Wine course part 2 white wine.

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Wine course part 2: white wine

Wine course part 2: white wine

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The grape
To begin to understand how any wine is made we
must first look at the composition of the grape.If
you take any grape – black, red or green – and
slice it through the middle, it looks much the
same:

The stalk
is woody and full of a substance called tannin.
Tannin is a preservative with a bitter flavour.

The skin
is covered in a whitish bloom which is a dusting
of wild yeasts and bacteria. The skin itself contains more tannin and, in black grapes, a
colouring pigment.

The pips
contain bitter oils and are never desirable
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The pulp
is the most interesting part of the grape in white wine making. Over 70% of the pulp is just
water, but the remaining 30% contains most of the elements which give a wine character,
flavour and interest. These elements include various fruit sugars and acids, trace elements
absorbed from the earth and pectin, a gelling agent. The pulp of almost all grapes is the
same colour: a pale green/yellow. Since the juice of almost all grapes is the same pale,
almost clear colour, white wines can be made from any colour of grapes. If using black
grapes to make a white wine, the winemaker must separate the juice from the skins
immediately after pressing and before the fermentation stage, so that no colour is picked up
from the skins. Some examples of white wine made from black grapes are Champagne, blanc
de noirs and white zinfandel.

Most whites are actually made from green grapes. There is, therefore, no hurry to separate
juice from skins since there is no danger of them picking up colour, but most winemakers
prefer to separate anyway, to prevent tannin leaching from the skins into the juice. Though
there is an insignificant group of black grapes whose flesh and juice is actually dark, almost
all red wines extract their colour only from the skins of black grapes. Red wines therefore,
can only be made from black (or red) grapes.

Making white wine

Harvested grapes are taken to the press as quickly
as possible to avoid oxidisation of the grapes as
they sit exposed to the air. At the winery, white
wine grapes usually go through a machine called a
crusher-destalker. This machine breaks the skins
of the grapes but doesn’t press them. It removes
 the stalks and most of the pips, and the mash of
broken grapes is immediately poured into a press.
A gentle pressing is required for white wines.
There have been many improvements on the
original heavy stone presses, the most common
now being the pneumatic press, where a bag is
inflated inside a tank, so that grapes are squeezed
against the sides. Pure juice is collected from this
process and poured directly into the fermentation
tank. Recently, some winemakers have returned to
ancient traditions of including the skins for the
fermentation of white wines, in which case the
pressing step comes after fermentation, just like a
red wine.

After fermentation most white wines are run into

stainless-steel tanks for a period of settling. A few
months later they are filtered and bottled. Some
wines will undergo a further period of maturation
in oak casks before bottling.

Temperature is the bugbear of white wine makers. Hot countries struggled to make quality
white wines because these require long, cool fermentation (at around 15°C). The act of
fermentation itself creates heat, and in a hot climate with uncontrolled tanks, the result is a
very violent fermentation with temperatures rising to 35° or more and yeasts dying off
quickly.

Perhaps the greatest innovation in the history of white wine making has been the introduction
of temperature controlled stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Introduced first in Australia
and California, these huge, refrigerated tanks have taken the winemaking world by storm.
Even in the hottest climates, white wines of distinction can now be produced. Countries like
Spain, Greece and southern Italy can, for the first time, produce whites of world class quality.

This use of new technology has also led to a new breed of expert, known as the “flying
winemaker”. Largely from Australia and California, these winemakers travel the world to
advise old-fashioned wineries on new technology (like stainless steel) that can bring them up
to date.

Some white wines are fermented in old wooden vats. These will also have some method of
cooling applied, such as being surrounded by a coil of pipes through which cold water is
pumped. These vats are less reliable than steel, but some winemakers swear that fermenting
in oak is the only method to use.

Many of the greatest white wines, including white Burgundy

and sweet Sauternes, are fermented in small oak barrels
with stunning results. This labour intensive technique is
usually reserved for the highest quality wines, especially
those built for long ageing.

Once fermentation is complete (taking between 1 and 4

weeks or so) most white wines are considered complete. The
wine is simply run off into clean steel containers to settle
before bottling. The alternative is to mature the wine in small
oak casks (often referred to as “barriques” – the Bordeaux
name). Maturation in oak is much more common in red wines, but chardonnay and semillon
in particular seem to marry very well with the unique vanilla/buttery flavour that oak imparts
to wine.

Maturing wine in barrels is an expensive and labour intensive process, as we will see next
week when we look more closely at the process in relation to red wines. Often, the taste we
notice most in a chardonnay has come from the oak, not from the grapes. In the cheapest
chardonnays, handfuls of oak chips are added to the wine to impart a commercially desirable
oaky flavour. Whilst tasty, these wines are rarely subtle or sufficiently well-balanced for
ageing and further development in bottle.

Finally, prior to bottling, the wine must be filtered to leave it crystal clear. This process can be
carried out by many methods. Use of filters and centrifuges to eliminate all solid matter are
effective, but some people claim these methods also remove body and character from the
wine. A more traditional method is fining. Fining uses a gelatinous substance that is stirred
into a barrel of wine. The fining agent gradually sinks to the bottom of the barrel, dragging all
particles with it. Traditionally, fining is done with whisked egg whites. Other common
substances are bentonite (a clay) and isinglass (made from fish bladders!). Once the wine is
perfectly clear and bright it can be bottled, labelled and shipped.
Wines might also undergo a process of “cold stabilisation” before filtering, when they are
chilled in order to force tartaric acids naturally present in the wine to form into tiny crystals.
These crystals can then be removed during filtration. This is done mostly for cosmetic
reasons: white wines that are not stabilised might throw these crystals naturally during
storage or transportation. When the consumer sees tiny white crystals in the bottom of a
bottle it can be very off-putting, though in fact they are harmless and tasteless.

