All wines contain sulphur, but some less than others, help is on the way Almost all wines contain sulphur. This is not only because most winemakers add sulphur to stabilise the wine and make it more long-lived. It is also because during fermentation sulphur is produced. The yeast that converts sugar to alcohol, carbon dioxide [...]
Tag Archives | vinification
Natural and cultured yeast – what difference does it make?
An important decision in the wine cellar is whether to use native or cultured yeast. In the Douro Valley in northern Portugal both types are used but for different wines. Oscar Quevedo from the Quevedo Wines Estate in the Douro explains the difference in the guest article: Using native yeast or selected yeast at Quevedo [...]
Environmental friendly electro-dialysis?
There have been more reactions to the EU rules for organic wines. The French company Oenodia is upset about the fact that the rules ban organic wines from using electro-dialysis. Oenodia specializes in the treatment of wine with membranes, including electro dialysis. The company says that electro dialysis is a natural technique that does not [...]
Why increase the alcohol level in the Languedoc? Stop chaptalisation!
We have said it before and we will say it again: Why chaptalise in Languedoc? This is southern France we are talking about. With sun and heat during the growing season. These wines should have enough natural sugar to provide a decent alcohol level without having to add sugar or concentrated grape must The reason [...]
Using native yeast or selected yeast at Quevedo Wines in the Douro
Natural and cultured yeast are both used in the Douro Valley but in different ways One of the winemaker’s most important decisions is if he should use native yeasts or selected yeast strains for the fermentation. In this guest article Oscar Quevedo from the Quevedo Wines estate in the Douro explains the difference and why [...]
The importance of being structured! | Britt on Wine
To the barricades! More tannins to the people! How do you explain the difference between a “quality wine” and a “simple” wine? Try it yourself and you will see how difficult it is. Or ask people who have faced the challenge to tell the difference between a simple wine and a better wine in a [...]
Fermentation thanks to wasps?
An interesting research report concerning the yeast that can be found on the grape skins was published recently. Italian and French researchers believe they have discovered how this yeast on the grape skin has gotten there. Their results show that wasps are harbouring yeast in their digestive system, giving them to his offspring and spreading [...]
Oak barrels to let?
During one of our wine tour trips recently we met for the first time a producer (not the one on the photo) who rents his oak barrels instead of buying them. Buying French oak barrels cost a lot of money (between 600 and 800 euro for one 225-liter barrel) and renting can be a way [...]
Cooperatives make demands on organic wines
The cooperatives produce almost 50% of all French wines so their opinion matters. They have recently, according to La Vigne, sent a letter to the French Minister of Agriculture with demands relating to the production of organic wines. They do not agree with some of the rules that were established this year for the work [...]
Concrete Chic – fermentations among the vat makers
More and more producers are rebuilding their cellars and are replacing stainless steel vats with concrete fermentation vats. And some of those who couldn’t afford to buy stainless steel vats and had to make do with their old concrete vats are quite happy today because they realize that concrete has a lot of advantages. Vitisphere [...]
The burning issue again: sulphur
In our March Brief we wrote that the habit of burning sulphur inside oak barrels to disinfect them is in danger of being banned. Because sulphur tablets are classified as biocides you need an authorization to be allowed to sell them. And this authorization is expensive. Now things look a bit brighter, according to La [...]
The best rosé comes from Provence – yes or no?
Rosé – the Provence speciality: People drink rosé in the summer, preferably well chilled and sitting on a shaded terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. What is in your glass is really not that important. This is the stereotype view of rosé wine but not always true anymore for rosé wines can now be excellent food wines [...]
No more subsidies for enrichment. Forbid it, that’s what should be done!
Confédération française des vins de pays (CFVDP, an association for French Vin de Pays-producers) had a congress earlier this June and they discussed among other things the discontinuing of subsidies to enrich wines with concentrated grape must (MCR). La Vigne reports that CFVDP are against the subsidies being discontinued (big surprise…) and that it finds [...]
Allergic to wine? New labelling rules
From this year EU countries as well as Canada require that wine labels provide information about contents in the wine that can cause allergic reactions (allergens). It is already compulsory to mention on the label that the wine contains sulphur (if it contains more than 10 mg/litre). The new substances that have to be mentioned [...]
There’s a competition for just about everything, malolactic fermentation for example!
“The Lallemand Malolactic Fermentation Wine Competition 2012″ – This is probably the most original wine competition that we have heard of. It was organized for the second time by chemical company Lallemand in Madrid in February this year. The idea behind the competition is to make people (wine makers) aware of the importance of controlling [...]
