How is it possible? How do we obtain white wines from black grapes? What is the secret to producing white wines with black grapes? We explain everything in our article. Read it because you will discover something really interesting.

Why can white wines also be made from black grapes?

It is commonly thought that from black grapes we can only obtain red wines or, at most, rosé wines, while from white grapes only white wines. The equation is correct but it is not complete: from black grapes we can also produce white wines. But be careful: from white grapes it is NOT possible to obtain red wines!

We can rewrite our initial sentence like this: from black grapes we can produce red, rosé or white wines, while from white grapes only white wines (or, at most, the so-called orange wines).

Well! Now it’s time to explain why it is possible to produce a white wine from black grapes and, at the same time, why it is not possible to obtain red wines from white grapes.

In the vast majority of grape varieties, the juice or pulp is colorless, white or transparent. We do not think that red wines are this color because they have red pulp. This is absolutely not true!

The colouring substances are in the skin. The skins of black grapes are rich in anthocyanins, natural dark pigments. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red colour of wines. If, during the winemaking process, we manage to separate the pulp (white, colourless or transparent) from the skins, eliminating the latter, it is possible to produce a white wine from black grapes.

White grapes also contain anthocyanins, but in insignificant quantities. In the skins of white grapes prevail the flavonols. These substances have a yellowish color, giving the classic “color” to white wines. Since they do not have considerable quantities of anthocyanins, red wines cannot be obtained from white grapes.

How to obtain white wines from black grapes?

What we wrote in the previous paragraph about the process that allows us to obtain white wines from black grapes deserves to be explored in more detail. We know that by excluding the skins of black grapes from the winemaking process, it is possible to obtain white wines. Now let's see, specifically, through which operations we can produce white wine from black grapes.

The key operation is called draining. The black grapes are pressed so that the pulp comes out of the skins. This operation must be done with the utmost care and delicacy. It is important to avoid damaging the skins too much, otherwise they would release all the colouring substances contained in them. Immediately after this phase, the must, the liquid part, is immediately separated from the skins, through special sieves, which block and retain the solid part and let the liquid part flow.

The next step is alcoholic fermentation without maceration, that is, without the must being in contact with the skin. In this way, the colouring substances present in the skins are prevented from being absorbed by the liquid and “colouring” it. We thus obtain a white wine from black grapes.

Instead, if we want to produce a red wine, the must and the skins are not separated and the alcoholic fermentation occurs with maceration, that is, with must-skins contact and consequent transmission of color from the skins to the must.

From all the black grapes we could obtain white wines, but only a few varieties are used for this purpose. They are the varieties considered most suitable, those that have skins less rich in anthocyanins. Pinot Noir, for example, is one of the black grape varieties that is most suitable for white winemaking, precisely because of a not excessive presence of anthocyanins in its skins. From its grapes we obtain the famous Blanc de Noirs, white sparkling wines from black grapes.

We have revealed to you one of the most important secrets of winemaking.