🍷 Alcoholic fermentation
Yeast eats the sugar in the must and releases alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Alcoholic fermentation is the process in which yeast consumes the sugar of the must and releases alcohol and carbon dioxide. This is how grape juice becomes wine.
Must contains sugar. Yeast, above all Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which always becomes the dominant species during wine fermentation, converts it into ethanol, that is alcohol, and carbon dioxide. The gas escapes and the alcohol stays in the wine. The fermentation temperature is controlled: white wines usually ferment at about 15 °C or below, red wines at about 20–30 °C. Red must ferments together with the skins and seeds; carbon dioxide pushes them up into a cap, which is regularly mixed back into the liquid, for example by punching it down.
Home-made wine usually takes about two weeks to ferment. Alcoholic fermentation differs from malolactic fermentation, which is carried out afterwards by lactic acid bacteria such as Oenococcus oeni.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Alcoholic fermentation → gives → 🍷 Wine
How it connects to Spirits
🍷 Alcoholic fermentation ← goes through ← 🥃 Spirits
Links
- What it gives
- 🍷 Wine
- Previous step
- 🍷 Must, 🍯 Honey spirit drinks, 🌵 Agave: tequila and mezcal, 🥃 Ukrainian spirit traditions, 🌿 Anise spirits, 🥃 Whisky, 🍶 Asian spirit traditions, 🍸 Gin and juniper spirits, 🥛 Milk-based and rare distillates, 🍷 Mulled wine and fortified wines
and 213 more
🍇 Pomace spirits, 🌱 Caraway spirits and aquavit, 🍎 Fruit brandies, 🌿 Bitters and bitter spirits, 🌾 Vodka and grain spirits, 🍸 Liqueurs, ⚗️ How spirits are made, 🌴 Rum and sugarcane spirits, 🥚 Egg and cream liqueurs, 🍸 Distilled gin, 🥃 Fruit spirit, 🍸 London gin, 🍏 Cider spirit and perry spirit, 🍸 Juniper-flavoured spirit drink, 🌼 Gentian spirit, 🍸 Bitter (bitter-tasting spirit drink), 🥃 Bourbon whiskey, 🥃 Rum, 🥃 Straight bourbon whiskey, 🥃 Single Grain Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Rhum agricole, 🥃 Straight rye whiskey, 🥃 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, 🥃 Cachaça, 🥃 Corn whiskey, 🥃 Canadian whisky, 🌵 Tequila, 🌵 Mezcal, 🥃 American single malt whisky, 🥃 Grappa, 🥃 Rakia, 🥃 Slivovitz (šljivovica), 🍸 Ukrainian horilka, 🥃 Poire Williams (Williams pear spirit), 🥃 Kirsch (Kirschwasser), 🥃 Ouzo, 🥃 Mirabelle (mirabelle plum spirit), 🥃 Pálinka, 🥃 Sugar cane and molasses, 🍸 Vodka, 🥃 Japanese whisky, 🥃 Egg liqueur (advocaat), 🥔 Potato vodka, 🍸 Polish vodka (Polska Wódka), 🥃 Genever, 🥃 Blue agave, 🥃 English Whisky, 🥃 Bas Armagnac, 🥃 Barley and malt in whisky, 🥃 Pisco (Peru), 🥃 Amaretto, 🥃 Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 🥃 Absinthe, 🥃 Armagnac Ténarèze, 🥃 Rye and corn in whisky, 🥃 Maraschino, 🥃 Norwegian aquavit (Norsk Akevitt), 🥃 Haut Armagnac, 🥃 Cuban rum (Cuba), 🥃 Jamaica Rum, 🥃 Awamori, 🥃 Soju, 🥃 Arak, 🥃 Mezcal artesanal and ancestral, 🥃 Sri Lankan arrack, 🥃 Shochu, 