Agricultural Studies

Wine Production
Grade 11
Mosweu A.M.

13 May 2009
Contents
Fruit of Vine

• Grapes for wine making are

grown in many areas in U.S.
including France, Chile ,
Australia and South Africa
• Many categories of winemaking
grapes are cultivated
throughout the world
• Vitis Vinifera- European type:
Chardonnay, Cabeernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Reiesling
• There are some hybrids also
namely: Baco Noir,
Chambourcin etc.
•
•
How to Plough Wine trees

Chemicals in the Soil



• While the role of chemicals in the

soil is not clearly understood,
we do know that:
– Too much nitrogen yields
heavy leaf growth and shade,
while too little produces
hydrogen sulfide.
– Too little potassium makes
plants vulnerable to drought
and disease and yields
grapes that are low in sugar.
– pH is not critical, because
grapes grow in a variety of
soil pH levels.
• Too much organic material
yields too much nitrogen and
water, but too little will not
support many soil organisms
(earthworms).
Harvesing
• When grapes start
falling is indication of
readiness for
harvesting
• Some vineyards use
mechanical
harvesting
techniques
• Most hire workers to
pick the grapes by
hand
• The grapes then taken
to winery
• For far wineries grapes
shipped by
refrigerated trucks
where they crushed
to form must
 Wine Production

• Red-grape must is sent directly

to ferment tanks
• White-grape must is sent first to
a wine press to separate
juice from skins
• White wines are fermented from
skinless grapes
• Wine press consists of a
stainless steel cylinder with
inflatable bladder inside
which is inflated with air
• The skins are recycled to local
nurseries for fertilizer.
• The juices are collected and sent
to the fermentation tanks

 Fermentation Process
• The fermentation tanks are airtight,
made of stainless steel with capacity
11 356 litres
• The tanks are cooled with glycol to
maintain a temperature
• Sugar and yeast are added to kick start
the process of fermentation

•
• How Yeast Makes Alcohol and Carbon
Dioxide
•
When the yeast first hits the wort,
concentrations of glucose (C6H12 O6)
are very high, so through diffusion,
glucose enters the yeast (in fact, it
keeps entering the yeast as long as
there is glucose in the solution). As
each glucose molecule enters the
yeast, it is broken down in a 10-step
process called glycolysis. The
product of glycolysis is two three-
carbon sugars, called pyruvates, and
some ATP (adenosine triphosphate),
which supplies energy to the yeast
and allows it to multiply. The two
pyruvates are then converted by the
yeast into carbon dioxide (CO ) and
 Bottling
• Cork in the bottle after
the wine has aged
are bottled for sale
• The operators pump
the wine from the
storage tank to the
bottling machine
and fill bottles
• The operators load the
bottles into a case
for shipping and
distribution
• They may also have a
tasting rooms where
one can sample and
purchase their
products
 Types of wine Products
• The grapes are grown and fermented the same as with any
other wine.
• After fermentation, the wines are aged for about five
months.
• The wine is bottled with extra yeast and sugar. The bottles
are capped to allow for a second round of fermentation,
which lasts for about a year.
• The wine is aged for one or more years after the second
fermentation.
• The yeast is removed through riddling, whereby the bottle
is placed upside-down and rotated one-eighth of a turn
every day. The dead yeast cells settle into the neck of
the bottle.
• The neck of the bottle is frozen in an ice/salt water bath and
the cork is removed. The pressure forces the frozen plug
of dead yeast cells out of the bottle. This process is
called disgorging.
• A mixture of white-wine brandy and sugar (dosage) is
added to top off the bottle.