thorough-explanation

Myths and Realities of Whole-Cluster Fermentation: How Grape Stems Affect Wine

2025/12/11

In the context of winemaking, you may have encountered terms such as “destemming” and “whole-cluster fermentation.” Both refer to how grape bunches are handled at the point of vatting. A grape cluster consists of many berries attached to a green, stem-lik …

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oenology thorough-explanation vinnatural

Bio and “Natural”: A Winemaker’s View from the Cellar

2025/12/10

Whenever I occasionally post about “natural wine” on X (formerly Twitter), those posts tend to be shared relatively widely for my account size. This simply indicates how many people react to this particular keyword. In recent years, especially in Japan, t …

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qualitycontrol

The Relationship Between Fill Level and Wine Quality: What the Headspace Reveals

2025/12/8

In the context of mature wines—those that have spent a decade or several decades in bottle—the fill level is often used as a quality indicator. Some importers and professional merchants routinely assess fill height and decline to ship bottles that fall be …

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qualitycontrol

Wine Flavour and Glycerol

2025/12/5

Wine exhibits remarkable diversity in both flavour and aroma. Even wines produced in the same region during the same vintage never show completely identical sensory profiles. Moreover, when a single producer vinifies grapes from the same vineyard under id …

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viticultur wine

Understanding South African Wine Through Data

2025/12/3

Why South African Wines Deliver Exceptional Quality at Accessible Prices South African wines have become indispensable in the global market as leading examples of high-quality yet affordable wines. While Chile once dominated this category, South Africa is …

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viticultur

Foundations of Grapevine Rootstocks

2025/12/2

According to statistics published by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the global vineyard area in 2022—encompassing wine grapes as well as table grapes, raisins, and juice grapes—amounted to approximately 7.3 million hectares.Althoug …

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sales-strategy

A New Format for Wine: Bag-in-Box

2025/11/30

Bag-in-Box (BIB) packaging has gained notable traction in recent years, particularly because it suits household consumption and large-volume use. A BIB consists of a flexible pouch containing wine housed within a cardboard outer box. Most packages hold at …

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oenology

Protecting Wine from Oxidation Through Oxidation | Hyperoxidation

2025/11/28

Wine and oxidation are a notoriously incompatible combination. Consider a familiar scenario: you open a bottle of wine that tastes excellent, but you cannot finish it in one sitting. You reseal the bottle and store it in the refrigerator, intending to dri …

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viticultur wine

Wine, Soil, and Terroir | Slate Color and Wine Character

2025/11/26

When explaining the distinctive character of wine, the discussion often relates to terroir. Soil is one of the elements that constitute terroir. There are numerous types of soil. Alongside clay and limestone, Schiefer occupies a significant position among …

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sales-strategy

Soil and Soil Names: How Information Shapes the Expected Taste of Wine

2025/11/25

When examining labels on German wine bottles, one notices a distinctive feature. These wines often display information rarely found on bottles from other countries: terms such as Buntsandstein, Löß, Muschelkalk, and Schiefer. Do you know what these refer …

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Brettanomyces bruxellensis

off-flavor wine

2025/7/3

Brettanomyces: The Yeast Behind Brett Off-Flavors in Wine

You open a bottle of wine you’ve been looking forward to and pour it into your glass. As you bring your nose close to enjoy the aromatic bouquet rising from the wine, something seems off. Many of you have probably had this experience. Wine that produces u …

qualitycontrol wine

2025/6/28

Wine Bottle Storage: Vertical vs. Horizontal Storage – Which is Correct?

When storing wine, there’s probably one question that everyone has wondered about at least once: how should the bottle be positioned? Should wine bottles be stored horizontally, or should they not be stored vertically? A quick search reveals many explanat …

sparklingwine thorough-explanation

2025/8/26

Complete Guide | How Sparkling Wine is Made

Sparkling wine, epitomized by Champagne, is an indispensable element at parties and other festive occasions. Have you ever wondered how this effervescent wine containing carbon dioxide gas is actually produced? While explanations of production methods are …

sparklingwine

2025/11/12

The Science of Bubbles: Understanding the Mechanism Behind Sparkling Wine’s Appeal

Sparkling wine is an indispensable element of celebrations and gatherings, extending far beyond Christmas and New Year festivities. The sight of bubbles ascending through a flute glass alone can evoke a sense of festivity in the consumer. Sparkling wine i …

oenology off-flavor viticultur wine

2025/10/11

Wine Off-Flavor | UTA / ATA

You tasted a white wine at a winery or wine shop and liked it enough to purchase it. However, you felt it was still a little early for drinking, so you decided to let it rest a bit longer in your home cellar. Six months later, at the dinner table. You kne …

vinnatural

2025/9/13

Why People Buy Natural Wine

I would like to introduce the content of a fascinating article published in the German wine magazine “der deutsche Weinbau.” Image or Sensation? The title of this article is “Image vs. Sensorik.” If we translate this somewhat freely, it becomes “Image or …

grape-disease viticultur

2025/7/29

Grape Sunburn Phenomenon

Grape berries undergo sunburn phenomena similar to human skin. This phenomenon introduces burnt-like flavors into wine, particularly affecting the quality of white wines where delicate aromas are crucial. Sunburned berries must be sorted and removed durin …

viticultur

2025/8/5

Is Germany the Northern Limit of Viticulture?