🥃 Demerara Rum, 🥃 Tequila 100% agave (100% de agave), 🥃 Borovička, 🥃 Feni, 🥃 Sotol, 🥃 Baijiu, 🥃 Steinhäger, 🥃 Irish Grain Whiskey, 🥃 Marc champenois, 🥃 Marc de Bourgogne, 🥃 Marc des Côtes-du-Rhône, 🥃 Marc d'Alsace Gewurztraminer, 🥃 Marc de Provence, 🥃 Aguardente Bagaceira Alentejo, 🥃 Marc du Bugey, 🥃 Aguardente de Vinho Douro, 🥃 Marc d'Auvergne, 🥃 Marc de Savoie, 🥃 Marc du Jura, 🥃 Aguardente Bagaceira Bairrada, 🥃 Sárrét blackthorn pálinka (Sárréti kökénypálinka), 🥃 Marc du Languedoc, 🥃 Gönc apricot pálinka (Gönci Barackpálinka), 🥃 Tsipouro of Thessaly, 🥃 Nagykörű sweet cherry pálinka (Nagykörűi cseresznyepálinka), 🥃 Südtiroler Grappa, 🥃 Békés plum pálinka (Békési Szilvapálinka), 🥃 Irish Whiskey, 🥃 Highland whisky, 🥃 Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Aguardente de Vinho Alentejo, 🥃 Vas wild pear pálinka (Vasi vadkörte pálinka), 🥃 Homokhátság peach pálinka (Homokháti őszibarack pálinka), 🥃 Grappa siciliana, 🥃 Szabolcs apple pálinka (Szabolcsi Almapálinka), 🥃 Szatmár plum pálinka (Szatmári Szilvapálinka), 🥃 Orujo de Galicia, 🥃 Campbeltown whisky, 🥃 Lowland whisky, 🥃 Whisky d’Alsace (Alsace whisky), 🥃 Medronho do Algarve, 🥃 Aguardente de Vinho Lourinhã, 🥃 Madaras quince pálinka (Madarasi birspálinka), 🥃 Tsikoudia of Crete, 🥃 Borzag pálinka (Borzag pálinka), 🥃 Nagykunság plum pálinka (Nagykunsági szilvapálinka), 🥃 Újfehértó sour cherry pálinka (Újfehértói meggypálinka), 🥃 Grappa friulana, 🥃 Speyside whisky, 🥃 Islay whisky, 🥃 Breton whisky (Whisky de Bretagne), 🥃 Nagykunság quince pálinka (Nagykunsági birspálinka), 🥃 Aguardente de Vinho Ribatejo, 🥃 Grappa veneta, 🥃 Grappa lombarda, 🥃 Kecskemét apricot pálinka (Kecskeméti Barackpálinka), 🥃 Karnobat Grape Rakia (Karnobatska grozdova rakya), 🥃 Burgas Muscat Rakia (Bourgaska Muscatova rakya), 🥃 Straldzha Muscat Rakia (Straldjanska Muscatova rakya), 🥃 Suhindol Grape Rakia (Suhindolska grozdova rakya), 🥃 Grape Rakia from Targovishte (Grozdova rakya ot Targovishte), 🥃 Grape rakia, 🥃 Grogue, 🥃 Ostfriesischer Korngenever (East Frisian grain genever), 🥃 Sour mash, 🥃 Andong soju, 🥃 Balegemse jenever, 🥃 Gujing Gongjiu, 🥃 Luzhou Laojiao, 🥃 Brinjevec, 🥃 Cachaça de Paraty, 🥃 Calvados Domfrontais, 🥃 Calvados Pays d'Auge, 🥃 Cashew apple, 🥃 Aprikot trentino, 🥃 Arak Bali, 🥃 Fränkischer Obstler, 🥃 Fränkisches Kirschwasser, 🥃 Fränkisches Zwetschgenwasser, 🥃 Fruit marc spirit, 🥃 Damassine, 🥃 Distillation, 🥃 Distillato di mele trentino, 🥃 Emsländer Korn, 🥃 Estonian Vodka, 🥃 Ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, 🥃 Breton cider brandy (Eau-de-vie de cidre de Bretagne), 🥃 Normandy cider brandy (Eau-de-vie de cidre de Normandie), 🥃 Maine cider brandy (Eau-de-vie de cidre du Maine), 🥃 Normandy perry spirit (Eau-de-vie de poiré de Normandie), 🥃 Valais pear brandy (Eau-de-vie de poire du Valais), 🥃 Genièvre de grains / Graanjenever, 🥃 Genièvre Flandre Artois, 🥃 Genziana trentina, 🥃 Grain spirit, 🥃 Hrvatska loza, 🥃 Hrvatska stara šljivovica, 🥃 Imo shōchū, 🥃 Hohenloher Birnenbrand, 