Napa Valley region in California is home for some of the best wineries in the world. Many tourists to Napa Valley prefer to motor down from San Francisco which is an hour’s drive. This is arguably one of the finest routes to see vineyards of Napa valley and sample vintage as well as fresh wines. The tour operators from San Francisco also introduce guests to the wine-making process and other sustainable wine-producing methods. If you are truly interested in knowing all about wine making, then there is no better place than Napa wineries. If you are on a Napa valley tour for the first time, you should opt for good wine tour that will take you to each area of the winery where the winemaking process takes place. At the end of the tour, you will be able to better appreciate the nuances of wine making and also develop a passion for wine. It will be quite interesting to know the usual wine making process followed in Napa wineries. The grapes fully ripen and fit to be plucked in late August or early September but the winemaker first tastes the grapes, chews the seeds, and assesses the sugar content to determine the exact time when the grapes can be harvested. The vineyard labor force is then pressed into service for harvesting the grapes efficiently and speedily. The harvested grapes in bins are transported to the respective winery where they are crushed. It is here that the distinction between red and white wines is made. This is a simple process. If the skin and seeds remain when the grapes are crushed, it is for preparing red wines and if the skins and seeds are removed, it is for making white wines. The juice, skins, and seeds for red wines and the juice for the white wine are deposited into fermenting tanks made of stainless steel. The general practice is to add cultured yeast to this grape juice. The fermentation process commences when the yeast begins to absorb the sugar content in the grape juice. It may be noted that carbon dioxide and alcohol are by-products of this process. After fermentation process is over, the wines are poured into standard 60-gallon French or American oak barrels for purposes of aging. While the aging goes on, the wines are intermittently racked - that means the wine is pumped from one barrel to another empty barrel. The idea is to get rid of sediments from the bottom of the barrel and the barrel is re-used again. Interestingly, after several months of aging in the barrels the wine is moved into the bottle for further aging in the winery. After the winemakers are satisfied that the wine has sufficiently aged inside the bottle, the wine is ready to be transported to the sales point where the wine lovers buy it. The wine making process may be long-drawn but certainly not complicated, if you have the inclination to understand. If you have tied up with the right tour operator, you will be sampling the finest wines in the Napa valley and witness firsthand the entire wine making process in its enchanting setting. You can visit a number of wine making companies in the Napa area who will readily show you all about the wine making process. They will even let you attend a seminar on pairing food and wines. You can also purchase a few bottles of your preferred wine and take them home.
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