Winemaking is not a task for the fainthearted.
It requires patience, a sound scientific background as well as a love of wine, says second-year students following the Viticulture and Oenology stream in the Department of Agriculture.
To ensure that students have the knowledge and hands-on experience that will give them the edge in the wine industry, the class is currently producing their first wines, a several-week process that starts by crushing and destemming grapes and will culminate in the bottling process and final taste test.
Oenology lecturer, Anton Nel, says the task is part of the Oenology module designed to develop students' foundation in biochemistry and microbiology and ensure they gain an understanding of all the processes involved in the production of wine.
“In the first year, they are introduced to winemaking and we look at the history, biochemistry and microbiology. In the second year we focus on the practical part of winemaking. This involves the crushing of grapes, separation of skins and juice, balancing of the must, fermentation of juice and stabilization and filtering of the finished wine,” says Nel.
“In the third year, we look at the post-handling of the wine.”
Nel says this year he encouraged students to be creative and to put their skills to the test, tasking them to create a wine of their choice, and so far he is impressed with their efforts.
Student Amanda Gwiji opted to produce a merlot with a wooded taste, which required her to add blocks of French oak to the wine after the fermentation process.
“There are a lot of factors involved in the process of winemaking. You have to be very specific because you need to get a certain outcome.”
“Winemaking is an art that is science-based,” says Amanda.
Her classmate, Koos De Wet, is producing a wooded merlot and hopes that by introducing blocks of American oak during the fermentation process, the final product will by soft and full-bodied. He is also producing an unwooded chardonnay, with fresh, vibrant and fruity characteristics.
Koos welcomes the practical task and says it provides the class with an opportunity to put their theory into practice and gives them insight into what they can expect in industry.
Click here for more information on the National Diploma in Viticulture and Oenology.
Written by Candes Keating
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