Definition: Red (wine-making)

Crushing:

Red grapes are crushed to break the skins. This process releases the pulp and juice from the grapes, known as must.

Destemming:

The crushed harvest is then destemmed. The stalk, the woody part of the bunch, is thus removed and separated from the grape berries. This is because it can impart a grassy taste to the wine.

Maceration and fermentation:

The crushed and destemmed grapes are transferred to fermentation vats. Alcoholic fermentation begins and lasts an average of four to ten days. At the same time, the colouring agents and tannins contained in the skin diffuse into the fermenting must. Depending on the type of red wine desired, maceration will be more or less prolonged. In fact, red wines for ageing require longer maceration in order to obtain a good structure and ageing potential.

Draining and pressing:

The vats are drained to end the maceration process. Gravity separates the wine from the marc (all the solid parts of the grape: stems, skins, seeds, still impregnated with alcohol). The drained wine is called "free-run wine". At the same time, the marc is removed from the vat and pressed to extract the wine it has absorbed. This is the "press wine", which is richer in colour and tannins. Depending on the type of wine desired, free-run wine and press wine are blended either immediately or after ageing (or barrel ageing). At this stage, a second fermentation, called malolactic fermentation, begins. This naturally reduces the acidity of the wine.