What are the factors affecting the quality of wine?

• Grape Ripeness Level

The sweetness and acidity of the grapes are affected by their ripeness. The higher the sweetness, but the lower the acidity level, the later in the growth process the grapes are harvested. When using these grapes, you may need to artificially acidify your wine in some circumstances to achieve the proper flavor.

• Soaking in Cold Water

Cold soaking allows the grape skins to remain in touch with the must without stimulating fermentation, and it occurs prior to the formation of alcohol in the wine. Furthermore, cold soaking promotes rich color development as well as the desired fruitiness without the use of bitter tannins. The length of time that the grape skins remain in contact with the must is referred to as maceration time.

• Containers for Aging

Today, there are more options for aging your wine than just traditional oak barrels. Of course, you can continue to use these, or you can choose acacia or steel tanks. While oak and acacia impart their own distinct characteristics to the wine by allowing some oxygen into it, steel tanks severely limit the wine's exposure to oxygen and are thus ideal for zesty white wines. You can also combine oak alternatives with steel tanks to get the right balance.

Wine is being serve in an order if there is more than one wine being served. Why? Discuss.

If you're serving more than one kinds of wine with your meal, this general order works best: white wines before red wine, light wines before heavy wine, and dry wines before sweet wine.