Combining Science & Art with a Touch of Magic

Note to Marie: This could be 3 separate posts

Winemaking is a very strange occupation. It combines science, art, and magic. Usually, if the grapes come to a winery in good health, the wine will be very good. But if the grapes are moldy or unripe, then winemaking becomes a science.  

This is why harvest is so important to the winemaker. Everything needs to be perfect. The slightest rain or cool weather will throw all plans off. The winemaker spends a lot of time in the vineyard during harvest. He or she is also acutely needed in the winery to control wine fermentations. Fermentation is the transformation of sugar into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and other byproducts by the yeast. Typically harvest takes place in September and October and people get very tense and tired by the end of harvest. 

Once the grapes are fermented into wine, the winemakers take a short break and the wine aging process begins. The wine is put into oak casks for a few months to a few years. After aging the wines are blended, filtered, and bottled. The wine needs to be at its best before bottling because there is nothing to do once the bottle is corked and sent to the marketing channels.