There are many factors that can affect the taste of wine. The wine is affected first by what happens to the grape in the vineyard (viticulture). The process (vinification) for producing wine varies for each type, and this introduces additional possibilities.

Wine Viticulture

The cultivation of grapes and their importance to wine crafting is known as viticulture. All aspects of a vineyard (sun, soil, drainage, and so on) affect the quality of the grape, and ultimately the wine it produces.

Viticulture is the technical term for the study of vine cultivation, where the term "vitis" refers to the genus of grapes used in wine. Although, there are about 10,000 grape varieties, very few are used in winemaking.

Wines differ in taste depending on the grapes, their vinification, their age, and also where their grapes are grown. The climate and soil of the vineyard has a significant impact on flavour, and certain grapes will flourish only under certain climatic conditions. A vineyard needs to be open to plenty of sun throughout the day. However, too much heat, freezing temperatures, or rain will destroy the grapes.

The land must also have the correct soil balance, which affects the character of the grape. It must be well drained, and have the appropriate pH for the type of grape(s). The minerals of the soil are more important than fertility; they impart aroma and taste to the grapes.

The winemaker's art owes much to his viticultural knowledge and expertise. These skills allow him to use the viticultural 'strengths' of an area to create the optimum quality wine at the optimum cost.
Often the preferred vines for wine produce a low yield because of poor soil, making the roots work harder for nourishment. Invariably these grapes, if ripened, will be of superior quality and rich in natural sugars.

Vinification

What are the steps in the winemaking process? How are the different wines produced, and what gives them their colour?

Although winemaking has been practised for centuries, it is an art little changed.
The steps in winemaking:

• The fresh grapes are de-stemmed and crushed.
• The juice is drained from the grapes, then from the stems and skins.
• The juice and natural yeast from the skins are added to a vat or oak barrel to ferment. The yeast converts the grapes' natural sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which then bubbles and dissipates.
• The juice, now called "must", ferments at controlled temperatures for up to a couple weeks until the sugar is gone.
• The dead yeast are now either removed or left in to add complexity.
• The wine can be kept fresh or aged in a stainless steel vat or oak barrel; the oak imparts a vanilla, toast taste.
• The remaining particles are removed from the wine by draining and filtering.
• The wine is bottled and labelled.

What gives wine its colour?

It seems logical to say that red wines come from red grapes, and white wine from "white" grapes. In fact, the juice of most grapes is white and the skin is what gives the wine its colour.

To produce a red wine, the dark skins of the grapes are left to ferment with the juice. As the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol, the pigment from the grape skins is released.

By removing the skins a white wine is produced, so that even a black grape can produce a white wine. A rose is created in the same manner as a red except the skins are removed earlier, and it becomes lighter in body as well as colour.

Vintage Charts

Wines produced in some years are better than others due to climate, harvest and production conditions. Understanding how to read a vintage chart will help you to determine which vintages are right for you, and which you should buy. Wine is an art, its characteristics varying as much as the strokes of a paint brush. While wine, like art, can be very subjective, there are some general "guidelines" by which wine connoisseurs pass judgement.

What makes a wine not just good, but exceptional? In the best wines, the sweetness of the grapes is balanced with their acidity.
Climate changes, regional or seasonal, affect the taste of the grapes. A good growing season will produce a better tasting grape, and ultimately a better wine. As a result, each year the wine, or vintage, may taste different because the grapes are different.

How do you read a wine chart?

Wine charts are often divided into sections according to region, sharing both general climatic profile and soil composition. These wines are then ordered according to each year they were produced.
The wine is then given a grade based on its taste, aroma, balance, and other qualities along a point scale. Some charts are based on a 100-point scale, others on a 10-point.

Sometimes the numbers are replaced with symbols that indicate if a wine is ready for consumption, or if it needs to age. There is a wide range of chart styles, be sure to read the key (if provided), but mostly be sure to take advantage of the wealth of information they offer.

Storage and Temperature

Certain conditions need to be met in order for a wine to either mature properly or keep without spoiling. It's important to learn how you can safely store wine in your home if you plan on buying expensive wine to collect and/or age.

Most of the wines that you will want to store for maturation will be Reds. Almost all White Wines (and many Reds) do not need to age past 4 years, but some Red Wines require 10 years or more. Those made with Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir grapes mature over such a period.

The key thing to remember is stability. Changes in the light, temperature, and position over time will affect the content, with older wines more susceptible to subtle variations.

Don't have a wine cellar? While a cellar is ideal, an enclosed closet or cupboard may be substituted, assuming that the light, temperature, position and humidity are stabilised.

Ideal Conditions
Temperature - The ideal is 9-15 degrees C, 48-58 F, where too warm causes wine to mature too quickly, and too cold can stall the maturation.
Light Dark - This is preferable as wine chemistry can be changed by exposure.
Position - With the bottle on its side, this keeps the cork moist. If the cork dries, air could enter and oxidise the wine.
Humidity - A level of 60 to 70 percent is ideal. Mould can form and labels can be ruined if it is too humid.

Bottle Shapes and Sizes

The shape and size of a bottle can tell you much about the wine without even looking at the label.

The shape can tell you a number of things about the contents without even looking at the label e.g. where it's from, or the type of wine it contains. For example, smaller bottles generally indicate a fortified wine. Higher in alcohol content and sweetness, they are therefore drunk more slowly than regular wines and not needed in as large a quantity.

There are a variety of characteristics in bottle design, though some interesting differences between wine bottles that reveal grape type or country of origin are:

• Tall and Thin Bottles - Germanic wine
• Bottles with "shoulders" - a Red Cabernet or Bordeaux
• Bottles without "shoulders" - a Red, Burgundy or Pinot Noir