Vinification
White wine vinification: It takes place with contact between the pomace and must, i.e., the wine is fermented without contact with the skins. After destemming and pressing (these steps are also performed in red wine vinification) the skins are separated from the must by draining or other cellar practices. Today, for some white wines, a few hours of contact between the skins and must yields stronger and more aromatic wines with more intense colors (Pre-fermentative cryomaceration). The must is usually removed from the lees, filtered and centrifuged to obtain greater limpidity and elegance. The vinification temperature must be kept between 18 and 22°C. In white wine vinification, the use of proper sulfur treatments is especially important because it protects the wine against the negative action of oxygen and it has an important antiseptic, antioxidant and antioxidasic action. With the exception of long-aging white wines, most should be consumed within 2 or 3 years from the vintage.
Red wine vinification: It consists in “alcoholic vinification on the skins”, i.e., the liquid portion (must) is left in contact with the solid portion (skins and grape pips) for a varying period of time. Thanks to the alcohol, sulfurous acid and temperature (26-28 °C), the polyphenols (anthocyanins and tannins) contained in the skins pass into the must and hence remain in the wine once the liquid is separated from the solid portion (devatting). Fermentation on the skins can last 6 to 12 days depending on the wine and the desired degree of extraction. After devatting the solid portion (pomace) is pressed to extract the wine left in contact with the skins and all the liquid (free run wine) is stored in casks, barriques, stainless steel vats or other fermentation vessels for maturation and ageing.
