Why is white wine white and orange wine amber? How do the bubbles get into Champagne, and why does Sherry grow a blanket of yeast? This guide follows every decision a winemaker makes, from the moment the grapes are picked to the moment the cork goes in, and shows you how each one changes what ends up in your glass.
It covers white, orange, rosé and red wines, every way sweet wine is made, all six methods for making sparkling wine, and the fortified classics: Sherry, Port and Madeira. Then it goes into the cellar to explain what steel, oak, concrete eggs, clay amphorae, qvevri and glass each do to a wine, and how ageing techniques like lees ageing, flor, solera and oxidative ageing create the flavours you love.
What's inside
From grape to glass: the one equation behind every wine and the eight stages of winemaking
Inside the grape, picking dates and how fermentation (and malolactic fermentation) works
Still wines: white, rosé, orange and red, plus six ways to make sweet wine
Sparkling wines: the traditional method step by step, tank method, pét-nat and the sweetness scale
Fortified wines: when the spirit goes in, Sherry and the solera system, Port and Madeira
Twelve fermentation and ageing vessels compared, from stainless steel to qvevri, plus oak in depth
Ageing techniques, finishing, closures, and organic, biodynamic and natural wine explained
A one-page cheat sheet of every style and a glossary of winemaking terms
Why is white wine white and orange wine amber? How do the bubbles get into Champagne, and why does Sherry grow a blanket of yeast? This guide follows every decision a winemaker makes, from the moment the grapes are picked to the moment the cork goes in, and shows you how each one changes what ends up in your glass.
It covers white, orange, rosé and red wines, every way sweet wine is made, all six methods for making sparkling wine, and the fortified classics: Sherry, Port and Madeira. Then it goes into the cellar to explain what steel, oak, concrete eggs, clay amphorae, qvevri and glass each do to a wine, and how ageing techniques like lees ageing, flor, solera and oxidative ageing create the flavours you love.
What's inside
From grape to glass: the one equation behind every wine and the eight stages of winemaking
Inside the grape, picking dates and how fermentation (and malolactic fermentation) works
Still wines: white, rosé, orange and red, plus six ways to make sweet wine
Sparkling wines: the traditional method step by step, tank method, pét-nat and the sweetness scale
Fortified wines: when the spirit goes in, Sherry and the solera system, Port and Madeira
Twelve fermentation and ageing vessels compared, from stainless steel to qvevri, plus oak in depth
Ageing techniques, finishing, closures, and organic, biodynamic and natural wine explained
A one-page cheat sheet of every style and a glossary of winemaking terms
