Growing Black Grapes
Black grapes hang on the vine until they are ripe. They require a great deal of sun to ripen both the pulp and skins, accumulate sugar, and develop concentrated fruit flavors.
Black Grape Harvest
Once the grapes are ready to be harvested, they are picked by hand or machine and immediately chilled in the winery to keep them fresh. At this stage, it is important that the grapes aren’t exposed to too much oxygen so they don’t spoil and develop unwanted bacteria.
Red Wine Fermentation
In the winery, black grapes usually soak with their skins to extract flavor, tannins, and texture. After a period of time, the juice/skin mixture is placed into fermentation tanks, vessels, or barrels.
Yeast is added to the juice to convert the sugar into alcohol. This process may take a couple weeks. The temperatures are a bit warmer than white wines to extract as much concentrated fruit flavor as possible.
Red Wine Pressing
When fermentation is complete, the grapes are pressed to remove the wine away from the skins. The skins are discarded.
When fermentation completes, the winemaker must decide what to to do next. The wine may be:
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1. Bottled for immediate consumption
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2. Aged in oak to develop additional flavors and texture
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3. Stored in a vat and bottled at a later date
