If you have spent much time on the North Fork of Long Island or in any wine country in the Fall you likely know that September and October are harvest season. Typically starting the second week of September on the North Fork the white wine grapes begin reaching optimal ripeness and harvest season begins!
When the grapes have reached optimal ripeness they are harvested either by machine or by hand depending on the winemaker’s preference and brought into the winery. Once they arrive at the winery, the grapes are destemmed and then loaded into the press where all of that delicious grape juice is gently extracted from the grape skins.
Fun Fact: The sugar content in a grape is measured using a system of measurement called “Brix” the higher the brix number, the more sugar in a grape.
Once the grapes have been pressed, the grape juice is pumped into a tank where it is chilled and settled. The settled juice is then racked off any remaining grape pulp and brought back up to temperature to prepare to start the fermentation process. At this point the juice is inoculated with yeast and fermentation begins.
During fermentation the yeast cells consume the naturally occurring sugars in the grape juice. As the yeast consumes the sugar it produces alcohol and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 as it is released creates a protective barrier at the top of the tank, preventing oxygen from coming in contact with the wine. Once all of the sugars have been consumed and converted into alcohol the yeast cells die and precipitate out of the liquid, settling to the bottom of the tank. Once everything has settled, the clear wine is racked (aka transferred) off the solids (aka dead yeast cells) into a new tank where it undergoes the final finishing touches (heat stabilization, cold stabilization, filtering, etc) before it is bottled, chilled and served!
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