I think that after so many entries in this blog I still haven’t talked about the winemaking process, so it’s time to fix it. Of course, I am not going to give a technical explanation, but a few points about what I really consider important in the winemaking process.
If we follow the basic rules of winemaking, in very general terms, wine is the result of the conversion of grapes into alcohol by means of a fermentation process, and then rests for a period of time in the bottle to develop an aging process, which will depend on the objective of the winemaker. However, I will go a little further. In my conception of the idea of wine -at least the wine I like and hope to find when I open a bottle- I add two basic rules that I consider essential in any process:
The first and most important is that the wine begins to be made in the vineyard. The way it is worked is key. The use of artificial products should be kept to a minimum, as they can damage it and alter the flavor of the grapes to the point of preventing the vineyard and the soil of the area from expressing their characteristics.
The second is that the winemaker does not mess up in the winery. Here again it is very important, as in the vineyard, to avoid the use of artificial products that may alter the idiosyncrasy of the wine.
Obviously, this description is very basic and generic. The different stages of winemaking are much more complex because, although the process always begins in the field and ends in the winery, the development of the entire production process is very different. In addition, we must not forget that each of the different wine regions of the world has very particular characteristics and that there are countless winemakers with a different way of interpreting their landscape. In short, the aim of this post is not to explain the winemaking process in detail, but only to explain my winemaking philosophy, since there are a good number of specialized manuals that explain the process with the necessary knowledge. Besides, I don’t want to go into biochemistry.