White Wine: There Is Power Within The Succulent Grape

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White Wine – History And How Is It Made?

“There is a power within the succulent grape

That made thee, stronger than all human power.”               

– Francis Saltus Saltus

Wine has been the muse for many poets. The drink has enchanted many writers and poets to turn it into the subject of their works. Till today it is considered to be a sophisticated drink. White wine has many variations and can be either straw-yellow, yellow-green or yellow-gold in colour. The numerous varieties of white wine grapes give the wine its color, texture and flavor.

History

The presence of wine in this world is almost as old as civilization itself. The earliest evidence of wine making techniques date back to 6000 BC in the middle-eastern country of Armenia. Egyptians are also known to have produced wine since ancient times. Scenes of wine-making adorned many tomb walls which show the importance of wine in Egypt. The cities of ancient Greece considered wine to be a drink of the elite.

The popularity of wine was augmented during the Roman era when wine-making techniques spread across most of Europe. It gradually found its way through the silk route to China. Because of its religious impact on the Christians, wine-making was primarily the work of monasteries.

During the Renaissance, The qualities of wine were being appreciated by wine drinkers and by the 18^th century, France had become the unsurpassed producer of wine. Reginal wines which had a distinctive taste and character soon gained popularity and till this day France remains the world’s leading producers of wine.

How is it made?

Crush Grapes and Collect the Juice

White wine can be made with white or red grapes. White wines are fermented without the skin whereas red wine gets its color from the skin of the red grapes. The grapes are pressed off the skin and then the grape juice is ready to be fermented.

Fermentation

The fresh fruit flavors of white wine can be accredited to the fact that they are fermented at cooler temperatures than red wine. During this time the yeast present in the grapes automatically initiate the fermentation process. 2 parts sugar ferments into 1 part wine so the sugar content of the juice is directly proportional to the alcohol level.

MLF and Oaking

Malolactic fermentation transforms the malic acid into lactic acid which changes the texture of the wine to creamy. This is an optional procedure to add a creamy flavor to the wine. Another procedure is oaking the white wine to give it a vanilla flavour. Both these procedures involve time and money which makes the wines that have gone through these procedures more expensive.

Filtering and Bottling

White wines are always filtered before being bottled. This is done to remove any suspended particles from the wine before it is packaged.

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