The title may seem surprising at first glance, but it is true. In fact, regardless of the color we see from the outside, when we squeeze the juice of the grapes, they are all shades of yellow that we are accustomed to seeing in white wine. Therefore, the information in the title is not wrong. We owe the colors that we are used to seeing, ranging from light pink to dark purple, to competent wine makers.
Those who read our previous articles will remember that WAYANA Wine Bar is our wine house in Kadıköy, Istanbul. WAYANA, which only serves Turkish wines, has a wine menu that includes more than 400 wines. Also, let's not forget that all the wines on the menu are served both by the glass and by the bottle.
A quarter of the wines on the WAYANA Wine Menu are white wines. White wines include wines made with both local endemic grapes and international grapes grown in local vineyards. Among our endemic grapes, those used for white wine slightly outnumber those suitable for red wine. We have to admit that we have not yet been able to give our wine grapes what they deserve due to the late introduction of our country to wine.
The phrase “all wines are actually white” underlies the technological know-how we have developed thanks to the winemaking experience gained over thousands of years. Very briefly, when the grapes collected from the vineyards come to the winery, first the grains are sorted from the clusters, and then the grapes are squeezed and their must is removed. If you remove the skins from the must as soon as you do this process, the color of your wine will be the yellow tones you are used to seeing in white wines. If your intention is to make white wine, this is the first thing you will do.
If you have set out to make rosé or red wine from the grapes you have, then you should not remove the skins from the must yet. Because the way the wine acquires its red tones depends on the time it spends with the shells. The pigments that give the wine its color are located in the skin of the grape. But it is also useful to remember that the time spent with the crust does not only affect the color. Because the tannins and other organic chemicals that give red wine its unique taste are directly related to the combination of skin and must.
To summarize, the color of the wine we encounter in our glass depends on the production process during its production. The term “Blanc de Noir” in wine terminology describes the making of white wine from grapes originally used to make red wine. Let us remind you that we have many wines in this category on the WAYANA menu.
