in US.

U.S. yearly per capita consumption of wine is
12 liters, up from 10.6 liters in 2000

 Harvest
There are over 4000 varieties of grapes used in the

production of wine.
Grapes are usually harvested from early September to the
beginning of November.

Grape Selection/Processing
Grapes must be treated with 50-75 ppm of free sulfur dioxide.
Sulfating is done to remove unwanted bacteria before the next
step of the process.
Equipment must also be sanitized. This is usually done with an
O2 based caustic solution, water, and then a anti-bacterial
sulfite solution. Finally another water rinse.
Approximately 10 gallons of quality water are used for
every gallon of wine.

White
When processing grapes for White wine, after the
cleaning process they are immediately pressed and
the juice is sent to the tanks (by pump or gravity fed).

Historical Press

 As the pressure of the machine increases so does the

amount of tannin pressed from the skins.

Usually the pressure is kept between zero and 2 bar.

Modern Day Press

White
Fermentation temperature is usually about 1518C
Sweet wine are made by leaving some residual
sugar after fermentation
This is done by:
Harvesting later
Freezing the grapes to increase the sugar

concentration
Killing the yeast before fermentation is complete

Red
Grapes are usually crushed with all parts together and they
then go straight to fermentation
The skin and seeds are important to pass on tannins and the

bitter taste unique to red wine this mixture is called must

Fermentation process is usually quicker for red wines
This is because red wines can be fermented at a higher

temperature due to the nutrients it contains.

Fermentation temperature is usually 22-25C

Grape Crusher

Red
The fermentation process for Red wine is initially
open to the air
After the must is transferred to the fermentation

tanks a cap is formed which prevents air from

reaching the juice
The cap is created by the solids that are pushed to the

top due to the carbon dioxide production

This cap is kept in contact with the juice as much as

possible in an effort to retain the color and tannins

This is done by punching the cap down manually or by

pumping the cap over mechanically

This process is done approximately twice a day

Once the juice has been transferred to the

fermentation tanks, the yeast is added and the

oxygen is removed.
By removing the oxygen from the tanks, the

oxidation process is halted, which helps prevent any

bacteria growth.
Yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the species of yeast

used in the fermentation process.

This yeast species has been acclimated to the effects of

the free sulfur dioxide.

Other species of yeast are intially present on the

grapes, however are killed in the cleaning process

Differences among fermentation processes

Storage tank type

Some white wines will use wooden barrels to introduce

a flavor into the wine
Conventional tanks are made of stainless steel
Tank sizes can vary considerably, however commonly
are 300 to 1200 gallons

Fermentation Tanks

 Length of process
The fermentation process usually lasts 10-30
days.

For red wines the process is shorter than for white wines

Temperature
Fermentation is an exothermic process, so
temperature control is important

Temperature is kept as close to 25 C as possible to keep

the yeast in a good environment.

The aging process begins when fermentation

is complete
The aging period is not a necessary step in wine

production, however it could last years if

desired.
Aging is most commonly done in red wines
After the aging process is complete the wine is

filtered and sent to be bottled

Many processes use cold filtration to remove as

much sediment as possible

Temperatures are reduced to close approximately

-3C for 1-2 weeks

Often if this is not done and wines are stored cold,
settling can occur in the bottle consisting of
potassium acid tartrate
Also if the wine (White wines) is unstable it needs

to be heat stabilized before the bottling process

This instability happens when certain proteins are

present
Removed in the heat stabilization process by adsorption

to bentonite

After the cold filtration and stabilization

processes the wine passes through large

filters to separate dead cells and other
sediments
Made from: cellulose, paper
Can use a gravity filter however this is a slow

process and the wine is exposed to air which

induces the oxidation process
Wine then passes through smaller filters to

remove and residual sediments

Usually a membrane filter

Membrane filtration system

 Right before bottling a small amount of sulfite is added to help

preserve the wine and prevent further fermentation

Bottles are sealed using a cork, the air in the head space is
removed immediately before inserting the cork
Heat shrink capsule is then fitted over the cork

