Discovery of the Oé wine guide

Advice, classification, production and choice of wines

Wine is an alcoholic beverage dating back thousands of years. Over the years, wine tasting has become less and less popular. And quality has become more and more sought after . The passion for wine was born. Let's see everything there is to know about it.

How to choose your wine online?

The classification of wines

We can classify the wine according to different criteria: according to its robe (color), according to its CO2 level, according to its natural sugar content, according to its added sugar content (via the expedition liqueur), according to its ageing .

Classification according to dress

According to its color, it is possible to distinguish three classes of wine.

• Red wines. They are obtained by the fermentation of the juice of black grape varieties.

• White wines which are made from white grape varieties.

• Rosé wines. For this last type of wine, there is no exact definition. It is a wine with an intermediate color between white and red. And it is also made from black grape varieties.

Discover the red wines, white wines and rosé wines Oé

Classification according to CO2 rate

According to its CO2 level in the wine, we can distinguish four classes:

• With a CO2 level below 1g/L, there are still wines .
• For a rate between 1 to 2 g/L, we speak of sparkling wines . They produce a pressure below 1 bar.
• For a rate between 2 to 4 g/L, we speak of sparkling wines . The pressure produced is between 1 and 2.5 bars.
• Above 4g/L, we then speak of sparkling wines (crémants and champagnes) . They produce a pressure of around 6 bars.

Classification according to natural sugar content

According to its natural sugar content, still wines can be classified into 5 categories.

• Dry wines that contain only 0.2% sugar.
• Semi-dry wines with a percentage between 0.2 and 0.3%.
• Sweets with 3 to 5% sugar.
• Between 5 and 11% we speak of syrupy.
• At 11% we are talking about natural sweet wines .

Classification according to added sugar content

Depending on the sugar content of the expedition liqueur, sparkling wines can be classified into 6 categories.

• If the sparkling wine does not contain any added sugar, it is called brut nature wine .
• With a rate of 6 g/L we speak of extra-brut wine .
• At 15%, we speak of raw wine .
• For a rate between 12 and 20 g/L, we speak of extra dry wine .
• Sparkling wine is dry up to 17 to 35 g/L of added sugar, and semi-dry up to 35 to 50 g/L.

Classification according to aging

According to its ageing, there are two categories of wine.

• There are wines for laying down. These are wines aged in the cellar to make them better. The aging period can vary from 5 to 20 years, or even more.
• Then there are the young wines. These are wines immediately sold the same year of their manufacture.

Wine guide on its production: how are the wines made?

The making of wines goes through several processes which may differ from one wine to another . However, the harvest is the first step common to all. It consists of harvesting the bunches of grapes. Then, depending on the desired product, the processes adopted correspond.

Step 1 :

In general, for red wines after the harvest, the producer switches to destemming . This consists of separating the berries from the stalks.

2nd step :

The berries are then pressed to extract the juice. At the end of the operation, a must is obtained which is a mixture of flesh, pips, juice and skins.

Step 3:

The must is put in tanks with the marc to make the maceration and also activate the fermentation. It is during maceration that the wine acquires its taste and color. It is also during the maceration that the sulphiting, yeasting, chaptalisation and clarification are carried out.

Step 4:

At the end of the fermentation, the producer carries out the draining. The wine is separated from the sediment and placed in storage tanks. The sediments are pressed to extract the remaining wine.

Step 5:

During storage in vats, malolactic fermentation takes place, which lasts 10 to 15 days. This second fermentation stabilizes the wine.

Step 6:

After the malolactic fermentation, the producer does a second sulfiting and draws off the lees. The resulting wine goes through a final stage of filtration before bottling or storage in large barrels.

For the production of white wines, during fermentation, there is no maceration.

For the production of rosés, the maceration time, unlike reds, is shorter.

For the production of sparkling wines, the production is divided into two stages: the preparation of the wine and the fermentation.

1. Before bottling, the producer adds sugar and selected yeasts to the wine. The foaming of the wine therefore takes place in the bottle for 3 to 6 months.

2. During the fermentation time, the bottles are tilted (upside down) to facilitate disgorging (expulsion of deposits by pressure). To compensate for the losses, an upgrade is carried out. Finally the bottle is corked again.

For the production of sparkling wines, the production method is the same as that of white wines with an additional process, carbonation. It takes place before bottling.

Sweet, syrupy and sweet wines are made from white wines with the addition of a defined quantity of sugar.

Here you are the pro of good wine! All you have to do is order your wines on the Oé website , then taste them well. The team gives you good advice on decanting or decanting your wines before tasting.