The grapes are picked and being brought back to the winery. In the winery the grapes will go through a destemming machine to remove the stems that contain harsh tannins. At this stage the machine will start bruising the grapes slowly and remove parts of the skin. After this the grapes will immediately be pressed, leaving behind all remaining skins, seeds and stems. The winemaker wants to avoid that colour is extracted from the skin, so pressing will occur as fast as possible. For rosé wines the grapes will go under longer extraction from the skins, so a light pink colour can be obtained. From here on both white and rosé wines follow the same process.
After the grapes are pressed, they need to go through the fermentation and aging process. Yeast (cultured or natural) will turn the sugar of the grapes into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The more sugar, the higher the alcohol levels will be. This process for white and rosé will usually take place in stainless steel tanks, where the temperature gets regulated. The wine needs to ferment at a cooler temperature in order to preserve the freshness of the aromas. After this process, the dead yeast will be filtered out, or be left on the bottom of the tank or barrel. When the winemaker chooses to do this, the wine will result in a creamier and more yeastlike texture. Some styles will age on oak barrels, like a Californian Chardonnay or an oaked white Bordeaux. These types of whites will have a fuller body and creamier mouthfeel.
When the wine has been through the fermentation and aging process, the wine needs to be clarified and filtered before it can be bottled. Some micro-organisms can be left behind after the fermentation and disturb the flavour and quality of the wine. Clarification of the wine means that a process of adding milk or egg whites that will bind itself to the organisms and then sink to the bottom of the barrel. To make the wine vegan-friendly, bentonite can be used for this process as well, but is more expensive. After this the particles on the bottom will be filtered out.
The wine is now ready for bottling and tasting!
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