Racking – How Wine Is Clarified
During the winemaking process, yeast and other particles in the wine settle at the bottom of the container as sediment. Racking is the process of carefully transferring the clear wine from the top of the container into another container, leaving the sediment behind. When people make wine, things like yeast and bits from the grapes […]
Residual Sugar – A Critical Measure
Residual sugar is a term used to describe the amount of sugar left in a wine after fermentation has ceased. It is usually expressed in grams per liter (g/L) or as a percentage of the wine’s total volume. This unfermented sugar can have a significant impact on the taste and mouthfeel of a wine, and […]
Saignée – Seeing Red, Drinking Pink
Saignée is a French winemaking term that translates to “bleeding” and refers to a technique used in the production of rosé wines. This process involves removing a portion of juice from a vat of red grapes early in the fermentation process, resulting both a more concentrated red wine and a lighter-colored rosé. Saignée is a […]
Sonoma County AVA – A Mosaic of Terroir and Quality
Sonoma County AVA is a prestigious wine-producing region located in Northern California, renowned for its diverse terroir and exceptional wines. The area encompasses 19 sub-appellations, each with their own attributes that contribute unique characteristics to the wines produced in the county. Sonoma County AVA (American Viticultural Area) covers over one million acres in Northern California, […]
Stuck Fermentation – When Yeast Doesn’t Play Nice
Stuck fermentation is a term used in winemaking to describe a situation in which the fermentation process slows down or stops before all of the sugar in the grape juice has been converted to alcohol. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including low temperatures, nutrient deficiencies, or the presence of inhibitors in the […]