We'll keep this as laymanesque as we can. As grapes grow, they get riper (like all fruits). This means that the sugar level keeps increasing. This is what causes a ripe fruit to be sweeter than an unripe one. Grapes need a moderate climate, long ripening periods and no rains before harvest to really give their best. These factors combine to determine if a year is a vintage year or not. As the grape ripens, the winemakers will check regularly to see if the correct sugar levels are reached. The winemakers would ideally like the grape to remain on the vine as long as possible in order to maximize ripeness. The wine-grower on the other hand would like to bring the crop in quickly. This is due to the fact that rain during the harvest is likely to make the grape watery and therefore impact the resultant wine.

Hence once everyone agrees to harvest, it becomes race against time. This is common for all wines. The distinction between wines- white, red, rose and sparkling is due to the differences in the subsequent processes.

White wine making

White wine can be made from grapes that are either white or red. That's because the colour of the wine comes from the pigment in the skin of the grapes and if the winemaker removes the skin before the wine is made (i.e. the juice is fermented) the grape will remain white. After the grapes are picked they are de-stemmed and crushed in a large machine. The juice now called free run juice is run off separately. The stems and the skins are then pressed to get more juice and then left behind. Next the juice is fermented. Fermentation is a process whereby the yeast converts the sugar in the juice into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The carbon dioxide escapes and the alcohol remains. The resultant liquid (called must) is aged for a while longer to let all the sugar turn into alcohol.

The Bottling Hall

The yeast cells die and fall to the bottom of the fermenting vessel and are called "lees". Normally these are removed by letting them settle to the bottom and draining off the clear juice (a process called racking). Some winemakers will let them be and these are those wine which will have "aged on its lees" on the label (sur lie in French). The wine now has to age. For most white wine this is done in steel vats so that the flavours of the wine come through. A lot of Chardonnay though is aged in oak barrels. The wine will then be racked (if not done already) and fined- a process whereby all extra floating particles are removed. It is then bottled and may be aged further or drunk.