He was also heavily involved in wine analysis workshops during the International American Wine Association meeting in Knoxville in 1993. The more sugar the grapes contain the better, because the sugar will eventually be converted to alcohol. Wine gets its color from the skin of the crushed grapes. If the wine is to be a white wine, the juice is extracted away from the skins immediately. For red wine, especially if the grapes are red-skinned, the juice is left to set on the skins for three to five days while the color is extracted.
Chemical analysis is the next step.
The grapes are analyzed to determine their sugar and Ph levels and are balanced, depending on the natural properties of the particular grape. Then the juice is put into a fermentation vat with yeast and is left to ferment for up to six months. The fermentation process can be stopped to produce various levels of sweetness or continued to achieve a dry quality. It is allowed to set on the sedimentation for various lengths of time depending upon the winemaker. The wine may be racked several times.