And into the Bottle

The grape has moved from vine, to picking and sorting, to processing and made it to the fermentation process.
Last week, I described a process known as malolactic fermentation. While this process is most generally mentioned in connection with toasty or buttery Chardonnays (rather than the California standard with its high fruit and acidity), it is also used with reds.
Another process wine makers may choose to use in association with white wine is cold stabilization, a process where the wine maker chills the wine in tanks to just above freezing in order to prevent the forming of crystals also known as “wine stone” (Hugh Johnson’s Wine Companion). Though the crystals have no effect on flavor or the consumer, many customers will send back a bottle containing such sediment, and producers regularly choose to use the process.

Another important element of the wine making process is the barrel or vat. For years wine makers used oak vats with thick layers of tartrate crystals for fermenting bigger, bolder wines that could take on the oak barrels’ flavors because they were also oxidized longer.

There have also been arguments over which type of barrel is superior, but in the New World-America, Australia, etc.-where wine making is comparatively new and the market often looks at price point over heritage, the use of steel and oak for fermentation is split. Where the European market may often prefer barrels from specific coopers and regions just like the wines themselves, the cost is often exorbitant and the barrels hard to come by, especially in the United States. These barrels, while imparting some of their flavors into the wine, also give off that elusive element, the tannin.

Tannins are often described as minute parts of the barrel that are absorbed into the wine that they hold. While this is true, tannins are also present in the grapes own skin and stems themselves. Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and precipitate or shrink proteins. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and slightly tart feeling in the mouth following the consumption of red wine. As wine continues to age or cellar, the appearance of such tannins drops off and the wine often becomes quite smooth.

The last element of the wine making process that I want to explore is that of the cork. Quite a bit of press has been dedicated to discussing the issue of the cork. Wine makers are having a hard time finding good sources for cork as the amount of wine being produced over the world increases.

As a result, other options such as the screw top are gaining popularity. One reason for this shift from cork to metal is that over the past few years, an increased amount of wine is being contaminated by cork taint, leaving the wine tasting musty and dull. The culprit for this is trichloroanisole (TCA), a compound formed when chlorine used for bleaching reacts with mould already growing in the cork. Humans are incredibly sensitive to the compound and can detect it even at weak dilutions of six parts per trillion. While improved sterilization processes and a better quality of cork help, wine makers are wary and looking for outside options.

It should be noted, that one lesser reason is what many service industry professionals call the snob factor (and we all suffer from it at one time or another). The snob factor generally shows itself within the world of fine dining. People expect the ritual of the wine presentation-which includes the presentation of the cork. And just for clarification, cork generally smells like cork. Instead of smelling the cork, look at how far the wine saturated the cork and whether it was crumbling—these are better indications of whether or not the wine might be bad.

No matter how your wine is bottled or corked, remember—enjoy and be safe.