🥃 Horincă, 🥃 Mahua, 🥃 Malting, 🥃 Rhum de la Martinique, 🥃 Mashing, 🥃 Master distiller, 🥃 Kajsijevača, 🥃 Kaoliang, 🥃 Kirsch d'Alsace, 🥃 Kirsch de Fougerolles, 🥃 Kokutō shōchū, 🥃 Kome shōchū, 🥃 Medovača, 🍯 Miód pitny, 🥃 Mirabelle d'Alsace, 🥃 Mirabelle de Lorraine, 🥃 Mugi shōchū, 🥃 Munbae-ju, 🥃 Norsk Vodka, 🥃 O' de Flander, 🥃 Pulque, 🥃 Loveshka slivova rakya, 🥃 Troyanska slivova rakya, 🥃 Schwarzwälder Kirschwasser, 🥃 Schwarzwälder Mirabellenwasser, 🥃 Schwarzwälder Williamsbirne, 🥃 Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser, 🥃 Dongxiang baijiu, 🥃 Chixiang baijiu, 🥃 Fuyuxiang baijiu, 🥃 Jiangxiang baijiu, 🥃 Pălincă, 🥃 Pregler, 🥃 Quetsch d'Alsace, 🥃 Raisin spirit, 🥃 Abricotine, 🥃 Jabukovača, 🥃 Śliwowica łącka, 🥃 Țuică de Argeș, 🥃 Țuică Zetea de Medieșu Aurit, 🥃 Țuică, 🥃 Fengxiang, 🥃 Jianxiang, 🥃 Mixiang, 🥃 Nongxiang, 🥃 Qingxiang, 🥃 Texiang, 🥃 Zhimaxiang - Next step
- 🍷 Ethanol, 🥃 Calvados, 🥃 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
- What is processed
- 🥃 Spirits
- What it yields
- 🥃 Aquavit, 🥃 Limoncello, 🍷 Types of wine, 🥃 Grape products
- Works with
- 🍷 Yeast
- Who works with it
- 🍷 Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 🍷 Ethanol
- Part of
- 🍷 Fermentation, ⚗️ How spirits are made
- Wine and milk
- 🍶 Kumis
Frequently asked questions
What happens in alcoholic fermentation?
Yeast turns the sugar of the must into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
How long does it last?
Home-made wine usually takes about two weeks to ferment.
What is the cap?
The layer of skins and seeds that carbon dioxide pushes to the top when red wine ferments.
What to read next
- 🥃 Aquavit — Aquavit (akvavit) is a Scandinavian spirit flavoured with a distillate of caraway or dill: in the EU from 37.5% ABV, essential oils banned. Svensk Aquavit and Norsk Akevitt are protected names.
- 🍶 Kumis — A fermented drink made from mare's milk.
- 🥃 Barley and malt in whisky — Malted barley is the base of whisky: malt enzymes convert starch in the mash, and EU whisky is distilled below 94.8% vol. 'Single malt' means malted barley and one distillery.
- 🥃 Whisky — Whisky is a grain spirit: under EU rules it is aged at least three years in oak casks and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof in the US) or more. Scotch, Irish, bourbon.
- 🥃 Scotch Whisky — Scotch whisky is whisky distilled and matured in Scotland from water and malted barley (plus whole grains of other cereals), at least 3 years in oak, bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof) or more. EU-protected since 1989.
Similar
What it includes
Sources
- Wikidata Q851986
- Penn State Extension: An Introduction on Low Temperature Fermentation in Wine Production
- The Impact of Fermentation Temperature and Cap Management on Selected Volatile Compounds and Temporal Sensory Characteristics of Grenache Wines (Foods, 2023)
- Yeast Interactions and Molecular Mechanisms in Wine Fermentation: A Comprehensive Review (Int J Mol Sci, 2021)