Storage
Bottles should be stored upright for about 3 days and then at
an angle or on their side in order to keep the cork wet
If the cork is not kept wet it can introduce air through the tiny

holes which can introduce oxidation/bacteria into the wine

Also the percent humidity can affect the performance of the cork
About 60% humidity it desired

Some wineries are switching to screw caps or synthetic corks

in order to avoid this effect

 Also bottles should be kept out of direct sunlight

As a precaution some wines affected by

sunlight are bottled in colored glass

Sunlight exposure causes oxidation and the
breakdown of wine
The optimal storage temperature for red and

white wines is about 55F

Fermentation Process:
C6H12O6 + yeast
2C2H4OH + 2CO2
The alcohol solution that results from

fermentation contains about 12%-15% ethanol.

This correlates to the conditions that yeast cells can

survive in, higher concentrations of ethanol will kill

the yeast.
For every gram of sugar that is converted about

a half gram of alcohol is produced.

To achieve 12% alcohol concentration, starting

material must contain about 24% sugars.

 Malo-lactic fermentation (secondary fermentation)

Malic acid is converted into lactic acid and carbon dioxide
Changes the flavor of the wine from crisp to creamy

buttery as well as reducing the amount of acidity

(increases pH from .3-.5 units)
This can be introduced or happen naturally and
monitored by testing with paper chromatography.
Controlling the pH (best around 3.0-3.5)
High pH results in less flavor production in the wine
To lower pH, tartaric acid is added at the beginning of the
fermentation process.
Oxidation Reactions
Acetobactor bacteria will react with the oxygen to convert the
wine into vinegar.

The quality of the wine is determined by the

grapes and other starting material used

Quality is also affected by the weather during
the growing season, the soil and the way they
are pruned.
Process
Mechanical harvesting is usually

used for less quality wines

Clarification, stabilization, and
aging also contribute to the quality

During fermentation the most harmful

bacteria that can grow is of the genus

Acetobacter.
However, this bacteria is sensitive to the free

sulfur dioxide, which is why the cleaning

process is important.
Burnt match smell
SO2 levels are greater than 40 ppm
Overly sweet wine
Fermentation can be restarted to convert the

residual sugar into alcohol

 Hazy Colored wine can result from using iron,

copper, zinc, or aluminum in the fermentation tanks

If it resulted from iron or copper a few drops of
citric acid will remove the haze
Filtering can also be done to remove the haze
although this will also remove some of the taste
Fining can also be used to reduce the cloudiness
of wine
A fining agent is one that posses a charge (+ or -)

which can remove cloudiness with the opposite charge.

Most commonly Gelatin (+), other agents include
animal/fish products, bulls blood, PVPP (a dairy
derivative protein) and skim milk powder.

University of California Davis

Use DNA fingerprinting to determine which grapes

have resulted from cross pollination.

Also used to introduce new varieties of grapes

Red Wine Headache

Allergic reaction?
1% of the population could be allergic to sulfites
Although many sweet white wines contain more sulfites than

most red wines, yet it is still called the red wine headache.
Some this it is a reaction to tannin levels; experiments

show that tannins cause the release of serotonin, a

neurotransmitter. High levels of serotonin can cause
headaches.

Is wine good for you?

Studies have been done to show that wine

drinkers are less prone to heart disease, cancer

and other diseases
This could be a result of the antioxidant resveratrol

which may reduce cholesterol and the risk of

Alzheimers disease.
However this antioxidant can also be found in other
foods, avoiding the harmful effects of alcohol.

The study of wine is becoming so popular that

you can now get a Bachelor of Science degree

in oenology.

Thank You

What is used to cool the fermentation tanks during

cold filtration?
Wines are aged in wooden barrels
How are they kept air tight?
How do you reduce the amount lost from soaking into

the wood?
What are the differences in size of filters between

the cellulose pad filters and membrane filters?

In 426 we learned about different ways of making
wine of which included distillation and crystallization
processes. Where would these come into play?
For removing alcohol in sparking wine?

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[Link]

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