Red Red Wine You Make Me Feel So Fine

Wine making is a complex process that requires careful attention to detail in order to create the best product. Everything down to the location of each grape must be taken into consideration when making a good wine. When Natalie worked at the Brolio vineyard last year, she was able to experience each step of the process and see how various wines are manufactured.
The process begins with sampling of the grapes. The experienced wine producers choose which vineyard to pick from at what time, based on what has worked best in the past. The rows of grapes that are picked are also chosen strategically, as well as which grapes in the bunch will be used. The grapes in the center of the bunch are generally most suitable for wine making. Once the grapes are collected, they are put on dry ice until they are put into the destemmer. The destemmer uses a vacuum to pull the grapes in and leave the stems. After they are destemmed, the white grapes go straight into the press, while the red grapes are put into tanks. Next, they are prepared for fermentation by adding potassium metabisulfate. This compound kills the natural yeast from the grapes so that the fermentation can be controlled. Once this has been removed, other forms of yeast such as Sacchoromyces cerevisiae are added to begin controlled fermentation. Afterwards, the grape skins are separated from the liquid, and oxygen is added to the tank to aid fermentation. Then the liquid is recombined with the grapes, and the combination is put into the press. The liquid is transferred to a new tank, and the wine that comes out first is the best product.
Not only did Natalie get to witness the production of the wine, but she also helped to analyze it. In the lab, the FOSS WineScan apparatus was used to analyze percent of alcohol, pH, acidity, Brix (the amount of sugar in the grapes), sulfates, and more. Another analysis technique that is conducted is testing for cork taint. When the corks arrive, measurements are taken and then a handful of them are put into full wine bottles. After 24 hours, the corks are removed and the researchers line up to smell for cork taint. Bad corks may have fungus that reacts with the wine to produce unpleasant smelling phenols. The bad corks may be disposed of so that they will not taint the wine. Numerous other analyses are done in the lab as well. Who knew that so much effort has to go into creating the most abundant beverage in Italy!