Winemaker facts for kids
A winemaker or vintner is a person who makes wine. They usually work for wineries or wine companies. Their job involves many steps:
- Working with grape growers to make sure the grapes are healthy.
- Checking how ripe the grapes are to pick them at the best time.
- Squeezing the grapes to get the juice.
- Watching the grape juice as it settles and turns into wine through a process called fermentation.
- Cleaning the wine to remove any small bits left over.
- Tasting the wine to check its quality.
- Putting the clean wine into barrels or tanks to age and get better.
- Planning how to put the wine into bottles once it's ready.
- Making sure the wine stays good when it's bottled.
Today, winemakers need a lot of scientific knowledge. Lab tests are often used instead of older, traditional ways. Winemakers can also be called oenologists because they study oenology, which is the science of wine.
What is a Vintner?
A vintner is a wine merchant, someone who buys and sells wine. In some places, especially in America, "vintner" can also mean the same thing as "winemaker."
The word "vintner" came from Middle English. It replaced an older word, vinter.
In the 1300s and early 1400s, there were strong connections between the Bordeaux wine region in France and England. Because of this, vintners were very important people in London. Some vintners even became the mayor of London four times during the time of King Edward II. The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of London's oldest business groups.
What is a Vigneron?
A vigneron is a person who grows grapes in a vineyard for making wine. This word highlights how important the vineyard's location and care are for making high-quality wine.
The term "vigneron" is French for someone who grows grapes or makes wine. In Australia, it often describes a winemaker who also owns or manages the vineyard, not just someone hired to make wine. It's also used when talking about winemakers from France.
Vincent of Saragossa is considered the patron saint (a special saint) of vignerons.
What is a Négociant?
A négociant is a French word for a wine merchant. This person collects wine from smaller grape growers and winemakers and then sells it under their own company name.
Négociants buy many different things, from grapes to freshly crushed grape must (juice) to wines that are partly or fully made. If they buy grapes or must, the négociant does most of the wine-making themselves. If they buy wine that is already fermented in barrels or in bulk, they might age the wine more, mix it with other wines, or just bottle and sell it as it is. The final wine is sold under the négociant's name, not the name of the original grape grower.
Some négociants are known for having a special style of wine that is unique to their company.
Négociants were the main players in the wine trade for a long time, for several reasons:
- Historically, grape growers and wine producers couldn't easily sell their wine directly to customers.
- It was too expensive for small growers to buy the special machines needed for pressing grapes and bottling wine.
- Sometimes, a grower owned only a small part of a very good vineyard. They might not have enough grapes from their small plot to make wine on their own. Selling their grapes to a négociant allowed them to get a good price for their high-quality grapes.
Many négociants also own their own vineyards. For example, in Burgundy, négociants like Bouchard Père et Fils and Faiveley own some of the largest vineyards. Other well-known négociants include Maison Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy, and Georges Duboeuf in Beaujolais.
See also
In Spanish: Vinicultor para niños
