Agricultural Studies

Wine Production
Grade 11
Mosweu A.M.

13 May 2009

Contents

Fruit of Vine

Grapes for wine making are grown

in many areas in U.S. including
France, Chile , Australia and South
Africa
Many categories of winemaking
grapes are cultivated throughout
the world
Vitis Vinifera- European type:
Chardonnay, Cabeernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Reiesling
There are some hybrids also
namely: Baco Noir, Chambourcin
etc.

How to Plough Wine trees

Chemicals in the Soil

While the role of chemicals in the soil is

not clearly understood, we do know
that:
Too much nitrogen yields heavy leaf
growth and shade, while too little produces
hydrogen sulfide.
Too little potassium makes plants
vulnerable to drought and disease and
yields grapes that are low in sugar.
pH is not critical, because grapes grow in a
variety of soil pH levels.

Too much organic material yields too

much nitrogen and water, but too little
will not support many soil organisms
(earthworms).

Harvesing
When grapes start falling
is indication of readiness
for harvesting
Some
vineyards
use
mechanical
harvesting
techniques
Most hire workers to pick
the grapes by hand
The grapes then taken to
winery
For far wineries grapes
shipped by refrigerated
trucks where they crushed
to form must

Wine Production

Red-grape must is sent directly

to ferment tanks
White-grape must is sent first to
a wine press to separate juice
from skins
White wines are fermented from
skinless grapes
Wine press consists of a
stainless steel cylinder with
inflatable bladder inside which is
inflated with air
The skins are recycled to local
nurseries for fertilizer.
The juices are collected and sent
to the fermentation tanks

Fermentation Process
The fermentation tanks are airtight, made of
stainless steel with capacity 11 356 litres
The tanks are cooled with glycol to maintain a
temperature
Sugar and yeast are added to kick start the
process of fermentation
How Yeast Makes Alcohol and Carbon Dioxide

When
the
yeast
first
hits
the
wort,
concentrations of glucose (C6H12O6) are very
high, so through diffusion, glucose enters the
yeast (in fact, it keeps entering the yeast as
long as there is glucose in the solution). As each
glucose molecule enters the yeast, it is broken
down in a 10-step process called glycolysis.
The product of glycolysis is two three-carbon
sugars, called pyruvates, and some ATP
(adenosine triphosphate), which supplies energy
to the yeast and allows it to multiply. The two
pyruvates are then converted by the yeast into
carbon dioxide (CO2) and ethanol (CH3CH2OH,
which is the alcohol in beer). The overall
reaction is:
C6H12O6 => 2(CH3CH2OH) + 2(CO2)

Bottling
Cork in the bottle after the
wine has aged are bottled
for sale
The operators pump the
wine from the storage tank
to the bottling machine and
fill bottles
The operators load the
bottles into a case for
shipping and distribution
They may also have a
tasting rooms where one
can sample and purchase
their products

Types of wine Products

The grapes are grown and fermented the same as with any other wine.
After fermentation, the wines are aged for about five months.
The wine is bottled with extra yeast and sugar. The bottles are capped to
allow for a second round of fermentation, which lasts for about a year.
The wine is aged for one or more years after the second fermentation.
The yeast is removed through riddling, whereby the bottle is placed
upside-down and rotated one-eighth of a turn every day. The dead yeast
cells settle into the neck of the bottle.
The neck of the bottle is frozen in an ice/salt water bath and the cork is
removed. The pressure forces the frozen plug of dead yeast cells out of
the bottle. This process is called disgorging.
A mixture of white-wine brandy and sugar (dosage) is added to top off
the bottle.
The bottle is corked and wired to secure the high pressure inside