Do you want to make wine? Well, wine making as an art and a science may be broadly categorized as; red wine making, white wine making, champagne wine making and home wine making. The general procedure to make wine regardless of the type involves first procuring or harvesting grapes after a careful selection and scrutiny process. The grapes are then washed clean and compressed to produce raw juice. Yeast and sugar are added to create a mixture that is then left to ferment. After fermentation the mixture is stored in barrels or stainless steel containers and left to age.
The main distinction between the red wine making and white wine making processes is the amount of grape skin involved. For red wine the grapes are crushed with the skin on since the red color is drawn from the skin of the red grapes. For white wine the grape skin is removed before proceeding to crush the fruits for juice. Making champagne or sparkling wine on the other hand requires the use of sparkling grapes such as Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.
Today most people make wine as a drink to be enjoyed during social gatherings and major events overlooking the historical cultural significances that wine had among different communities. In ancient times wine was not only consumed for relaxation purposes but also was surrounded with a lot of mythologies taboos and beliefs especially amongst the Egyptians and the Roman Empire. Ancient Egyptians for example packed wine with mummies in tombs to accompany them to their next life.
It is important to note that the process involved to make wine is not standard. Depending on the desired outcome some of the steps may be modified or even omitted to suit the maker’s palate. As the science of making wine evolves, new methodologies continue to emerge with technology becoming more and more involved in the process to make it simpler and cheaper.
