1. Harvest: Grapes are plucked from the vine (by hand or machine) at different times of the year depending on the location, grape and climate. The rougher handling of machine-picking is usually reserved for firmer, less-ripe grapes. After picking, the grapes are destemmed.
2. Pressing: In many traditional, small vineyards, especially in Italy, grapes are stomped by foot. Bigger wineries use machine presses to extract the grape juice. The juice can be separated immediately from the solids — pulp and grape skins — or left in contact with them. This steeping is called keeping the wine 'on the lees,' and can add more flavor, color and tannins to the final product.
3. Fermentation: The crushed grapes are put in a large tank and yeast is added to start fermentation — the yeast feeds on the sugar in the crushed grapes, and turns it into alcohol. The riper the fruit, the more sugar they hold, and consequently, the higher the potential alcohol content.
4. Second fermentation: Some wines go through another fermentation process, called malolactic fermentation, that converts malic acid into lactic acid — which gives wine a softer, buttery taste.
5. Filtering: The wine is pumped through a filter to remove sediment.
6. Aging: Most red wines and certain whites spend some time — a few months — in oak barrels, during which they absorb some taste from the wood. Most white wines age for a shorter time — a few weeks — in stainless-steel barrels that transfer no taste.
7. Bottling: This can be the most hectic part of the whole winemaking process, especially if bottles break on the assembly line. After bottling, some wines go right out for sale; others are put down for more aging.
參考譯文:
1. 收摘葡萄:釀酒用的葡萄是通過人工或機械從葡萄藤上采下來的,收摘時間則因產地、葡萄品種及氣候條件而異。機器收摘的手法比較粗糙,通常只適用于那些比較結實、成熟度不高的葡萄。采下來之后,葡萄還得經過一個去梗的過程。
2. 壓榨:許多傳統的小型葡萄園都會實行用腳踩的壓榨方法,這種做法在意大利尤其普遍。規模較大的酒莊則會用機器來榨取葡萄汁。人們有時會在第一時間把果汁和固體成分——果肉和果皮——分隔開來,有時又會任由它們混在一起。人們通常把后面這一個浸漬過程稱為讓葡萄酒“泡渣”(on the lees),由此而來的成品會擁有更濃的味道、更深的顏色和更高的丹寧含量。
3. 發酵:人們會把壓碎的葡萄裝進一個大酒桶,加入酵母,讓它開始發酵——酵母菌會吞食葡萄當中的糖分,把糖分轉化成酒精。葡萄越是成熟,糖分的含量就越大,成品的酒精含量上限也就越高。
4. 二次發酵:有些葡萄酒會經歷二次發酵的過程,這個過程名為蘋果酸-乳酸發酵(malolactic fermentation),可以將酒里的蘋果酸轉化成乳酸,成果則是一種更為柔和適口的味道。
5. 過濾:將葡萄酒泵入過濾裝置以去除渣滓。
6. 熟成:大多數紅酒和特定品種的白葡萄酒會在橡木酒桶當中待上幾個月的時間,目的是讓它們吸收一點橡木風味。相較而言,大多數白葡萄酒的熟成時間就要短一些——只需要幾個星期,用的則是不會添加風味的不銹鋼酒桶。
7. 裝瓶:這可能是整個釀酒過程當中最為忙亂的一道工序,碰到流水線上有酒瓶破損的時候更是如此。裝瓶之后,有些葡萄酒會直接進入市場,另一些則會蟄伏起來,進入下一個熟成階段。