Will a centuries old tradition in winemaking disappear?
The use of sulphur to be banned? To disinfect oak barrels by burning sulphur inside is a century old tradition. Now the procedure could become illegal. According to the EU rules sulphur tablets is classified as biocides, which means that they must have obtained an authorization to be allowed on the market. And to get [...]
Are low-alcohol wines a silly idea?
There is quite a lot of discussion about low-alcohol wines these days. Not least about how one can reduce the alcohol contents of a wine with different techniques (there are several). The idea is of course that the alcohol in the wine is (at least partially) bad and reducing the level is therefore good. But [...]
Soon we will have organic wines
On February 8 the EU agreed the rules for organic vinification paving the way for “organic wine” The member countries in the European Union have finally (on February 8 ) voted for an agreement concerning which rules should apply for an organic wine. As from the vintage 2012 we will se “organic wine” on the [...]
Low alcohol wines are good or bad?
Less is not always more when it comes to alcohol in wine Apparently there is a huge interest in the world for wines with low alcohol contents. On www.decanter.com we read about a report by Wine Intelligence, made on behalf of ProWein, the big wine fair in Düsseldorf, which opens at the beginning of March. [...]
Latte wine?
New rules for labelling and additives in wine All pre-packed food products must state on the label if they contain possibly allergenic products. So far, wine has been exempted from this rule. But only for another six months. According to Le Journal du Vin, the EU has, on the recommendation of The European Food Safety [...]
Champagne! How it is made
An introduction to winemaking and styles for the world’s most famous sparkling wine There will be millions of bottles of champagne drunk during the Christmas and New Year festivities. Of course, all sparkling wine that will be drunk is not Champagne. Champagne is the most expensive of all sparkling wines so, depending on your budget [...]
Seeking strength in wine?
There has recently been a curious “debate” on one of the major Swedish wine blogs on what is “the stongest wine in the world”, naturally fermented, excluding fortified wines. It started some time back with the blogger / wine writer Mikael Molstad, who writes for one of Sweden’s biggest daily paper, Svenska Dagbladet. It started [...]
Oxygen in the wine bottle – how much?
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to changes in the flavour and aromas and it also changes the colour. Sometimes it goes too far and the wine becomes “oxidised” – a defect. Apparent oxidation in a wine [...]
The magic of oxygen in the wine bottle
One of the things that contribute to the ageing of wine is oxygen. Aging is, partially, a slow oxidation of the wine. It leads to changes in the flavour and aromas and it also changes the colour. Sometimes it goes too far and the wine becomes “oxidised” – a defect. Apparent oxidation in a wine [...]
10 microbes that you may (or may not) want in your wine
There are many different types of microbes (minuscule organisms) that contribute to making the wine into what it is. Many of them are desirable and even essential to the making of a wine. some only exist during the vinification process while other may survive into the bottled wine. Many microbes have been studied in detail [...]
Filtration of wine, a short introduction
Almost all wines (counted in volume) are filtered in one way or another. There are a few wine producers who do not filter their wines. There are also wine enthusiasts who are convinced that unfiltered wines are better. that may be a very questionable truth. It probably depends very much on the wine and the [...]
”Methode provençale” to make sparkling wines?
Since quite a few year it has been forbidden to use the expression “methode champenoise” on sparkling wines made with a second fermentation in the bottle. In the future we may instead see “methode provencale”. Provence is enjoying the popularity of rosé wines but researchers have now developed a “new” method to make bubbly that [...]
Must concentration – what should you do?
Diluted wine or fruity wine? Must concentration – what should or should you not do? Boil the must in a vacuum? If it rains just before the harvest you risk getting a diluted must. The grapes suck up the water and becomes inflated with water. there are several techniques for what is called must concentration. [...]
Sulphur or not in the bottle? Just like the oil, it disappears magically!
There is a (very small) trend today among certain wine makers not to use any sulphur at all during the winemaking. Sulphur is used by virtually all wine producers, for example to stabilise the wine at bottling. Sulphur is simply a conservation agent. However, some producers want to stop using it but this can be [...]
Denis Dubourdieu, winemaker and consultant, part 2 [E] – BKWine TV
Interview (part 2) with Denis Dubourdieu. Denis Dubourdieu is a wine consultant and wine maker, as well as a professor in oenology at the University of Bordeaux. Part 2 of a two part interview. We talk with Denis Dubourdieu about the trend towards organic wine, organic farming in the vineyards. Denis emphasises that one should [...]
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