Gourmand Award for the No. 1 Best Wine Book in the World for Professionals
Since the publication of Wine Production: Vine to Bottle (2005) and Wine Quality: Tasting and Selection (2009), there has been a great deal of change in the wine industry, and the perceptions of critics and expectations of consumers have shifted. Wine Production and Quality, Second Edition brings together its two predecessors in one updated and considerably expanded volume.
This comprehensive guide explores the techniques of wine production in the vineyard and winery, and considers their impact upon the taste, style and quality of wine in the bottle. Part 1 of the book provides a structured yet easily readable understanding of wine production, from vine to bottle. The impact of natural factors, including climate and soil, is considered, together with the decisions made and work undertaken in the vineyard and winery. Part 2 looks at quality in wines: the concepts and techniques of tasting are detailed, along with the challenges in recognising and assessing quality. Also discussed are the steps producers may take, and the limitations they may face, in creating quality wines.
The book will prove valuable to beverage industry professionals, wine trade students, wine merchants, sommeliers, restaurateurs , and wine lovers as well as those entering (or thinking of entering) the highly competitive world of wine production.
Table of Contents
Preface, xv
Preface, xv
Acknowledgements, xvii
Part 1 Introduction to Part 1 – Wine Production, 1
Chapter 1 Viticulture – the basics, 5
1.1 The grape vine, 5
1.2 Grape varieties, 6
1.3 The structure of the grape berry, 7
1.3.1 Stalks, 7
1.3.2 Skins, 8
1.3.3 Yeasts, 9
1.3.4 Pulp, 9
1.3.5 Pips, 10
1.4 Crossings, hybrids, clonal and massal selection, 10
1.4.1 Crossings, 10
1.4.2 Hybrids, 11
1.4.3 Clones and massal selection, 11
1.5 Grafting, 11
1.6 Phylloxera vastatrix, 12
1.7 Rootstocks, 13
1.8 The life of the vine, 15
Chapter 2 Climate, 16
2.1 World climate classifications, 16
2.2 Climatic requirements of the grape vine, 17
2.2.1 Sunshine, 17
2.2.2 Warmth, 17
2.2.3 Cold winter, 17
2.2.4 Rainfall, 18
2.3 Climatic enemies of the grape vine, 18
2.3.1 Frost, 18
2.3.2 Hail, 19
2.3.3 Strong winds, 20
2.3.4 Excessive heat, 21
2.3.5 Drought, 21
2.4 Mesoclimate and microclimate, 22
2.4.1 Water, 22
2.4.2 Altitude, 22
2.4.3 Aspect, 22
2.4.4 Woods and trees, 23
2.5 The concept of degree days, 23
2.6 Impact of climate, 24
2.7 Weather, 25
2.8 Climate Change, 25
Chapter 3 Soil, 28
3.1 Soil requirements of the grape vine, 28
3.1. Good drainage, 31
3.1.2 Fertility, 31
3.1.3 Nutrients and minerals, 31
3.2 Influence of soils upon wine style and quality, 31
3.3 Soil types suitable for viticulture, 32
3.3.1 Limestone, 32
3.3.2 Chalk, 32
3.3.3 Clay, 32
3.3.4 Marl, 32
3.3.5 Granite, 33
3.3.6 Gravel, 33
3.3.7 Greywacke, 33
3.3.8 Sand, 33
3.3.9 Schist, 33
3.3.10 Slate, 33
3.3.11 Basalt and other volcanic soils, 34
3.4 Soil compatibility, 34
3.5 Terroir, 35
Chapter 4 The vineyard, 36
4.1 Vineyard location and site selection, 36
4.2 Density of planting of vines, 37
4.3 Training systems, 38
4.3.1 Main types of vine training, 38
4.3.2 Other training systems, 42
