Components of Wine

Tannins:

The tannins in a wine that comes from seeds, skins and stalks. They are essential if a wine is intended to age because they are a natural preservative. The tannins give structure and backbone to the wine. You may feel a furring of the mouth, or pucks ring of the gums, a feeling very similar to what happens on a busy drinking tea. This is not surprising, since this effect is also due to tannins, released from the tea leaves after stewing in hot water for too long.

Tannins are of great importance in the aging of red wine instead of white. The tannins act as a preservative and as the drums for many years, the simple, primary fruit varieties have time to evolve into a more complex flavor, available in fine old wine. A level of tannins, which are sufficient to provide structure, but not so obvious that dominates the palate, it is ideal when a wine is ready to drink. For this reason, tannins still important in red wines, which are not meant for long aging, since they give grip and structure of these wines also. Tannins may also have different qualities and can be described as hard (especially in a wine to drink young, as a young classed growth red wine), soft (eg Beaujolais), stalky, chalky, etc.

Acidity:

All fruit requires acidity, whether it's an apple, lemon, mango and grapes. Acids, which gives the fruit its refreshing, tasty sensation. Without the fruit seems to be too sweet and cloying, a bit like that feeling comes from drinking sugary juice, some fruits are presented. Like fruit, wine also requires acidity. Too little and it will work dull, flabby or even cloying, especially if it is a sweet wine. Too much and wine will be sharp, hard and undrinkable. Acidity can be detected by the sharpness of the wine in your mouth, especially around the edges of the tongue near the front.

Some acids, such as acetic acid, known as volatile acidity, and in small quantities, they can really lift the taste of wine. Too much and the wine is beginning to look like furniture polish, acetone (nail-polish remover) or even vinegar. Higher acidity denotes a wine from a cooler area, such as northern France, England or New Zealand. Low acid wines come from countries with warmer weather, such as Australia where the acid content in the harvested grapes, which are often low enough to warrant chemical acidification.

Alcohol:

Alcohol is a product of fermentation of the natural grape sugar by yeast, without wine is simply not exist. The amount of sugar in the grapes determines what the final alcohol level will be. In cold climates, why such as Germany, where the vines struggle to ripen their grapes, sugar levels will be minimal, and these wines are often only reach 7 or 8% strength. In very warm climes, but the final alcohol level is determined not so much by the amount of sugar, but rather by the yeast itself. When the alcohol level reaches about 14% of the yeast can no longer operate and quickly die out. For this reason wines with a strength of more than 15% almost certainly sealed.

Conversion of sugar into alcohol is a significant step in the process of making wine, as control of fermentation is the focus of much attention in the modern manufacturer. Fermentation generates heat, and a cool, controlled fermentation will result in very different taste for wine (in particular, it protects the fresh, delicious fruit variants) compared to wines in which fermentation is allowed to run amok. Although fermentation starts naturally, thanks to the yeast occurs naturally in grapes in the vineyard, some winemakers prefer to remove the element of chance that involves a kick-start fermentation using cultured strains of yeast. This may have problems with self - cultured pearls strain of the yeast has been blamed for some unusual properties of wine, bananas taste of Beaujolais.

Sugar:

Following the above it is clear that if the fermentation is stopped, either as a result of yeast not in a gradually rising alcohol levels in ferment, or as a result of mans intervention, there will be some residual sugar in wine. Even when the yeast work unhindered, most of the wines that still have at least 1 g / l residual sugar, which some sugar compounds are resistant to the effects of yeast. It is clear that the level of sugar in the wine determines how the sweet taste. This is completely subjective, however, and even wines that taste very dry at least some degree of residual sugar. Most dry wines have less than 2 g / l sugar, though the level of up to 25 g / L may be present in the wine still tastes dry due to the presence of acid and tannin with sugar. The larger the quantity of residual sugar, the sweeter wine that moves through the demi-sec (Champagne) and off dry wines (many German Riesling) for dessert wines in the world (Sauternes, Tokay, etc). Some of them have extremely high concentrations of sugar, as much as 250 g / L.

Eg:

Many wines are matured in oak barrels and some are even fermented in oak. Oak from different sources (most come from either the forests of France or the U.S.) will give different characteristics in wine, but generally oak maturation gives taste of butter, caramel, caramel, vanilla, spice and butterscotch.

French oak can give more buttery taste, while American oak gives stronger vanilla and spice variants, but there are many more variables in the equation than this simple statement suggests. It all depends on how much oak is used, how much of it is new as opposed to recycling, how long the wine stays in contact with wood, whether wine is aged in oak alone, or on fermentation takes place in the way of oak has been treated, and so on. For example, the barrels that have been 'toasted', which means that Cooper formed them around a little fire, often burning oak wood chips they have produced during the manufacturing process, will smell of smoke and toast. Barrels that have been steamed during processing, can provide more oatmeal flavor.

Botrytis:

Noble Rot, the result of the fungus Botrytis cinerea, a beneficial effect on their own grapes. It tends to occur in vineyards located beside large bodies of water where the morning fog dampens grapes tomorrow. Such locations include Sauternes in Bordeaux and around Neusiederlersee in Austria. After the fog has burned to the ground by the afternoon sun. Under conditions which are too damp when the fog will continue throughout the day, the grapes are much more likely to be affected by Gray Rot, a destructive fungal infection, which has no beneficial effect at all.

Although grapes affected by Botrytis looks terrible, discolored and wrinkled, they started to make some amazing wines. The Botrytis has the effect of reducing the water content of the grapes, concentrated grape sugar. The quantity of wine is reduced, a reason touted for the cost of these bottles. Another is the need for a careful selection of botrytis-affected grapes, which require a large number of pickers making numerous passes through the vineyard during harvest week. The wine that results has a great texture and delicious, with sweet, concentrated fruit flavors.

Yeast:

In much wine yeast is the cause of certain variations. When a wine is finished fermenting, it is still overcast and polluted with dead yeast cells. Many different techniques are employed to clarify the wine, including racking of the wine (gently pour the clear wine from where the dead yeast cells have settled to the bottom) from the lees (the collection of dead yeast).

Wines, which remain on the lees for a long time, but will take the extraordinary richness and texture, with Bready, biscuity aroma (and taste). This technique is employed to add an extra dimension to many champagnes, and Muscadet, white Burgundy (including some Chablis) and many other white wines. Some Vignerons practice batonnage (lees stirring) in order to enhance this effect.

Flavor:

Following this assessment of all the components found in wine, it is still necessary to examine the taste, which is present. In young wines, at least, is directly related to the taste of the grape variety used. For more details see my chapter on the classic white and red grape varieties.