Enartis

Once fermentations are finished, it’s time to evaluate wine quality and decide the destination of each wine: early release or long-term ageing, fresh and fruity or oak-aged. This is also the time various faults can become evident. During this phase, it is possible to adopt easy, time-saving and quality solutions that put wine on the right track.
Let’s consider 4 common situations:
• Fresh and easy-to-drink
• Destined for long-term ageing
• Oak-aged for early release

FRESH, EASY-TO-DRINK WINE

With this kind of wine, the biggest challenge is to guarantee fresh, young characters from the first bottling to the last, given that this can take place over the span of a year after harvest. The main technical objectives of the maturation phase are:

Slow ageing of aroma and color. This means protecting wine from oxidation. In addition to inert gasses and SO2, there are other effective, healthier and reasonable solutions:
• Fine lees, either from fermentation or added as inactivated yeast, can consume dissolved oxygen and maintain a low redox potential.
• Tannins can be used as antioxidant alternatives to SO2. Gallic tannins and some untoasted oak tannins are very effective without impacting sensory qualities.

Prevent microbial contamination. Unwanted malolactic fermentation onset or the growth of spoilage microorganisms can lead to a loss of freshness or the production of off-flavors that can mask fruit characters. SO2 additions, low temperatures, filtration and sanitation of tanks and equipment help minimize the risk of contamination.
• Chitosan is a new tool that can be used to control a wide spectrum of microorganisms. It is vegan, allergen-free and can be used to partially or completely replace SO2.

Enartis Solutions for Preventing Oxidation and Microbial Contamination

WINE DESTINED FOR LONG-TERM AGEING

The main goal of long-term ageing is to obtain complexity from the development of terroir aromas and integration of flavors. These are the critical points:
• SO2 management. It is necessary to protect wine without increasing total SO2 near the legal limit. Storage on fine lees, the use of tannins with antioxidant effects and the antimicrobial effect of chitosan help to reduce the addition of SO2.
• Preventing spoilage microorganism contamination, particularly Brettanomyces, is another goal that can be tough to manage, especially with barrel ageing. Before transferring wine to barrels or when cellar temperatures increase in the Spring, adding a small amount of chitosan is a good practice.
• Ageing in used barrels. After ageing two or three wines, oak’s capability of releasing tannins and oak characters is much lower and not enough to guarantee the same effect on structure and aromatic complexity.
The use of oak tannins can compensate for the lack of oak components.

Enartis Oak Tannins that can Prolong Barrel Life

1: low impact, 5: high impact

OAK-AGED STYLE FOR EARLY RELEASE

When the objective is to get a complex, oaky aroma with a soft, full body in a short amount of time:
• the addition of inactivated yeast gives the effect of sur lies ageing in just a few weeksmore aromatic complexity, roundness and volume on the palate;
• oak chips can easily modify the oak profile;
• toasted oak tannins complete the effect of chips increasing wine structure and accelerating maturation.

WINE WITH FAULTS

The beginning of maturation is the time to correct wine imperfections. The principle is always the same: the sooner the better. In a young wine, at the beginning of its maturation period, it is possible to try “mild/gentle” corrective treatments and observe their impact over time. If they are not effective, there is enough time to repeat the treatment or try a different strategy. The addition of tannins and polysaccharides is beneficial to correct or minimize defects such as herbaceous aromas, lack of structure, excess astringency, burning sensation, reduction, etc.

Treat Imperfections

For more information, please call us at (707) 836-2451 or contact your technical sales representative.