4.4 Pruning methods and canopy management, 42
4.4.1 Pruning methods, 45
4.4.2 Canopy management, 45
4.5 Irrigation, 45
4.6 The vineyard cycle and work in the vineyard, 47
4.6.1 Winter, 47
4.6.2 Spring, 48
4.6.3 Summer, 48
4.6.4 Autumn, 49
4.7 GrapeÂ]berry development, 50
Chapter 5 Pests and diseases, 51
5.1Important vineyard pests, 51
5.1.1Insects, mites and worms, 52
5.1.2Animals and birds, 53
5.2 Diseases, 54
5.2.1 Fungal diseases, 54
5.2.2 Bacterial diseases, 56
5.2.3 Virus diseases, 57
5.3 Prevention and treatments, 58
Chapter 6 Environmentally sensitive vineyard practices, 59
6.1 Conventional viticulture, 59
6.2 IPM, 60
6.3 Organic viticulture, 61
6.4 Biodynamic viticulture, 63
6.4.1 Rudolf Steiner, 65
6.4.2 Biodynamic preparations, 65
6.4.3 Certification, 67
6.5 Natural wine, 68
Chapter 7 The harvest, 69
7.1 Grape ripeness and the timing of picking, 69
7.2 Harvesting methods, 70
7.2.1 Hand picking, 70
7.2.2 Machine picking, 72
7.3 Style and quality, 74
Chapter 8 Vinification and winery design, 75
8.1 Basic principles of vinification, 75
8.2 Winery location and design, 76
8.3 Winery equipment, 78
8.3.1 Fermentation vats, 78
Chapter 9 Red winemaking, 82
9.1 Sorting, destemming and crushing, 82
9.2 Must analysis, 83
9.3 Must preparation, 84
9.3.1 Sulfur dioxide (SO2), 84
9.3.2 Must enrichment (chaptalisation), 84
9.3.3 Acidification, 85
9.3.4 DeÂ]acidification, 85
9.3.5 Yeast, 85
9.3.6 Yeast nutrients, 85
9.3.7 Tannin, 86
9.4 Fermentation, temperature control and extraction, 86
9.4.1 Fermentation, 86
9.4.2 Temperature control, 86
9.4.3 Extraction, 87
9.4.4 Fermentation monitoring, 88
9.5 Maceration, 89
9.6 Racking, 89
9.7 Pressing, 89
9.8 Malolactic fermentation, 90
9.9 Blending, 90
9.10 Maturation, 90
Chapter 10 Dry white winemaking, 92
10.1 Crushing and pressing, 92
10.1.1 Crushing, 92
10.1.2 Pressing, 93
10.2 Must preparation, 93
10.3 Fermentation, 93
10.4 MLF, 94
10.5 Lees ageing, 94
10.6 Maturation, 95
Chapter 11 Red and white winemaking – detailed processes, 96
11.1 Must concentration, 96
11.1.1 Must concentrators and reverse osmosis, 96
11.1.2 Cryoextraction, 98
11.2 Methods of extraction, 98
11.2.1 Cold soaking (preÂ]fermentation maceration), 98
11.2.2 Pump overs – remontage, 98
11.2.3 Rack and return (délestage), 99
11.2.4 Punching down – pigeage, 100
11.2.5 Rotary vinifiers, 100
11.2.6 ThermoÂ]vinification – heat extraction, 100
11.2.7 Flash détente, 100
11.2.8 Whole grape fermentation, carbonic and semiÂ]carbonic maceration, 101
11.2.9 Fixing colour, 101
11.2.10 PostÂ]fermentation maceration, 101
11.3 MacroÂ], microÂ] and hyperÂ]oxygenation, 101
11.3.1 HyperÂ]oxygenation, 102
11.3.2 MacroÂ]oxygenation, 102
11.3.3 MicroÂ]oxygenation, 103
11.4 Removal of excess alcohol, 103
11.5 The choice of natural or cultured yeasts, 103
11.6 DeÂ]stemming, 104
11.7 Fermenting highÂ]density musts to dryness, 105
11.8 Wine presses and pressing, 105
11.8.1 Continuous press, 105
11.8.2 Batch press, 106
11.8.3 Horizontal plate press, 106
11.8.4 Horizontal pneumatic press, 106
11.8.5 Vertical basket press, 107
11.9 Technology and the return to tradition, 109
Chapter 12 Barrel maturation and oak treatments, 110
12.1 History of barrel usage, 110
