We all love wine and pair it with high flavored foods for a better taste. Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced from fermented grapes. There are different types of grapes to produce wine. Wine is used for facial skin care and weight loss diet. The winemaking process can be divided into four steps: harvesting and crushing grapes, fermenting, aging and packaging. 

Harvesting and Crushing Grapes

Grapes are grown in vineyards near the wineries. Vineyardists use a refractometer to inspect sample clusters to determine if the grapes are ready to be picked. The Refractometer is an instrument used to check the amount of sugar in the grapes. Due to the development in technology, mechanical harvesters with grape crushers mounted on the machinery is used to harvest grapes and press them at the same time. This method prevents oxidation of the juice through splits or tears in the grape’s skins. Them they are transported to the wineries and the liquid produced after the grapes are crushed flows either into a stainless steel fermentation tank or a wooden vat(for fresh wines).

Fermenting

For white wine, the grape skins are separated from the ‘must’ by filters or centrifuges before it undergoes fermentation. For red wine, the whole crushed grape with the skin goes into the fermentation tank or vat. The pigment in the grape skin gives the red color to the wine. The color of the wine will be determined by the amount of time the skins are left in the tank. During the fermentation process, wild yeast will be added into the tank or vat to turn the sugar in the must into alcohol. Cane or beet sugar can be added to increase the alcoholic content. A handheld hydrometer is used to measure the sugar content in the tank or vat. The wine must be left in the tank or vat for approximately seven to fourteen days for fermentation, depending on the type of wine being produced.

Aging

After the fermentation process, a wine needs to be filtered, stores, and properly aged. Many wineries use damp, subterranean wine cellars to store the wine and to keep it cool. Large wineries store wine above ground in epoxy-lined and stainless steel tanks. To produce red wine, fermented wine will be crushed again and pumped into another fermentation tank where the wine will ferment again for approximately 3 to 7 days to ensure clarity and color stability. Then it is pumped into settling tanks or vats. For red wine, it is done at 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 32 degrees Fahrenheit for white wine. It will remain in the tank for 2 to 3 months. After the settling process, filtering is done. After varying filtering processes, the wine is aged in wooden vats or stainless steel tanks. White wine may age for a year to 4 years and red wine may age for seven to 10 years. The wine is then filtered for the last time to remove unwanted sediment and is now ready to be packaged.

Packaging

The wine is ready to be bottled, corked, sealed, crated, labeled, and shipped to distributors. Wine is usually shipped in wooden crates.

Food and Wine

The Sacramento Valley has many wineries. If you want to try international cuisines with wine, visit https://sacramentoeatsanddrinks.yolasite.com/Wineries.php for more information. They have the best quality wine from the wineries in Sacramento.