Summary
Winemaking (also wine making) or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and winemaking is known as oenology. A winemaker may also be called a vintner. The growing of grapes is viticulture and there are many varieties of grapes. Winemaking can be divided into two general categories: still wine production (without carbonation) and sparkling wine production (with carbonation – natural or injected). Red wine, white wine, and rosé are the other main categories. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other plants. (See fruit wine.) Other similar light alcoholic drinks (as opposed to beer or spirits) include mead, made by fermenting honey and water, cider ("apple cider"), made by fermenting the juice of apples, and perry ("pear cider"), made by fermenting the juice of pears, and kumis, made of fermented mare's milk. There are five basic stages to the wine making process which begins with harvesting or picking. After the harvest, the grapes are taken into a winery and prepared for primary ferment. At this stage red wine making diverges from white wine making. Red wine is made from the must (pulp) of red or black grapes and fermentation occurs together with the grape skins, which give the wine its color. Roses can also be added for color and flavor. White wine is made by fermenting juice which is made by pressing crushed grapes to extract a juice; the skins are removed and play no further role. Occasionally, white wine is made from red grapes. This is done by extracting their juice with minimal contact with the grapes' skins. Rosé wines are either made from red grapes where the juice is allowed to stay in contact with the dark skins long enough to pick up a pinkish color (maceration or saignée), or (less commonly) by blending red wine with white wine. White and rosé wines extract little of the tannins contained in the skins.
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