Brandy is based on grapes as raw materials, its process of fermentation in the first few steps of the process is basically the same as the fermentation of white wine, in the crushing should prevent the rupture of the core, the general large grain grape crushing rate of 90%, small grape crushing rate of more than 85%, timely removal of branches, immediate pressing process. Take the separating juice into the tank (pool) for fermentation, and the skin residue is uniformly stacked for fermentation or when there is a low-grade brandy production, it is incorporated into the low-grade grape raw wine and fermented together.
ferment
The grapes used to make brandy must be disease-free and decay-free. For example, grape gray mold can make the grape raw wine easy to oxidize and bring a bad smell to the original brandy, and powdery mildew makes the brandy have a "fungal taste".
The vehicle used to transport grapes must be a vehicle that has not transported toxic or odorous vehicles such as pesticides. Vehicles should be washed and stocked with strips or plastic baskets for grapes. After harvesting grapes, should be transported to the processing site in time, from crushing to full tank fermentation should not exceed 2 days, grape juice (pulp) accounted for 80% of the tank capacity, the fermentation process should be as short as possible, so as to prevent oxidation, the production of high-grade brandy should be juice separation fermentation, and ordinary brandy production can be directly fermented after crushing and destemming grape pulp.
Using the natural fermentation method, the temperature does not exceed 34 °C, the time is 4 to 6 days, you can finish the fermentation, the physical and chemical index after fermentation is 6% to 9% (V / V), residual sugar < 3g / L.
After the fermentation is over, a tank can be poured once to remove the large grain feet, retain the light wine feet, and store in full tanks, due to the higher temperature of the fermentation season and the low wine content of the grape raw materials, so the alcohol cap can be used to prevent the deterioration of the raw wine. During the whole grape processing and fermentation and storage, soo2, potassium sulfite and other preservatives should not be used, because the SO2 odor can enter the original brandy through distillation, so that the original brandy has a pungent odor, and there is a hydrogen sulfide odor and a disgusting thiol odor.
Distillation process
Brandy distillation process in the production of brandy can be said to play an important role in the inheritance of the past and the future, it can produce the inherent aroma of the grape variety of brandy and the aroma components produced during fermentation in an optimal proportion to retain, and provide early aromatic substances for future storage, so the distillation of brandy is not only the pure alcohol purification of fermented wine, so its distillation degree can not be too high, France's distillation requirements for brandy raw wine is not higher than 86% (V / V), 一般是在68%～72%(V/V)范围内，这样，才可将发酵原料酒中的芳香成份，有效地保留下来，并得其精华，以奠定白兰地芳香物质的基础。
Brandy raw wine in addition to alcohol volatile substances mainly have aldehydes, esters, higher alcohols and other ingredients, whether these substances can be distilled out of the raw wine, not only depends on the boiling point, more importantly depends on the distillation coefficient, the distillation coefficient of a substance refers to the ratio of the evaporation coefficient of the volatile substances contained in the alcohol and the evaporation coefficient of ethanol. If the distillation coefficient is equal to 1, it means that the substance is the same as the evaporation coefficient of ethanol, distilled out of the raw wine at the same speed, but because the evaporation coefficient of each substance changes with the change of alcohol, so its distillation coefficient also changes with the degree of alcohol, if the distillation coefficient of the volatile substance is greater than 1, it indicates that the volatile substance content in the distillate is higher than the content in the raw wine, and conversely, the distillation coefficient is lower than 1, then the volatile content in the distillate is lower than the content in the raw wine, and its evaporation rate is lower than that of ethanol. This is why volatiles are either enriched at the head of the wine or at the tail. 如一般原料酒酒度在6%～8%(V/V)，酒精度为6%(V/V)时乙醛的蒸馏系数为2.67，酒度为8%(V/V)时乙醛的蒸馏系数为3.00，酒精度为1%(V/V)时,乙醛的蒸馏系数降为1.71,蒸馏系数同样的变化趋势还有缩醛:6%(V/V)～2.42、1%(V/V)～1.60。 In this way, these substances first enter the wine head to be enriched, while the furfural change trend is opposite 6% (V / V) ~ 1.2, 1% (V / V) ~ 1.11, but its content is less, while the higher alcohol change is more interesting: 8% (V / V) ~ 2.03, 1% (V / V) ~ 1.95, and 30% (V / V) ~ 1.14, 10% (V / V) ~ 2.02, so that the first distillation, will appear in the first part of the wine, and the second distillation can appear in the late distillation stage. Most of the ester substances appear in the late distillation stage, these esters are very important to the aroma composition of brandy, in the post-aging process, through oxidation and hydrolysis to participate in the formation of aging aroma, especially ethyl lactate can not only improve the aroma of aromatic substances, but also weaken the bad flavor, so the cut of the tail of the wine in the secondary distillation of the Charente pot distillation has a greater impact on the quality of brandy. The esters of rich fatty acids generated in distillation are caused by the feet of the raw wine, when the raw wine is heated in the Charente pot-type distillation pot, due to the high temperature and the dissolution of yeast in the feet, and the esters of the fatty acids are released, with the distillation is distilled, low carbon often appears on the head of the wine, and the polycarbon esters are more or less left in the tail fraction, such as the enrichment of ethyl caprylate, ethyl capricate and ethyl dodecanoate can be analyzed in the tail. These heavy carbon esters, in later aging, are the main source of the charene-borne chlorpyrifos due to the hydrolysis of methyl ketone.
Generally speaking, in Charente distilled wine, only even carbon atoms of fatty acid esters can be found, and if an odd number of carbon atoms of fatty acid esters are found, it may be that the raw wine is invaded by bacteria, or it can be considered to have spices added.
Long boiling in Charente distillation can lead to a complex phenomenon of "boiling". In this process, various amino acids are reduced and oxidized by the oxidation of polyphenols in wine, and the pot distiller is made of copper, which catalyzes this reaction, and also forms carboxyl compounds of aldehydes and ketones.
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