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Taste the technology in your next glass of shiraz

June 03, 2014
It’s a late Summer day, harvest time in the NSW Riverina district. Russell Cody, senior wine maker for McWilliam’s Wines, walks slowly through rows and rows of grapes at McWilliam’s Hanwood Winery, tasting as he goes. The late summer temperatures will transform the grapes from small hard pebbles into juicy sweet fruit and Russell is looking for the perfect balance.
The art of winemaking is about knowing exactly when to intervene, when to stop the transformation process and harvest the grapes to turn juice into wine.
“It’s an ancient craft, but we also rely on very modern equipment and processes,” Cody says. “Everything from the cross flow filtration, to the dealcoholiser, and a reverse osmosis machine which allows us to concentrate the flavour and density of the wine.”

But traditionalists need not worry. Cody points out that while the technological advancements have resulted in a reduction in the time and cost of making wine, the essential processes to making the world’s ancient drink have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

“Wine is as old as civilisation itself and the underlying process is the same,” says Cody. “Pick grapes at the right time, control the fermentation, only now we have much more control over the result.”

/><br /> <br /> The fermentation process for white wine is deliberately slowed by chilling the liquid to 15 degrees while the yeast is doing its work, the whole process takes about two weeks before the wine is filtered and stored to further develop the flavours we all love.<br /> <br /> The fermentation of red wine is a faster and hotter process, transforming the fruit in just under 2 weeks. Heat helps the grape skins leech colour into the developing alcohol, while a flotation technique, adapted from the froth flotation process used in the mining industry, sees small bubbles of air or compressed nitrogen injected into the tank to carry the solids to the surface. These solids, called pressings, are then removed so the liquid can be filtered and stored.<br /> <blockquote>The delicate balance between timing, temperatures and chemical reactions is where art meets science.</blockquote><br /> Technologies are just making things more precise.  For example, cross-flow filtration techniques, commonly used in water treatment plants, are used to better filter micro particles for smoother, more delicate wines.<br /> <br /> By the time it’s bottled and gracing the table, Cody and the winemakers at McWilliam’s will again be walking the vines, in search of that perfect balance.