Wine Q & A

At what temperature should I store wine?
The ideal storage temperature for wine is about 55 degrees F. High temperatures
(above 70 degrees) cause wine to age more quickly and varying temperatures (greater than 10 degrees/day) can wreck a wine in quickly. Always store wine on it's side to keep the wine in constant contact with the cork. Many wine storage houses actually store cases of wine up-side-down rather than on their sides.

Is decanting necessary?
Decanting is the process of pouring wine from the bottle into a separate flask or container. It is done to separate the wine from the sediment, which stays at the bottom of the bottle. Modern wines for general use rarely need decanting, because they are filtered prior to bottling. Vintage wines may show some sediment, and you should decant these wines.

How do you decant correctly?
Hold the bottle and decanter up to a light source and slowly pour the wine from the bottle into the decanter. Stop pouring when sediment just starts to flow into the neck of the bottle. If done properly, only about 1/2 inch of wine will remain in the bottle.

When is  wine at its best?.
The right time for a wine depends on its type.  Whites are generally drinkable sooner than reds.  Chardonnay reaches maturity wihin a couple of years, Merlot in twoor three, and Cabernet Sauvignon in 5 to 10 years, depending on its vintage year and the wine itself.  For a wine to be at its peak, it must be held until it is "mature", but consumed before it starts to fade.   How the wine is stored determines how long it will last.  If not stored properly, it will mature more quickly with diminished qualities.  As a general rule, if you have a case of 12 bottles of Cab, you might consider tasting one after 4 to 5 years, then one or two each year thereafter until you find the perfect taste.  If it holds its character nicely, you might preserve one bottle for a decade, or so.

How is wine made?
The process of making wine is simple: you  turn grape juice into wine by allowing the grape to  ferment naturally, i.e. sugar changes to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas in a process brought about by yeasts.  Under normal circumstances, the yeast will go on working until all the sugar in the grapes is converted to alcohol, or until the alcohol level reaches about 15% of the volume. Wines differ from each other because of the differences in the grapes and the manner in which the fermentation occurs.

WHITE
White grapes are fed into a crusher-stemmer which tears off the stalks and pumps the broken grapes into a pneumatic press.The press revolves and an airbag inside is inflated, pressing the grapes against the cage walls.The skins are left behind as the juice falls through a screen and is pumped into a fermenting vat.When fermenting is completed, the wine is transferred into oak barrels for aging.

RED 
Red grapes are fed into a crusher and pumped into a vat where they ferment in contact with their skins.  The wine gradually draws out the color and tannin from the skin.  Fermentation is allowed to continue until all sugar is gone (up to 14 days).  The wine is transferred into oak barrels for aging.

SWEET WINE
Fermentation is stopped while some sugar remains by adding sulphur or by fine filtration.

SPARKLING WINE
Wine to be made sparkling (such as Champagne) is taken from the vat and bottled before fermenattion is complete;y finished. The process continues in the bottle.

DRY WINE
Wine left in the vat until it is fully fermented has all the sugar converted to alcohol, leaving the wine quite dry.

ROSE
Rose is basically a white wine made from red grapes and given a little color and flavor by being left a short time with the skins.  The juice is run off almost immediately to ferment on its own.   Normally, it is allowed to finish its fermentation naturally and is, thus, completely dry.

BRANDY
Brandy is made by distilling wine rather than by vat fermentation.  If the grape skins are distilled, the product is called grappa and becomes clear.

PORT
Fortified wines have their fermentation arrested with alcohol and need aging to blend their different elements.   The juice is run into a vat to ferment until half its sugar is converted to alcohol, when it is mixed with brandy to raise the alcohol level above 15%.  This stuns the yeast and stops fermentation, so that the wine is both strong and sweet.   Port wines require many years to reach full maturity.