Aging or refinement of a wine

With the necessary premises made in the last article, we proceed to illustrate this fundamental phase of the production of a wine. In general it can be said that the best means of refining fine red wines is the bottle, thanks to its almost total ability to isolate from oxygen which allows the wine to perfect and evolve at its best.

As regards particular nuances, styles and specificities, they can be achieved by adopting vats of different sizes, wood, toasting or even origin, each with its own characteristic. If we examine the closures instead, it seems that the screw closure is the most suitable for the long aging of white wines, thanks to its sealing capacity.

Going into more detail we can describe:
- Steel or concrete autoclaves.
They are medium-large sized containers that do not release substances and make contact with oxygen almost zero. They have the particularity of making the mass of wine inside them homogenous.

- The big barrel
They are particularly used in the Italian tradition, for example to age Barolo. Their capacity is from 10 hectoliters (10,000 litres) and up and they are usually assembled with oak or, now undergoing a slight recovery, chestnut wood.

- The small barrel
The relationship with the so-called Barrique is one of love/hate. Assembled in oak and with a capacity of 225 litres, they allow a notable exchange of oxygen with the wine. They are toasted inside before assembly and also allow very smoky aromas. Speaking of wood, French oak leaves vanilla aromas in the wine while American oak leaves notes of resin and coconut. The impact of the Barrique can really be overwhelming given its peculiarities: it all depends on knowing how to use it.

- In the bottle
As mentioned, the best refinement especially for fine reds, reducing contact between wine and oxygen to a minimum. With this second part we conclude our story about wine, from the bunch to the bottle.

All you have to do is discover the various production techniques with all our wines.