Nashik valley wine

Grape vines (own rooted saplings) used for making wines are normally planted on hill slopes with good drainage conditions at a vine spacing of 8.5 by 4.5 feet (2.6 m × 1.4 m) or 9 by 5 feet (2.7 m × 1.5 m), with a planting density of 2,000 to 3,000 plants per ha. Other methods of planting practices are to adopt "in-situ grafting on dog ridge" or from other root stocks. Planting is done from middle of December to end of January. Harvesting is done from January end to middle of April. Vineyards are protected by trellising. Irrigation is an essential requirement except during the rainy season. Harvesting is done by manual labour. Fertilizers such as Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash of appropriate dosages are added as nutrients at specified intervals. Intercultural operations such as rising green manure crops to control soil erosion, conserve moisture by organic mulching and clearing grasses by mowing on the borders at regular intervals are also essentially practised. Pesticides or insecticides are not to be applied; however, fungicides are sprayed and the last such spraying is to be done 45 days before harvesting. Pruning, training the plants to maintain appropriate positions are essential. Harvesting is done during the winter months when the temperature is below 20 °C (68 °F). Harvesting is done by manual labour by collecting best bunches of grapes for crushing.[1]

White wines are generally pressed prior to fermentation using a pneumatic press, whereas red wines are usually crushed using a crusher-destemmer prior to fermentation, and then pressed at the end of the ferment. Enzymes are added to facilitate colour separation and decantation. The extracted grape juice (must) is collected in cooling tanks to avoid bacterial contamination and for solid matter to settle at the bottom; cooling is done to reduce the temperature to about 7–10 °C (45–50 °F).[1]

The must is then transferred to another cooling tank where it is retained for about 24 to 26 hours with temperature maintained at about 20 °C (68 °F). Then the must is transferred to stainless steel tanks for the first stage of fermentation and then to oak wood barrels for the malolactic fermentation process. This process takes a minimum of 6 months for red wine. Fermentation is facilitated by adding yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus in suitable proportion to the fluid being fermented. The fermentation process is done at a controlled temperature of 13–15 °C (55–59 °F) for a period of 15–20 days for white wine and at 25–28 °C (77–82 °F) for 8–10 days for red wine. By this process sugar gets converted to alcohol and the wine is ready for distillation and filtration depending on the status of fomented wine;filtration is done with use of 0.45 micron filter and the wine is filled in bottles. The bottled wine is kept for aging for a minimum of 3 months in the case of red wine and 1–2 months in the case of white wine. It is only after this ageing that the wines are marketed.[1]