When people begin studying wine, many learners are taught that “wine grape cultivation takes place between 30° and 50° North latitude and 30° and 40° South latitude,” aren’t they? Then, when they move on to the chapter dealing with German wines, they like …

grape-disease viticultur

2025/7/29

Rising Temperatures Cause Widespread Damage: Understanding Grape Sunburn

With the arrival of summer, grapevines in vineyards continue their growth cycle. Currently, vineyard operations are proceeding simultaneously with lateral shoot removal, leaf removal, and shoot tip cutting. During this period, Germany experienced two days …

oenology off-flavor viticultur wine

2025/10/11

Wine Off-Flavor | UTA / ATA

You tasted a white wine at a winery or wine shop and liked it enough to purchase it. However, you felt it was still a little early for drinking, so you decided to let it rest a bit longer in your home cellar. Six months later, at the dinner table. You kne …

grape-disease grape-variation viticultur

2025/8/28

The Growing World of Grape Varieties | The PIWI Category

Cabernet Blanc, Cabernet Jura, Muscaris, Souvignier Gris. Do these varietal names sound familiar to you? From the sound of “Cabernet~”, “Musca~”, and “Souvi~”, many of you may have guessed that these are wine grape varieties. Indeed, these are all names o …

thorough-explanation viticultur

2025/7/31

Comprehensive Guide to Phylloxera

On March 5, 2019, news emerged of fresh phylloxera damage in vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Phylloxera represents one of the most devastating pests in viticulture, capable of causing catastrophic damage to grapevines. In the past, thi …

oenology

2025/8/14

Where Does the Iron Taste Come From? An Exploration of Minerals

Recently, I had the opportunity to taste wines at a winery located in Enzan, Yamanashi Prefecture. During the tasting of several wines from their lineup, one particular characteristic struck me strongly: the taste of iron. When I asked the winemaker about …

oenology thorough-explanation

2025/8/17

Complete Guide: Rosé Wine Production Methods and Their Characteristics

I once encountered an observation that “rosé wines are difficult to imagine even when you know their origin and grape variety.” While this is a fascinating perspective, as someone actually involved in winemaking, I find myself thinking, “Yes, that might i …

oenology

2025/11/8

The Science of Extraction in Winemaking: Dynamic Equilibrium and the Limits of Optimization

Extraction is a crucial operation in winemaking, particularly for red wines. It affects every aspect of wine, from color intensity to aging potential. In winemaking, extraction refers to the transfer of compounds contained in grape skins and seeds into th …

Amphora Historically Archaeology  - Makalu / Pixabay

oenology qualitycontrol

2025/11/7

The Relationship Between Wine, Tradition, and Vessels | Examining the Meaning of Qvevri and Bocksbeutel

There are vessels that have been traditionally used in winemaking for centuries. When we think about it carefully, there may be cases where we cannot clearly explain why we continue to use them. Why do we use qvevri? What makes Bocksbeutel superior to ord …

oenology

2025/9/3

Alcohol Adjustment in Wine | Considering Water Addition

Global temperatures are rising due to climate change, accelerating the growth of wine grapes accordingly. Warmer winters have caused grape budbreak to occur earlier, and through increasingly hot summers, we can now harvest grapes that are more mature than …

oenology

2025/8/6

Why Do Wines Taste Bitter?

Have you ever found a wine to taste “bitter”? How about sake—have you ever experienced bitterness when drinking it? When drinking alcoholic beverages, we occasionally encounter bitterness. Have you ever wondered why this happens? What would you think if t …

youtube

2025/8/21

The Truth About Natural Wine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-SccwUyehI The term “natural wine” remains a perpetual source of heated debate among wine enthusiasts. This phrase has become so ubiquitous that it jumps out at us from Tokyo’s streets in combinations like “natural wine an …

youtube

2025/7/31

Exploring Wine Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3zcrR39d8Q In recent years, the concept of “diversity” has become a frequent topic of discussion within the wine industry. However, this diversity does not merely refer to variations within traditional frameworks such as d …

youtube

2025/7/31

The Truth About “Good Vineyards” in Wine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9hVTlhyZDc Among wine enthusiasts, the belief that “good vineyards” produce quality wines is widely accepted. Wines from vineyards with classifications such as Grand Cru or Premier Cru are often perceived as “distinctly di …

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