1- Reception
2- Separation of the must
3- Stemming
4- Pressing
5- Fermentation
6- Racking and clarifying
7- Bottling
MAKING WHITE WINE
a) Reception and separation of the must
The must that contains the skin and the stalks is sent to baskets to undergo a process called crushing/destemming, or separation of the must, during which the juice flows out slowly through gravity or under slight pressure. Today, however, crushing/destemming is often omitted.
The first must that comes from the crushing/destemming process is known as mosto yema, mosto de flor or mosto lágrima (flower must). It is light and fine, aromatic, flowery and fruity.
b) Pressing
The remaining must is much more solid due to the loss of liquid, and goes for pressing with greater intensities. This pressure extracts three different types of must: the first must (light pressure), second must (medium pressure) and third or press must (strong pressure). Each one of the musts will be fermented separately, according to its quality, to produce different types of wine.
The residues that collect on the press are called pomace or orujos and, as they have not fermented, they contain sugar. These are known as sweet, or fresh, orujos. They may undergo different treatments that produce orujo (marc wine) and other alchohol derivatives
After crushing, must contains numerous solid materials in suspension. These come largely from the grapes. Through degriming, these materials are separated out. This process consists of letting the musts sit for a day, taking special care not to let fermentation begin. The solid material settles to the bottom under its own weight and later, with meticulous care, the clean must is siphoned off and transferred to stainless steel tanks for fermentation.
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