Wine is fragile: the borderline between wine and vinegar is relatively fine. That’s why various technical interventions, carefully carried out by human hands, are needed.
“Oenology” literally means the “science of wine”, and so it is unsurprisingly an indispensable aid to winemakers, as indeed it has been since Antiquity! Its aim, like that of the various oenological products that can be used during the winemaking process, is clear: to offer wine lovers a perfect tasting experience, which respects the wine’s identity and the wine lover’s health.
What is oenology?
Here’s a simple definition!
Oenology is a science that dates back thousands of years and is concerned with the study and understanding of wine. More specifically, modern oenology was forged by the work of Louis Pasteur and Jean-Antoine Chaptal in the 19th century.
StabilisersIt encompasses all the human interventions and transformations that take place during vinification (the process by which grapes are transformed into wine). Clearly, then, without a mastery of oenology, there can be no winemaking.
This scientific expertise is applied at every stage of the process: maceration, pressing, alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation, clarification, filtration, ageing and bottling. Oenological products, such as wine preservatives, stabilisers, acidity correctors and packaging gases, are ingredients that come into play at some of these stages in the winemaking process.
Oenological practices invariably serve a quality objective. To this end, they are governed by rigorous legislation: dosage limits and the nature of the ingredients are very carefully defined and controlled.
In practical terms, why is oenology so important during the winemaking process?
Wine is a living product: the way it is produced varies from one vintage to the next, depending on weather conditions and other vagaries of nature.
Without winemakers’ mastery of oenology, winemaking would be a hit-and-miss affair.
Whether the wine in question is red, rosé, white, sweet, dry or sparkling, oenology provides precise guidance at every stage of the winemaking process, from maceration of the grapes to bottling.
Certain oenological products, which can be used in the composition of wine in minimal, controlled doses, play a specific role in:
- Suppressing potential wine oxidation (L-ascorbic acid, packaging gases);
- Stopping the proliferation of unwanted micro-organisms (sulphites);
- Regulating wine acidity via pH regulators (citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid);
- Stabilising wine (gum arabic, carboxymethylcellulose or CMC, potassium polyaspartate or KPA, fumaric acid).
So, what exactly are
oenological products?
Oenological products are the cornerstones of oenology, and are not new! These wine additives (also known as oenological inputs) have always been used in winemaking. In Antiquity and the Middle Ages, many substances were used to improve wine, including honey, spices, benzoin oil and sea water. Calcium sulphate (plaster of Paris) was even used to sweeten the taste.
These days, oenological products come from a wide variety of sources: biological (yeast, bacteria, etc.), vegetable (grape tannins, proteins, etc.), animal (egg white, etc.), mineral (bentonite, etc.) or chemical (sulphur dioxide, etc.).
Do oenological products
affect a wine’s taste?
Oenological products respect a wine’s fundamental identity, their purpose being to enable the specific characteristics of its vintage or terroir to be more fully expressed. This compatibility is assessed and established by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).
Furthermore, European legislation stipulates that permitted oenological practices must “preserve the natural and essential characteristics of wine and not substantially alter the composition of the product concerned”.
Are these additives risk-free,
when used in wine?
The oenological products that you can identify on the label of your wine are winemaking materials that are harmless to human health. They all comply with food regulations (they are also used as food additives in many other everyday foods).
In addition, they undergo regular risk assessments by European and international scientific authorities. Lastly, it’s interesting to note that no other beverage or foodstuff is as strictly regulated as wine!
The definition of oenology, the science of making good wine, now holds no secrets for you! If you’d like to find out more about the various oenological products available, you’ll find all the answers you need on our website.
Oenology
The science of good wine
