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The Solera Wine Aging System

Solera aging is a system developed by the Spanish and Portuguese and is used in the production of Sherry and Port. Not only is this system complicated in nature, it’s a lot of work and takes a long time to realize the benefits of using it.

A solera system is composed of several “solera rows” stacked on top of each other. Each row is made up of many barrels. Wine moves from the top most row to the bottom most row before being bottled over the period of several years.

This system is also referred to as “fractional blending” which will make more sense soon. Continue reading “The Solera Wine Aging System”

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Sur Lie Aging Explained

Sur lie aging in a barrel with a glass end.
Notice the thin layer of fine lees on the bottom of the barrel.

Sur lie aging is the process of allowing a finished wine to continue to sit on the lees in order to extract flavors. Recently we explored the fact that there are two different types of lees. There are the grape lees (coming from the fruit) and the yeast lees (you guessed it, from the yeast). Each of these can be used in sur lie aging and each will produce different results.

Aging wine on the grape lees is something to be undertaken with extreme care as this lees can easily spoil a wine if not done properly. When done correctly though it can lead to a wonderfully complex wine. Continue reading “Sur Lie Aging Explained”

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Gross Lees vs. Fine Lees

Did you know there are actually two types of lees? Not only are there different kinds, but they are actually quite different from one another.

One kind of lees can spoil your wine in a very short time. The other kind has the potential to take a good wine and make it great by adding flavor compounds as well as smoothing out the mouthfeel.

Gross Lees

Gross lees in a ginger mead.
Gross lees after initial racking.

The gross lees refers not to how disgusting the stuff may be but the size of the debris. When you make wine from fresh fruit it is inevitable that some of the grape skins, seeds, and perhaps a stray stem or two will wind up in the bottom of your fermentation container.

It’s this chunky style lees that causes the most concern when it comes to determining how long you can let your wine sit before racking. The gross lees that can leave really funky flavors in your wine in short periods of time. Continue reading “Gross Lees vs. Fine Lees”

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Topping Up Your Wine

While oxygen is necessary in the early stages of fermentation it is also the mortal enemy of wine makers once a wine has gone still. Topping up your wine after fermentation is complete is the best way to minimize how much oxygen your wine is exposed to.

As our wines ferment we rack it from one container to another to get it off the lees. Each time we do this though we lose a bit of wine and increase the surface area of the wine we have left. This can leave us with too much head space at a time when our wine is most susceptible to oxygen exposure.

Topping up is the process of adding wine to your carboy, barrel, or tank to reduce the amount of head space (also known as ullage). This serves two very important purposes. Continue reading “Topping Up Your Wine”

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How to Make Mead

Mead is a wonderful beverage that is somewhat of a cousin to wine. While it’s not made from grapes it is made using the same process and yields similar levels of alcohol.

There are an infinite number of variations that you can make with mead.This recipe uses only honey and water however, you could add fruit juices, tea, or even baking spices from your kitchen cabinet.

Previously I outlined a recipe for making mead, however, I’d like to update that recipe as well as show you how to go through the steps from beginning to end. Continue reading “How to Make Mead”