| Topic |
Sub-topic |
| INTRODUCTION. THE WINE SECTOR |
INTRODUCTION. BASIC CONCEPTS AND SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT. Basic concepts. History of wine. Economic importance of the sector in Spain. The wine industry in Galicia: current situation and perspectives. |
| THE GRAPE AND THE GRAPE HARVEST |
THE BUNCH OF GRAPES. Parts of the bunch. Quantitative proportions. Stem composition. Grain structure and components. Composition of ripe grapes. Properties of the phenolic compounds present in the bunch.
RIPENING OF THE GRAPE. Stages in grape growth. Modifications during the ripening process. Changes in grain size. Evolution of sugars. Evolution of minerals. Evolution of organic acids. Evolution of nitrogenous substances. Evolution of polyphenols and aromas. Evolution of vitamins. Monitoring ripening: ripening indexes.
THE GRAPE HARVEST. Fixing the harvest date. Transport of the grape harvest: undesirable phenomena of fermentation, oxidation and maceration. Quality of vintages. Corrections in the grape harvest, in the must and in the wine.
PREFERMENTATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE GRAPE HARVEST. Types of prefermentative modifications. Polyphenoloxidase enzymes: classification and actions. Influence of vinification conditions on the activity of oxido-reductases. Pectolytic enzymes of the grape: types and actions. Oenological applications of exogenous pectolytic enzymes and aroma enhancing enzymes. |
| MICROBIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF VINIFICATION |
MICROBIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF VINIFICATION. Natural microbiota of the grape harvest. Yeasts. Lactic acid bacteria. Acetic bacteria.
BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF VINIFICATION. Yeast metabolism: alcoholic fermentation and glyceropyruvic fermentation. Metabolism of lactic acid bacteria: malolactic fermentation. Metabolism of acetic bacteria: acescence or acetic souring. |
| VINIFICATION EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES |
VINIFICATION EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES. I. The winery and its equipment: criteria of design and location. Equipment for reception and preliminary handling of the grape harvest. Mechanical treatments of the grape harvest: operations prior to fermentation. Destemming. Squeezing. Must draining.
VINIFICATION EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES. II. Pressing: classification, description and operation of presses. Vatting: materials, characteristics and types of vats or tanks. Systems for the removal and storage of grape marcs. |
| TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF VINIFICATION |
COMMON OPERATIONS IN DIFFERENT VINIFICATIONS. Use of sulfur dioxide: properties, forms of presentation, procedures and doses of use. Addition of yeasts: preparation of a vat foot and use of active dry yeasts. Control and monitoring of alcoholic fermentation. Fermentation arrest: causes and interventions.
THE VINIFICATION OF WHITE WINES. General characteristics of the vinification of white wines. Vinification of dry white wine: must extraction. Must treatments: demudding, bentonite treatment and protection against oxidation. Alcoholic fermentation: control of fermentation. Racking and final operations. Vinification with prefermentative maceration.
THE VINIFICATION OF ROSÉ WINES. Characteristics of rosé wines. Manufacture as white wine or by direct pressing. Vinification with short or partial maceration. Other methods of vinification: manufacture as (semi-)red wine, vinification with dipping of bunches.
THE VINIFICATION OF RED WINES. General characteristics of the vinification of red wines. Vatting operation: devices. Management of fermentation-maceration operation. Factors involved in the extraction of grape compounds during vatting. Duration of the vatting operation. Devatting. Pressing. Malolactic fermentation. Final operations.
VINIFICATION WITH CARBONIC MACERATION. Processes during carbonic maceration. Intracellular fermentation of the grape: metabolism of malic acid. Dissolution of components of the solid parts. Operations: reception and vatting of the grape harvest. Development and control of carbonic maceration. Devatting, pressing and alcoholic fermentation. Characteristics of wines made by carbonic maceration.
SPECIAL VINIFICATIONS: LIQUOR WINES, SWEET WINES AND SPARKLING WINES. Liquor wines. Sweet wines made with overripe grapes. Elaboration of toasted wines. "Generous" (high alcoholic strength) wines. Manufacture of Jerez wines. Sparkling wines. Classification. Manufacture by the champagne method. |
| CLARIFICATION AND STABILIZATION TREATMENTS |
CLARIFICATION TREATMENTS: GLUING AND FILTRATION. Spontaneous clarification and racking. Clarifying by gluing: protein, industrial synthesis and mineral clarifiers. Clarification by filtration: alluvial filters, plate filters, membrane filters. Amyrobic or sterilizing filtration.
TREATMENTS FOR THE STABILIZATION OF WINES. Cold treatments: tartaric stabilization by cold maintenance, by contact, and continuous treatment. Stabilization chemical techniques: use of metatartaric acid, mannoproteins, carboxymethylcellulose and gum arabic. |
| CONSERVATION, AGING AND BOTTLING OF WINES |
TREATMENTS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF WINES. Use of preservatives and antioxidants: sorbic acid, ascorbic acid, lysozyme. Applications of gases in the wine industry.
AGING OF WINES. Requirements of grape harvest and wines for aging in wooden barrels. Technology of oxidative aging and bottle aging. Accelerated aging: methods.
BOTTLING OF WINES. Washing, conditioning and filling of bottles. Complementary operations: capping and encapsulation. The cap: structure and properties of cork and synthetic materials. |
| LABORATORY PRACTISES |
ANALYSIS OF GRAPE JUICE OR MUST. Determination of acidity, Brix degrees and pH. Calculation of a ripening index. Calculation of potential alcoholic degree.
WINE MICROBIOLOGY. FOLLOW-UP OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION AND MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION. Microscopic observation of microorganisms. Preparation of microbial cultures. Density and temperature determinations in fermenting must. Determination of reducing sugars in wine. Determination of malic acid in wine.
STABILITY, LIMPIDITY AND COLOR OF WINES. Resistance tests against precipitacions of chemical origin. Gluing tests. Determination of the color of red wines.
STARTING A MINI-VINIFICATION OF A WHITE WINE. Addition of sulfur dioxide to grape harvest and must. Addition of pectolytic enzymes. Squeezing and presseing. Static demudding. Addition of yeasts. Bentonite treatment of fermenting must. Alcoholic fermentation.
STARTING A MINI-VINIFICATION OF A RED WINE. Destemming, squeezing and vatting. Addition of sulfur dioxide to grape harvest. Addition of yeasts. Alcoholic fermentation and maceration. |
