The color of a wine is one of its fundamental characteristics, we explain what it is due to and how can we analyzed a wine from it in this article.
The color of a wine
The color of the wine is determined by the presence of substances such as flavones and anthocyanins present above all in the skin of the berries. Flavones are mainly responsible for the color in white wines while anthocyanins in red wines.
According to their color, the wines are therefore divided into:
- white wines are obtained by vinifying white berried grapes but it is possible to obtain white wines also starting from black berried grapes an example is the white wine obtained from merlot, widely diffused in northern Italy and Switzerland. In the case of black berried grapes it is necessary to separate the skins from the must immediately after pressing to prevent the skins from transferring color.
- rosé wines are obtained from black berried grapes, with a reduced maceration time compared to red wines. You can read more about it in the article dedicated to rosé wines.
- red wines are obtained from black berried grapes, leaving the skins to macerate with the must for a certain period of time. The time required can vary a lot according to the result you want to obtain, in Terradonnà we start from a minimum of 5-7 days for the grapes destined for Bixbi up to 25-30 days for the grapes destined for Okenio.
How can we analyze the characteristics of wine based on color?
The color is above all an excellent indicator of the age of a wine, we can keep in mind that in aging: white wines go from a pale yellow color to dark orange while reds deviate from a violet to an orangey brown .
However, the shades of color are generally grouped as follows
White wines
- Straw yellow: typical of young wines, it can take on greenish or golden reflections
- Golden yellow: typical of wines with longer refinements, often in wood
- Amber yellow: typical of wines with maceration, sweet or liqueur wines (may indicate oxidation)
Rosé wines
- Soft pink: wines with very short maceration, typical in Provençal rosés
- Cherry pink: typical of wines with maceration for a few hours, the onion skin color falls into this spectrum
- Claret pink: typical of rosés with very long maceration times such as overnight rosés
Red wines
- Purple red: typical of young wines
- Ruby red: the most typical of red wines generally denotes refinement and structure
- Garnet red: typical of wines aged for a long time and concentrated
- Orange red: typical of evolved and aged wines (may indicate oxidation)
“Terradonnà is a family-run farm that has been producing oil and wine in Suvereto for more than 50 years. The main values that characterize our business are: the search for quality through the expression of the characteristics of the territory, the protection of the environment and the soil and, last but not least, the transposition of traditional production methods with modern winemaking techniques. In addition to the sale of wine and oil, at our business you can have tastings of the entire wine production, in the warm atmosphere of the Tuscan family. We offer experiences suited to your needs aimed at both connoisseurs and those taking their first steps in the world of wine.”