When making wine, do we remove the grape seeds?
Vinification is the process that allows the transformation of grapes into wine.
The maturity of the grapes is reached at different times. This stage depends on the wine that we want to make. When the grapes reach the ripeness that the winemaker wants, they are picked up and then crushed.
This technique crushes the grapes to extract the pulp and the juice that is called must. In the grapes, we find the skin and the pulp. These two elements are present in the tannins.
Then, the must is treated. This step is essential, because it allows to fight against the development of micro-organisms before the setting in vat.
Then comes the maceration. Here, the elements contained in the must are diffused. The alcoholic fermentation takes place; it is the moment when the sugars of the grapes are transformed into alcohol.
Finally, the winemaking process ends with the phases of draining and pressing, where the marc is removed from the wine.
The vinification of white wines is different: the crushed grapes are directly pressed, so the must is separated from the solid parts before being put to ferment.
For the vinification of rosé wines: they are obtained from red grapes with little colored juice.
Two categories of rosé can be obtained : the pressing rosé, when the grapes are directly pressed as for white wines, or the maceration rosé, where the must is pressed and separated from the solid parts after a few hours of cooking and then it will go to fermentation.