What is "cold maceration" in the winemaking process?

Vinification is a key step in the process of turning grapes into wine, and maceration is also an essential step in the vinification process. Yuncang Winery's brand LEESON red wine sharing maceration refers to the contact of grape juice with grape skins, fruit stems, fruit seeds and other fixed substances to obtain more phenolic substances, making the wine color stronger and more intense in flavor. Maceration is mostly used to make red wine. Common impregnation methods include cold impregnation, prolonged impregnation and carbon dioxide impregnation. Here we mainly talk about what cold impregnation is.

Cold maceration is also called low-temperature maceration, that is, the grape juice is brought into contact with the skins before the alcohol is fermented, which can bring more anthocyanins and aroma to the wine, and improve the overall texture of the wine.

Yuncang Winery’s brand LEESON red wine shared that the low-temperature immersion temperature is generally between 4-15 degrees, and it lasts for 3-5 days. In order to inhibit microbial activities in a low-temperature environment, some will add sulfur dioxide or use inert gas during immersion. Seal the steeping container to prevent oxidation.

Cold maceration has a significant impact on the color and aroma of wine, especially for those grape varieties with low color potential such as Pinot Noir. During the fermentation process, if the alcohol fermentation speed is high and the color is not stable enough, low temperature maceration can make the cyanine The pigment can be more fully dissolved in water to achieve the purpose of pre-extracting the pigment, and at the same time, the unique aroma of Pinot Noir can be fully dissolved in water through cold maceration to obtain more aroma.

Yuncang Winery's brand LEESON red wine sharing can be used to add color to red wine and rosé wine through cold maceration, and can also be used to add aroma to white wine. Therefore, for those aromatic white grape varieties such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Moscato, etc., through cold maceration, the aromatic substances in these grapes can be maximized.

In addition, cold maceration only takes the substances in the peel and pulp, effectively avoiding tannins. Therefore, the wine processed by cold maceration is obviously fruity and darker, without the astringency and bitterness of tannin, and the overall style is more ideal, so that the wine has its own characteristics .