12.2 Oak and oaking, 111
12.3 The influence of the barrel, 111
12.3.1 Size of the barrel, 112
12.3.2 Type and origin of oak (or other wood), 112
12.3.3 Manufacturing techniques including toasting, 113
12.3.4 Stave thickness, 113
12.3.5 Amount of time spent in barrel, 113
12.3.6 Where barrels are stored, 114
12.4 Oak treatments, 115
Chapter 13 Preparing wine for bottling, 116
13.1 Fining, 116
13.2 Filtration, 117
13.2.1 Traditional methods in common use, 117
13.2.2 Sheet filtration (sometimes called plate filtration), 119
13.2.3 Membrane filtration and other methods of achieving biological stability, 120
13.3 Stabilisation, 121
13.4 Adjustment of sulfur dioxide levels, 123
13.5 Choice of bottle closures, 123
Chapter 14 Making other types of still wine, 126
14.1 MediumÂ]sweet and sweet wines, 126
14.1.1 MediumÂ]sweet wines, 127
14.1.2 Sweet wines, 127
14.2 Rosé wines, 130
14.2.1 Blending, 130
14.2.2 Skin contact, 130
14.2.3 Saignée, 131
14.3 Fortified (liqueur) wines, 131
14.3.1 Sherry production, 131
14.3.2 Port production, 133
14.3.3 Other wellÂ]known fortified wines, 134
Chapter 15 Sparkling wines, 136
15.1 Fermentation in a sealed tank, 136
15.2 Second fermentation in bottle, 137
15.3 Traditional method, 138
15.3.1 Pressing, 138
15.3.2 Débourbage, 138
15.3.3 First fermentation, 138
15.3.4 Assemblage, 139
15.3.5 Addition of liqueur de tirage, 139
15.3.6 Second fermentation, 139
15.3.7 Maturation, 139
15.3.8 Rémuage, 140
15.3.9 Stacking sur pointes, 141
15.3.10 Dégorgement, 141
15.3.11 Dosage (liqueur d’expedition), 142
15.3.12 Corking and finishing, 142
15.4 Styles, 142
Part 2 Introduction to part 2 – wine quality, 143
Chapter 16 wine Tasting, 147
16.1 Wine tasting and laboratory analysis, 148
16.2 What makes a good wine taster?, 149
16.3 Where and when to taste – suitable conditions, 150
16.4 Appropriate equipment, 151
16.4.1 Tasting glasses, 151
16.4.2 Water, 155
16.4.3 Spittoons, 155
16.4.4 Tasting sheets, 156
16.4.5 Use of tasting software, 156
16.4.6 Tasting mats, 157
16.5 Tasting order, 158
16.6 Temperature of wines for tasting, 159
16.7 Tasting for specific purposes, 159
16.8 Structured tasting technique, 160
16.8.1 Appearance, 160
16.8.2 Nose, 161
16.8.3 Palate, 161
16.8.4 Conclusions, 162
16.9 The importance of keeping notes, 163
Chapter 17 Appearance, 164
17.1 Clarity and brightness, 164
17.2 Intensity, 165
17.3 Colour, 167
17.3.1 White wines, 167
17.3.2 Rosé wines, 167
17.3.3 Red wines, 168
17.3.4 Rim/core, 170
17.4 Other observations, 171
17.4.1 Bubbles, 171
17.4.2 Legs, 172
17.4.3 Deposits, 173
Chapter 18 Nose, 175
18.1 Condition, 176
18.2 Intensity, 176
18.3 Development, 176
18.3.1 Primary aromas, 177
18.3.2 Secondary aromas, 177
18.3.3 Tertiary aromas, 177
18.4 Aroma characteristics, 178
Chapter 19 Palate, 181
19.1 Sweetness/bitterness/acidity/saltiness/umami, 182
19.2 Dryness/sweetness, 182
19.3 Acidity, 184
19.4 Tannin, 184
19.5 Alcohol, 186
19.6 Body, 187
19.7 Flavour intensity, 187
19.8 Flavour characteristics, 188
19.9 Other observations, 188
19.10 Finish, 191
Chapter 20 Tasting conclusions, 192
20.1 Assessment of quality, 192
20.1.1 Quality level, 192
20.1.2 Reasons for assessment of quality, 192