Factors affecting the styles of white wine

Clearly, one important factor is grape variety. Whilst some grapes, such as the chardonnay,
are “all rounders” – capable of being moulded into a variety of styles – others, such as the
gewürztraminer, have a very distinctive and individual taste which asserts itself in every
decent bottle. Fermentation and maturation in oak is another important aspect. This is a
complicated area: oak trees from different forests impart different flavours; new barrels have
more impact than barrels one or two years old; barrels can be toasted on the inside before
they are filled and the degree of toast will affect the flavour. We will look more closely
at oak and barrels in relation to red wine.

The winemaker can also decide how much residual sugar to leave behind in the wine. If
fermentation is stopped early, before the yeasts eat all the sugars, then a certain amount of
sugar is left behind. For very ripe wines from hot climates it is perfectly possible to produce a
wine that has 13 or 14 degrees of alcohol yet still has some residual sugar. In some countries
the addition of extra sugar is allowed during the fermentation stage – a process known as
chaptalisation – but this is done to boost alcohol to a minimum standard, not to sweeten the
finished wine.

Malolactic fermentation is a natural biological process that occurs after alcoholic

fermentation if the wine is kept at a slightly increased temperature. This is a chemical
change, whereby harsh malic acid (such as that found in tart green apples) is converted into
lactic acid (found in milk). This has the effect of softening the wine and reducing obvious
acidity, so the winemaker may choose to encourage or avoid malolactic fermentation
according to his requirement for a specific style of wine. This is achieved by inoculating the
wine with relevant bacteria.

Maturing the wine ‘on the lees’ – keeping the skins and dead yeast cells in contact in the
barrel – can add a creaminess and complexity to a wine. Again, this is done at the
winemaker’s discretion and is a process that requires care and attention: the ‘soup’ of wine
and lees can spoil if scrupulous hygiene is not practised.

White wine and grapes – styles and

characteristics
There are many varieties of grape used in the production of white wines. Here is a list
of the most important varieties along with a description of their general character and
some of the tasting terms commonly applied to them:
Chardonnay – full, soft, buttery, fruity
– peach, pear, pineapple, citrus, melon, butter, vanilla
Sauvignon Blanc – invigorating, dry, grassy, acidic
– grass, gooseberries, asparagus, green beans, cat pee, flint
Riesling – vividly fruity, lively acidity, oily
– apples, limes, passion fruit, minerals, petrol
Semillon – round, smooth, honeyed, toasty
– grass, citrus, lanolin, honey, toast
Gewurztraminer – exotic, spicy, perfumed, oily, rich
– ginger, cinnamon, lychees, nivea cream!
The search is always on to find a successor to successful grapes like chardonnay and
sauvignon blanc. Winemakers and marketeers note that some people show signs of
being bored with one style – over-oaked, blowsy chardonnays or too aggressively
pungent Sauvignons Blanc for example – so are always experimenting with new
varieties, and of course there are hundreds of ‘minor’ grape varieties that are
indigenous to countries and regions that are not household names, but which can make
excellent wines. Just some of many other grapes/wines that have been less commonly
seen in the past, but are starting to become more evident on supermarket shelves
include:
Marsanne & Roussanne – honey, tropical fruit, luscious
Viognier – flowery, peachy, delicate, fresh
Pinot Blanc – oily, perfumed, minerals, citrus, rich
Chenin Blanc – straw, flowers, honey, can be dry or sweet
Picpoul – crisp, easy-drinking, fresh
Grüner-Veltliner – Austria’s trump card, can be full bodied but always fresh

White wine tasting terms and descriptors

Wine tasters have their own vocabulary or jargon, just like other groups of enthusiasts:
computer geeks, trainspotters, ballroom dancers, etc. There can be a certain amount
of snobbishness and hints of one-upmanship in wine tasting. On the other hand these
terms are very useful: the true wine lover will never try to blind you with science, but
may well use some common terms and descriptions. A few examples are listed below:
Creamy – often applied to champagne and sometimes to chardonnay
Crisp – clean and sharply flavoured, not sweet or oaky
Flabby – the opposite – a wine without crispness
Green – too acidic (some overly tart sauvignon blancs)
Oily – richly textured wines such as some gewurztraminers or pinot blancs
Steely – crisp and a bit austere, like the best Chablis or Sancerre.
Here are some descriptive words often used to conjure up the flavour or scent from a
particular wine. To the experienced taster these are often indicative of a particular wine
or style of wine:
Biscuity – Champagne
Flinty – Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume
Grassy – sauvignon blanc
Lemony – chardonnay
Lychees – gewurztraminer or sauvignon blanc
Toasty – chardonnay
Vanilla – oak ageing.
Using this jargon for describing and talking about the characteristics of wine isn’t
compulsory – if you are more comfortable with simply describing the glass in your hand
as “good”, “ok” or “bad”, then that is quite acceptable!
Go to Wine Course Part III – red wine | Return to Part I

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