Wine Republic - Sustainable, Organic and Bio-Dynamic Wines
  • Our Story
  • Tastings & Events
  • Shop Now
    • Wine of the Week
    • Wine Club
    • Virtual Tastings
    • Wine Trips
  • Wine Club
  • Blog

Blog 'n Stuff

Recovery Day

1/8/2019

0 Comments

 
     Much like when you work out too much and you need to take a day off to recover. Today is such a day. I know, I suck. But I'm human and need somewhat of a break. So today I'm just going to answer a wine question. "How and to what extent can a winemaker influence the textural profile of a wine?"

     When we winos talk about texture we're generally talking mouthfeel and winemakers can manipulate this factor in a number of ways. The extent of which they do this is under the influence of the winemaker, owner or both.  Swirling wine in your mouth will give a great idea of what you're tasting depending on how it feels. A thick Shiraz feels different than a Pinot Noir like Viogner feels different than a New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc.
     Winemakers can first start off in choosing what type of soil to plant in. Different soils can yield higher or lower alcohol levels causing differences this viscosity. The altitude of wines can also do this without changing the composition of the soil. Clay and loam tend to yield broader wines, like Pommerol. Pouilly, with it's silex gives a minerality you can feel in the rocky nature while the Gravel of Chateauneuf or left bank Bordeaux will yield more alcohol and a bigger wine.
     Sugar in the form of polysaccharides plays a great part in mouth feel. When the concentration of sugars are high then there is a thicker or more viscous wine. The polysaccharide Mannoprotein is found in the cell walls of yeast and is released into wine via autolysis. Many will know this as batonage. When you see on the wine label that the winery practices Lees aging or Sur Lies they basically stir the yeast in the wine with a big stick.
     The choice of stem inclusion will play a part because stem inclusion or whole cluster will increase the tannin level affecting mouth feel. This is a drying or astringent feeling, so much so that heavy tannins make a wine more "chewy." There is also the time during maceration and whether this must is interacting with other matter like proteins or polysaccharides.
     Winemakers may also choose to include exogenous products like extra polysaccharides, gums and tannins. Chaptalization is also a factor in mouthfeel that deals with exogenous sugars. Acidification will also affect mouthfeel in making wine more acidic. The addition of barrel fermentation or aging will also add polyphenols like vanillin and terpenes like diacetyl which imparts a chewy and buttery nature. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017

    Categories

    All
    Recipes

    RSS Feed

MAIN MENU
Wine Club
Shop Now
Tastings & Events
Travel
Contact Us
FINE PRINT
About Us
Privacy Policy
​Shipping Policy
Wine Republic
438 Union pl., #2, Excelsior, MN 55331
phone number  (952)-470-2220 
Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am-3 pm & 5-7 pm
                      Closed 3-5 pm/Siesta
                 Sat 10am - 6 pm
​                 Sun - Closed

Website by

Beastly Web Design

Join Our Mailing List...

* indicates required
  • Our Story
  • Tastings & Events
  • Shop Now
    • Wine of the Week
    • Wine Club
    • Virtual Tastings
    • Wine Trips
  • Wine Club
  • Blog