A very brief history of winemaking

Winemaking dates way back to prebiblical times. It is understood that winemaking started in the Soviet Georgia region of modern-day Russia (little did they know what they had begun!). At that point in time, winemaking was very primitive indeed. Basic winemaking consisted of picking the grapes according to taste. When the grapes were comnsidered ready for fermentation, the grapes were harvested and placed in simple wood containers where the grapes were crushed by foot through grape stomping. Stomping the grapes broke open the grape skins permiting exposuring the juice and pulp to the natural yeast present on the outside of the grape skins called the 'bloom'. Once primary fermentation completed, the juice was drained off the skins and placed in barrels that were buried underground to keep the wine at a consistant ambiant temperature. The newly made wine was then given at least a year in the barrel before being served.

Todays modern winemaking is the result of continual small scientific (or not so scientific!) breakthroughs which have gradually improved the process of making consistently good wine, something so many simply take for granted nowadays. In the past little was known about the problems that can develop in the winemaking process and how to deal with them. The scientific community has helped solve many of these problems and developed strains of yeast and supporting wine chemicals that consistently produce excellent wines. More accurate methods of measuring the ripeness of grapes and how to deal with maladies that inevitably occur from one year to the next are now widely known. IOf courses mistakes can and do occassionally happen, however it is usually the result of inexperience something we all possess to start with but with a little practice we can all overcome.