Grapes are among the first fruit species to be domesticated and today are the world's most economically important fresh fruit crop used to make a variety of fresh, dried, and processed products such as wine. The process of winemaking requires the grower to fully understand the principles of viticulture, as well as the winemaker, also known as an enologist or vintner, to oversee the entire production process of creating wine. A winemaker combines scientific concepts with practical experience to alter a wine's chemical composition and make key decisions based on the levels of acid, sugar, tannin as well as other wine components. Winemaking is often described as the blend between science and art—winemakers must be well grounded in chemistry and microbiology as well as have the creativity and artistic nature to create genuinely fine wine, consistently. Unlike most books on winemaking Wine Production: Science and Technology of Winemaking approaches winemaking from a practical point of view, providing detailed, step-by-step instructions for ALL phases of contemporary winemaking. While this book is a thorough discussion of the scientific fundamentals of winemaking, in laymen's terms, it also discusses hands-on winemaking practices, and provides a valuable insight into the inherently cross-disciplinary nature of winemaking and a holistic view of contemporary enology. This book guides the reader through the entire process of vinification'from the crush pad, through all the phases of juice processing, fermentation, fining, wine stabilization, filtration, bottling, and storage—as well as other topics including winery cleaning and sanitation, enzyme treatment, oxygen management, and equipment. The text is a complete reference on winemaking operations and technologies, and the science of making wine. The information in this easy-to-use reference guide is distilled from a variety of sources, including scientific literature, extension publications, and winemaker experience and has the added value of numerous citations to more in-depth discussion on many topics. The book is thoughtfully organized presenting a seamless flow of topics within chapters making it easy to find specific information that interests the reader. Wine Production has removed some of the intuition and guesswork from winemaking. The result is a more consistent product of higher average quality level.