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In order for grape juice to become wine, it must go through a fermentation process. Yeast creates a chemical reaction that converts sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. The alcohol remains in the wine but the carbon dioxide dissipates unless it is captured in the bottle as it is with champagne.

Originally, the fermentation process in grapes was completely natural. The wild yeasts found on the skin of the grapes feasted on the natural sugars in the grape to create wine. Each area in the world harbored different strains of yeast which imparted different flavors to the brew. Even today, historic wineries keep their original yeast strains in the wood and the walls of their cellars to help create unique but recognizable flavors over decades or even centuries.

The basics of fermentation are that yeasts like to eat sugar. This is also the basis of bread making where the yeast converts the sugars and starches in the grain to create a gas that forms air pockets in the bread. In wine, the yeast dines on the sugars until it has converted most into alcohol and carbon dioxide. As the sugars decline, the yeast weakens and the alcohol eventually overcomes it and it dies. Different strains of yeast can withstand various levels of alcohol before succumbing but the conversion always ends by the time the wine has reached approximately 14% alcohol. To create higher alcohol wines, the must needs to be fed with more sugar on a regular basis and needs to be paired with a high tolerance yeast strain.

Creating champagne and other bubbly wine starts with the same basic process. Yeast is allowed to ferment grape must until the process is complete. Then, upon bottling, a small amount of sugar is added back to each bottle to create a secondary fermentation in the bottle. This only adds slightly to the alcohol level but it traps the carbon dioxide in to give champagne its famous bubbles. The small amount of sediment in the bottles caused by this secondary fermentation is removed by slowly turning the bottles regularly and working it down to the neck where it is flash frozen, removed, and the bottles are re-corked.

In order for the fermentation process to occur vigorously, a temperature of between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit should be kept. Yeast will begin to die at higher temperatures and they absolutely abhor the cold. Most commercial wine fermentation happens in steel vats these days but many high end wines are still finished in toasted oak barrels as they have been for hundreds of years.

The activity of the wine doesn’t end when it is bottled and corked. A cork is designed to allow very small amounts of air exchange between the wine and the outside atmosphere. This ages the wine and gives it more complexity and a softer taste. However, too much air will damage a wine. If you have ever had a glass of wine from a bottle that has been open for several hours, you will understand the difference. Oxygen breaks down the wine and gives it an oxidized off-flavor. There are several stoppers and other tools to keep oxygen out of an opened bottle of wine.

Without fermentation, there would be no wine in the world, and that would be disappointing!