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A Complete Guide to Quality in Small-Scale Wine Making

As the wine industry has experienced a period of rapid global expansion, there is a renewed emphasis on quality and consistency even within the small winery industry. Written fo… Read more

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Description

As the wine industry has experienced a period of rapid global expansion, there is a renewed emphasis on quality and consistency even within the small winery industry. Written for the small production program, A Complete Guide to Quality in Small-Scale Wine Making is for the novice to intermediate level winemaker seeking foundational information in chemistry and sensory science as they relate to wine quality at a technical level.

Drawing from personal experience as well as scientific literature, this book introduces the core concepts of winemaking before delving into methods and analysis to provide practical insights into creating and maintaining quality in the wine product.

Key features

  • Understand the chemistry and sensory science at the foundation of quality wines
  • Explore real-world examples of key analysis and application of concepts
  • Practice methods and exercises for hands-on experience

Readership

Those launching or involved with small winery production. Introductory level winemaking courses whether in an academic or a technical setting. Such a course would normally be taken by both winemaking and viticultural students. It would also suit adult education

Table of contents

  • Acknowledgements
  • Preface
  • Chapter 1. Introduction to the Table Wine-Making Process
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Great Wines Begin with Great Grapes
    • 3 An Overview of Key Elements in Wine Making
  • Chapter 2. Flavors and Aromas in Foods and Beverages
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Basic Sensory Assessment
    • 3 Descriptive Analysis
    • 4 Tasting and Making Judgments
    • 5 Other Taste and Aroma Tests
  • Chapter 3. Wine Chemistry
    • 1 Organic Acids, pH and Their Role in Wine Making
    • 2 Phenolics, Diversity and Their Role in Wine Making
    • 3 Oxygen and its Role in Wine Making
    • 4 Aroma: Diversity and Diverse Origins
  • Chapter 4. Safety
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Selected Material Safety Data Sheet Documents
    • 3 Equipment
  • Chapter 5. Table Wine Production
    • 1 Planning
    • 2 Quantity
    • 3 Choice of Major Equipment Items
    • 4 Background to Wine-Making Practice
    • 5 Problematic Ferments
  • Chapter 6. Microbiology and Methods
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Stuck Fermentations
    • 3 Microbial Spoilage of Wine
    • 4 Critical Control Points in Spoilage Prevention
    • 5 Monitoring the Process
    • 6 Sampling
    • 7 In-House Testing
    • 8 Detection and Differentiation of Wine Microorganisms
    • 9 Culture of Wine Microorganisms
    • 10 Microbiological Culture Media
    • 11 Techniques
    • 12 Incubation of Plates
  • Chapter 7. Harvest Protocols
    • 1 Sampling
    • 2 Measuring Berry Maturity
    • 3 Berry Maturity by Sensory Analysis
  • Chapter 8. Winery Protocols
    • 1 Cleaning, Hygiene and Maintenance
    • 2 pH Adjustment
    • 3 Culture Preparation and Inoculation
    • 4 A Red Wine Production Protocol
    • 5 A White Wine Production Protocol
    • 6 Bentonite Protein Stability Test
    • 7 Copper Fining Trial
    • 8 Other Fining Trials
  • Chapter 9. Principles of Analysis
    • 1 Priorities
    • 2 Quality Assurance
    • 3 Concepts
    • 4 Preparation of Grape Extracts
    • 5 Sampling, Dilutions and Calculations
  • Chapter 10. Essential Analyses
    • 1 ° Brix
    • 2 Baumé
    • 3 pH
    • 4 Titratable Acidity
    • 5 Sulfur Dioxide by Aspiration
    • 6 Sulfur Dioxide by Titration
    • 7 Reducing Sugars by Clinitest®
    • 8 Tartrate Stability
    • 9 Turbidity
  • Chapter 11. Quality Assurance, Teaching and Research
    • 1 Free Amino Nitrogen
    • 2 Ammonium by Enzymatic Assay
    • 3 Reducing Sugars by Enzymatic Assay
    • 4 Reducing Sugars (Somogyi–Nelson)
    • 5 Proteins
    • 6 Malic Acid by Enzymatic Assay
    • 7 Acetic Acid by Enzymatic Assay
    • 8 Volatile Acidity by Distillation
    • 9 Potassium (Sodium) by Flame Photometry
    • 10 Anthocyanins and Total Phenolics in Red Grapes
    • 11 Color and Phenolics in Red Wine
    • 12 Anthocyanins by Cellulose Chromatography
    • 13 Phenolics in White Grapes and Wine
    • 14 Total Phenolics by Colorimetry
    • 15 Tannins
    • 16 Alcohol by Distillation
    • 17 Alcohol by Ebulliometry
  • Chapter 12. Sample Statistics
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Simple Descriptive Statistics
    • 3 Experimentation
  • Bibliography
  • Appendix. List of Abbreviations and Symbols
    • 1 Calculators
    • 2 Materials List for Winery Operations
    • 3 Operation Procedures for an 80-L Idro Water Bag Press
  • Index

Review quotes

"...not only explains the processes of producing low volume wine, but also how to avoid problems that put all the work and capital at risk....provides a straightforward understanding of the factors that contribute to wine quality at a technical level."—FST Magazine, February 2015

Product details

About the authors

JC

John Anthony Considine

John Considine has had a lifetime of association with viticulture and for most of his professional life has been associated with viticulture. He has served on national R&D boards and on state authorities. His particular interest in wine grew from a large collaborative research project on the interface between viticulture and the composition and quality of Chardonnay for wine in the Margaret River Region of Western Australia. This text grew out of a course he developed for undergraduate and mature-age postgraduate students.
Affiliations and expertise
East Victoria Park, WA, Australia

EF

Elizabeth Frankish

Elizabeth Frankish is a food safety consultant with extensive experience in diagnostic microbiology and risk management for the food industry, including the horticulture, seafood, dairy, and meat sectors. With qualifications in agricultural science and experience in business and project management, she has delivered practical solutions to companies large and small to meet the challenges of microbial contamination, product development, monitoring programs, and training needs from a holistic perspective. She has helped develop numerous food safety guidelines for horticulture and continues to pursue her passion for prevention of food safety incidents through better understanding of the interactions between food systems and their microbial flora.
Affiliations and expertise
Microserve Laboratory Pty Ltd, WA, USA

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