How White Wine Is Made

From picking to bottling, vintners rely on science, experience and intuition

Two women pick white wine grapes in a vineyard.
Hand-picking grapes instead of machine-harvesting takes more time and labor but will ultimately be more gentle on the fruit and allow for more precise picking. (Aleksandar Nakic)

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at a winery, what the nitty-gritty details of pressing and fermentation are or what the real differences are between red and white wine? All of those questions will be answered in this step-by-step guide to how white wine is made. From the picking of the grapes in the vineyard to the bottling and selling of the wine and everything in between—such as sorting, pressing, soaking, racking, fermenting, fining, filtering and more—take a deep dive into white wine production now!

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