From Vine to Wine

From Vine to Wine Wine tasting Wine tasting is an enjoyable cultural event that many feel intimidated by. Here is a quick guide to wine tasting, Please feel free to cut it out so you can keep it with you on hand while you taste wines. PREPARATION CRUSHER PRESS FERMENTATION AGING BOTTLING DISTRIBUTION Order the wines Wines should be tasted in the following order so that the heavier or sweet wines do not effect the taster's perspective on the lighter wines. The order goes as follows: Sparkling wines Light whites Heavy whites Roses Light reds Heavy reds Sweet or desert wines 3 4 6. 8. Aging usually occurs for 9 the Press to squeeze to juice. It barrels, the fermentation process months to 2.5 years in barrels or vats with oak chips along the bottom. Aging for white wines takes less time than red wines. In stainless steel vats or oak After the aging process is finished, the wine is put into bottles andthey are corked. The wines should continue to The picked grapes are put into the Crusher, a machine that creates a The"must" is then placed in The bottles of wine are then The grapes are haravested and then picked by seasonal workers. labeled and shippped. In North Carolina, there are over 70 The five s's general mush of grapes called "must." occurs when the sugars are turned into alcohol. removes the skins for white wines and leaves the skin on for wineries that distribute wine There are five basic steps in tasting wines. These are easily remembered by recalling the five s's: sée, swirl, sniff, sip, and savor. age in bottles for at least two to three months. red wines. across the state and nation. Corolina Stolistics Nhe Taw Thraugh geldlin Vally NC You can tell how sugary a wine is, the amount of sediment, the clarity and complexity of the wine, and the type of grape. Yadkin Valley is the first American Viticultural Area in North Carolina. The area is over 1.4 million acres and has over 20 wineries, many which have won awards over the years. Here is a tour that will take you through 8 wineries of Yadkin Valley. See The amount of grapes grown in the 3 regions: Winery Growth in North Carolina from 2001-2006: 400 400 Area detail Windy Gap Vineyards - Ronda, NC (336) 984-39226 www.windygapwine.com 600 375 Nags A Head Swirling the glass of wine helps to expose the wine to more oxygen, which helps release molecules that are Swirl components of the wine's bouquet. 600 350 550 Yadkin Valles 350 Asheville • Raleigh Shelton Vineyards - Dobson, NC (336) 366-4724 www.sheltonvineyards.com 500 300, Charlotte : 300 Fayetteville 400 345 Old North State Winery - Mount Airy, NC Wilmington 250 100 km (336) 789-9463 www.carolinaharvestwines.com 250 300 Examining the wine's aroma can determine how the flavor taste. It 200 200 Old North State Winery - Mount Airy, NC (336) 789-9463 www.carolinaharvestwines.com can also reveal faults of the wine Yakin Valley Area 200 2001 2002 2003 Sniff such as a yeast contamination. 2004 2005 2006 Vineyard Growth in North Carolina from 2001-2006: Rag Apple Lassie Vineyards - Boonville, NC (866) Rag Apple www.ragapplelassie.com 100 80 Take a sip of the wine and let the flavors sit in your mouth for a little. Try to distinguish the different flavors 70 Mountains Piedmont Coastal Westbend Vineyards- Lewisville, NC (336) 945-5032 www.westbendvineyards.com 60 Sip and elements of the wine. 52 The top 5 grapes varieties in North Carolina: 50 45 50 km Hanover Park Vineyard - Yakenville, NC (336) 463-2875 www.hanoverparkwines.com Lastly, enjoy! Sit back and savor the tastes and flavors of the wine. Don't be afraid to say what you like or don't Savor like, it is all personal preference. 34 6% 10% 12% 28% 39% 30 Sources: www.nccommerce.com, www.visitnc.com, www.wikipedia.com, www.wineintro.com, www.yadkinvalley.com 25 Noble Merlot Cabernet Chardonnay Savignon Other varieties RayLen Vineyard - Mocksville, NC (336) 998-3100 www.raylenvineyards.com Carlos 20 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006