At j.k.l.m farm we make our own delicious grape wine from our home. Merlot has become an important red grape throughout the world. Merlot grapes, also known as Merlot noir in Bordeaux, have been used to soften wines made from Cabernet sauvignon for many years. Merlot is a popular, medium bodied red wine grape varietal known for its soft texture, fruity flavors, and ease of drinking. It is often characterized by notes of plum, black cherry, and black berry, and can also exhibit hints of chocolate and vanilla when aged in oak. It’s made from red skinned grapes that can adapt to a variety of climates to produce food friendly wines in many price points. Merlot can be velvety and plummy, or rich and oak. There is something for everyone, which is why Merlot is adored.
Making Merlot wine involves several key steps: harvesting and sorting the grapes, crushing them, fermenting the juice, and then aging and bottling the wine. A crucial part of Merlot wine making is maceration, where the grape skins and seeds are in contact with the juice, contributing to color and flavor so here is a more detailed step by step on how to make delicious red grape Merlot wine.
1. Harvesting and Sorting: Merlot grapes are harvested at their peak ripeness and carefully sorted to remove any damaged or undesirable grapes.
2. Crushing and De-stemming: The grapes are crushed to break the skin and release the juice. Winemakers often remove the stems to reduce bitterness and excess tannin’s.
3. Fermentation: The crushed grapes, along with yeast, are fermented in tanks or barrels. The skins and seeds float to the top during this process.
4. Maceration: During fermentation, winemakers pump the grape juice over the skins and seeds. This process, known as maceration, extracts color, flavor, and tannin’s from the skins and seeds, contributing to the Merlot’s signature smooth texture and flavor profile.
5. Pressing: Once fermentation is complete and the desired amount of color and flavor has been extracted, the wine is pressed to separate the liquid from the solids.
7. Bottling and Aging: After aging, the Merlot is bottled and may be aged further to allow the wine to mellow and evolve, says Market View Liquor.