Extract
Definition - What does Extract mean?
Extraction is a process that is used when making wine and is usually applied to red wine grapes. The grapes are extracted to provide the wine’s solid compounds such as the sugars, minerals, phenolics or what is left after removing all liquid from the wine before/during/after fermentation. The longer the grapes are extracted, the stronger and more full-bodied the wine will be. But this is a delicate balance, as over-extraction can have negative effects.
WineFrog explains Extract
This ancient practice has been used to estimate a wine’s taste and flavors long before chemical analysis. There are many different ways to extract wine including, steeping the grapes, pressing the grape skins so they are in contact with the juice and saturating the skins after fermentation for added flavor and tannins. Extraction can attribute to the concentration of the wine’s richness, fullness and body, but if they are heavily extracted, the term can denote an unbalanced, heavy wine. The extraction time varies dependent on the type of grape variety and the style of wine being made, for instance, the delicate Pinot Noir grape requires less extraction than the hardier Cabernet Sauvignon grape.
