Winemaking
Short skin contact
A few hours of skin contact, used to make rosé and to add aromatics to white wine.
Overview
Brief maceration extracts colour and aroma precursors without much tannin. Two to twenty hours is typical for rosé.
Some white winemakers use a few hours of pre-fermentation skin contact to boost aromatic intensity, particularly with Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer.
Sources
Sources consulted
- WSET educational materials and the Systematic Approach to Tasting — Wine & Spirit Education Trust
More in winemaking
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.