From Harvest to Moonshine

Abstract : This book was originally published in French in 1998. It is intended for winemakers, students of oenology or vinification and chemists working in winemaking, and combines chemical theory with the day-to-day work in the latter stages of winemaking. It discusses the scientific basis and technological problems of winemaking and the resulting consequences for the practitioner. The book is divided into 2 sections: Section I covers the chemistry of wine formation and its composition, and has 7 chapters: organic acids in wine; alcohols and other volatile compounds; carbohydrates; dry extract and minerals; nitrogen compounds; phenolic compounds; and varietal aroma. Section II deals with the stabilization and treatments of wine in 6 chapters: chemical nature, origins and consequences of the main organoleptic defects; the concept of clarity and colloidal phenomena; clarification and stabilization treatments: fining wine; clarifying wine by filtration and centrifugation; stabilizing wine by physical and physiochemical processes; and aging red wines in vat and barrel: phenomena occurring during aging.