Winemaking
Bottling and closures
The last step, and one that determines how the wine will age.
Overview
Bottling is a point of maximum vulnerability: oxygen pickup here can undo years of careful work, so lines are flushed with inert gas.
The closure choice determines oxygen transmission over the wine’s life, which shapes how it develops. It is a genuine trade-off rather than a quality question.
Fill level, sulfur dioxide levels and bottle colour are all decided here too — bottle colour matters more than it sounds, because clear glass exposes wine to light strike.
Sources
Sources consulted
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Winemaking
Fermentation
Yeast converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide — the step that makes wine wine.
Winemaking
How red wine is made
Fermenting grape juice in contact with the skins, which is where colour and tannin come from.
Winemaking
How white wine is made
Pressing the juice off the skins before fermentation, then fermenting the clear juice.