“The Top Time for Tsipouro. The top challenge for the distiller. The moment he has to collect a drop – drop, in the distillate, the whole concentrated flavor and flavor of the grape. A prerequisite for this purpose? Complete the following steps correctly.”
Distillation
Selection of Grapes
First, the grape itself must be of the highest quality. That is why in the vineyard we select only the grapes, which belong to the appropriate varieties and have reached the desired degree of maturity.
It is also necessary to quickly transfer the grapes to the winery and further check them on the sorting belt. This is followed by de-slaughter, mild crushing and light pressure in the press for the direct separation of the must from the marc to the white winemaking. In red wine, the separation of the must from the marc is carried out after the alcoholic fermentation. After this stage is completed, we move on to the next one.
Fermentation of grapes and grape pulp
And this stage is also vital because fermentation produces compounds that greatly determine the organoleptic characteristics of the distillate. Here, on the one hand, we must preserve all the primary flavor and flavor characteristics of the grape. At the same time, we should seek to create the aromatic, mainly compounds, of interest to us, and to remove the undesirable ones. It is important to mention that the marc should remain unchanged until the moment of distillation, so as not to negatively affect the quality of the finished product. Once the fermentation is complete, everything is ready to start distilling.
Discontinuous distillation
The course of distillation, depending on the feedstock of the raw material to be distilled, may be continuous or discontinuous.
“After distilling them, tsipouro and grape spirit are necessary to stabilize, “finish” and calm for a while. This is achieved by staying either in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels.”
In discontinuous distillation, after a complete distillation cycle, we switch off the process and start a new cycle. Instead of continuous, the feed is continuous without interruption.
Aging. The last note to taste
After distilling them, tsipouro and grape spirit are necessary to stabilize, “finish” and calm for a while.
This is achieved by staying either in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels.
In stainless tanks they retain their transparency on the face and usually have a floral and fruity aromatic style and a fresh flavor.
By staying in oak barrels, tsipouro and grape spirits acquire amber color over time. In addition, wood tannins add complexity and balance to the distillate. At the same time, they give it a complex character with predominant characteristics of spices of dried fruit, honey, tobacco, chocolate, etc. In order for a distillate to be classified as “aged” by the respective state agency, it should remain in oak barrels at least for six months.
Evaluating a tsipouro
To produce a high quality tsipouro, a tsipouro worth ten or more, certain conditions must be met:
(a) Have the distiller qualities of quality grape marc which obviously result from good grapes. (b) The fermentation of the marc shall be carried out without problems at low temperatures, so that only the desired compounds remain in them. (c) These compounds, which remain in the marc after their alcoholic fermentation, will be denatured in valuable spirits of distillate, from the expert hands of the distiller to a modern distillery.
If this happens, then tsipouro without anise will definitely be quality and will usually have a floral, fruity or vegetable character. Correspondingly, in a quality tsipouro with anise, the anthropogenicity of the anise is strongly prevalent, without being easy to distinguish other aromatic features. Here, it should be noted that tsipouro, which shows bad smells, such as mold, rotten grass, rust, firing, solvent etc., means that a high proportion of heads (acetaldehyde and methanol) or tails (higher alcohols , esters, fatty acids, etc.). A fact that is likely to make it dangerous for Public Health.
For the assessment of tsipouro, it is advisable to use a tulip-shaped glass and the temperature of the tsipouro to be about 12 ° C. First try the tsipouro with a low alcoholic degree and then the larger ones. Tuscara without anise precedes the test. Then follow the aged oak barrels and close the rating with the flavored ones.