The production of wine differs significantly, depending on the type of wine being made. For instance, vinification techniques will differ greatly between white wines and red wines. The production of organic chianti wine (vino chianti biologico), for instance, is relatively simple compared to that of Champagne or Chianti wine. Wine can be produced from a wide array of base materials (grapes, plums, apples) as well as a diverse range of vinification methods and post vinification practices.
The beginning of the making:
Wine is typically fermented with native yeasts found on the grape skins; however, some winemakers choose to use cultured yeast instead in order to ensure consistency across vintages or simply due to practical reasons. In the where no yeast inoculation occurs, fermentation is carried out by microbes present on the grape skins as well as other surfaces vinification equipment.
Chaptalization:
Some types of wine require the addition of sugar after fermentation in order to increase the final alcohol concentration (e.g., Chianti wine). The process of adding sugar before fermentation is known as chaptalization and is often practiced in regions such as Germany and France where vintners want their wines to display high alcohol levels.
Vinification and its types:
Different vinification practices will apply to different types of wines. In white wines, the juice of crushed grapes is left to ferment with the skins for a period of time. This allows phenolic compounds from the skins to leach into the juice which gives wine its body and color depending on the amount of skin contact time vinification techniques employed.
Red wines are vinified without crushing or pressing out the grape skins so that they will have more pronounced fruit flavors and higher tannins. The greatest difference between red and white vinification practices has been noted in sparkling wine production where carbon dioxide pressure is used during vinification in order to produce bubbly Champagne.
CONCLUSION:
Winemakers of modern times have more techniques and technologies what the predecessors did not have access to. But the taste and quality of wine still remains the same and better with time. The bottom line of all the modern techniques is based on the original ones. Wine making is still about growing and selecting the sweetest grapes and allow the yeast to transform them into a fine red wine.