20.2 Assessment of readiness for drinking/potential for ageing, 193
20.2.1 Level of readiness for drinking/potential for ageing, 194
20.2.2 Reasons for assessment, 195
20.3 The wine in context, 195
20.3.1 Origins/variety/theme, 195
20.3.2 Price category, 195
20.4 Grading wine – the award of points, 196
20.4.1 Grading on a 20Â]point scale, 197
20.4.2 Grading on a 100Â]point scale, 197
20.5 Blind tasting, 198
20.5.1 Why taste blind?, 198
20.5.2 Blind or sighted?, 199
20.5.3 Tasting for quality, 199
20.5.4 Practicalities, 199
20.5.5 Examination tastings, 199
Chapter 21 Wine faults and flaws, 201
21.1 Chloroanisoles and bromoanisoles, 202
21.2 Fermentation in the bottle and bacterial spoilage, 203
21.3 Protein haze, 204
21.4 Oxidation, 204
21.5 Excessive volatile acidity, 205
21.6 Excessive sulfur dioxide, 205
21.7 Reductivity, 206
21.8 Brettanomyces, 207
21.9 Dekkera, 208
21.10 Geraniol, 208
21.11 Geosmin, 208
21.12 Ethyl acetate, 208
21.13 Excessive acetaldehyde, 209
21.14 Candida acetaldehyde, 209
21.15 Smoke taint, 209
Chapter 22 Quality – assurances and guarantees, 210
22.1 Compliance with PDO and PGI legislation as an assurance of quality?, 210
22.1.1 The EU and third countries, 210
22.1.2 PDO, PGI and wine, 211
22.1.3 The concept of AOP (AC), 213
22.2 Tasting competitions and critical scores as an assessment of quality?, 215
22.3 Classifications as an official assessment of quality?, 216
22.4 ISO 9001 certification as an assurance of quality?, 218
22.5 Established brands as a guarantee of quality?, 219
22.6 Price as an indication of quality?, 221
Chapter 23 The natural factors and a sense of place, 223
23.1 Conceptual styles, 223
23.2 Typicity and regionality, 224
23.3 The impact of climate upon quality wine production, 225
23.4 The role of soils, 226
23.5 Terroir, 226
23.6 The Vintage factor, 231
Chapter 24 Constraints upon quality wine production, 233
24.1 Financial, 233
24.1.1 Financial constraints upon the grower, 234
24.1.2 Financial constraints upon the winemaker, 236
24.2 Skills and diligence, 238
24.3 Legal, 240
24.4 Environmental, 240
Chapter 25 Production of quality wines, 242
25.1 Yield in vineyard, 242
25.2 Density of planting, 243
25.3 Age of vines, 244
25.4 Winter pruning and vine balance, 245
25.5 Stressing the vines, vine and nutrient balance., 246
25.6 Green harvesting, 248
25.7 Harvesting, 248
25.7.1 Mechanical harvesting, 249
25.7.2 Hand picking, 249
25.8 Delivery of fruit, 250
25.9 Selection and sorting, 250
25.10 Use of pumps/gravity, 251
25.11 Control of fermentations and choice of fermentation vessel, 254
25.12 Use of gases, 256
25.13 Barrels, 257
25.14 Selection from vats or barrels, 258
25.15 Storage, 259
Chapter 26 Selection by buyers, 260
26.1 Supermarket dominance, 262
26.2 Price point/margin, 263
26.3 Selecting wines for market and customer base, 264
26.4 Styles and individuality, 264
26.5 Continuity, 265
26.6 The place of individual wines in the range, 267
26.7 Exclusivity, 267
26.8 Specification, 267
26.9 Technical analysis, 268
Appendix WSET Diploma Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®, 271
Glossary, 273
Bibliography, 285
Useful websites, 288
Wine and vineyard & winery equipment exhibitions, 291
Index, 000
