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Winemaking In Pictures
Winemaking In Pictures
. . . to a trailer or truck for transport to the winery.
When the grapes arrive at the winery, they are sometimes separated from the stems, which are then discarded. During the destemming process, some berries are crushed and the juice comes into contact with the stems and the skins; excessive contact can impart harsh, green flavors. To minimize the extraction of harsh flavors, delicately flavored wines such as Champagne, sparkling wine and many high-quality Chardonnays are not destemmed, but sent to the press as whole clusters. Very ripe dessert wines may also not be destemmed; the stems provide pathways for the thick juice to flow out of the press (see next slide). The resulting wines may be labeled with the term "whole cluster pressing" or "whole bunch pressing."
At this point, small amounts of sulfur dioxide may be added to preserve the fresh fruit flavors in the wine and prevent browning.
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