Five Important Aspects of Wine Making

4. The Grapes

The best grapes for winemaking are the European Vitis vinifera these grapes contain the right balance of acid and sugars without humans having to add any additional sugar or water during fermentation. But the European grapes have been grafted over to the Native American vines and the results have been exceptional.

There are eighteen types of Native American vines, and today there are fifty varieties of grapevines that are used to make wine around the world.

The principal red grapes are: cabernet Sauvignon, gamay, pinot noir, cabernet franc, merlot, and Grenache.

The principal white grapes are: chardonnay, sauvignon, blanc, Riesling, and Semillon.

The grapes need fifty days in which to ripen. During the growing season, the grower will have the grapes sampled and analyzed. Once the grapes begin to enlarge and change color, they are considered mature, and either hand-picked or mechanically taken off the vines. The black grape will turn from green to red, the white grape from green to yellow. The grapes are then gathered and sent to the presses.

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