How Wine Is Made: A Step-by-Step Look Inside the Winemaking Process
- Jacob Villarreal
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
When you open a bottle of wine, you’re opening the result of countless decisions, hard work, and a process that spans months (or even years). At Whisper Path Cellars, we take pride in crafting our wines with care and intention from the grape to the bottle. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the winemaking process at our San Antonio winery and beyond.
1. Growing the Grapes
Wine starts long before a bottle is filled and labeled. The process begins in the vineyard, where everything from the grape variety to the soil type and weather conditions (collectively known as terroir) influences the final product. In Texas, we partner with grape growers across the Hill Country and High Plains, selecting grapes that thrive in the state’s warm, dry climate.
Each grape variety —whether it’s Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, or Viognier—responds differently to the environment. That’s why careful vineyard management, including pruning, irrigation, and canopy control, is key to producing high-quality fruit. This is why we are committed to working with some of the best growers in the business.
Why it matters: Great wine starts with great grapes. Winemaking can't fix poor fruit—it can only express what’s already there.
2. Harvesting at Just the Right Moment
Harvest is perhaps the most critical (and exciting) season of the winemaking year. Grapes are typically harvested between July and October in Texas, depending on variety and growing region. Timing is everything: we monitor sugar levels (measured as Brix), acidity, pH, flavor development, and other factors to determine the perfect moment to pick. There are a lot of tricks of the trade when it comes to knowing when fruit is ready, but it mostly comes down to tight communication between our growers and our winemaker. We must be ready at the drop of a hat to harvest, transport and process grapes whenever they decide they're ready.
Grapes may be harvested by hand to protect delicate clusters or by machine for efficiency—both methods have their place depending on the wine style and vineyard setup. There have even been recent strides in machine harvesting technology to simulate the delicate and discerning touch that was previously only available with hand harvesting.
Did you know? In a warm region like Texas, grapes often ripen faster, so harvest windows can be short and intense.
3. Crushing and Pressing
Once harvested, grapes are quickly transported to the winery to preserve freshness. Here, the grapes go through a de-stemming and crushing process.
Red wines are fermented with their skins, which give them their deep color, tannins, and texture.
White wines are typically pressed right away to separate the juice from the skins, resulting in a lighter, crisper profile.
Rosé wines often spend just a few hours on the skins before pressing, giving them their signature blush tone.
If you've had the chance to experience a private tasting with our winemaker or staff, you've likely heard us use the term "Texas-style Rosé" in reference to our bold coral-colored rosé. Texas is one of the only wine-producing regions in the world with such a geographical disparity between the prominent grape-growing region (the Texas High Plains) and the prominent winery region (the Texas Hill Country) that can claim the same place of origin (the state of Texas). The deep color of our rosé is a direct result of the long transportation time our grapes experience between harvest in the High Plains and pressing at our winery in San Antonio.
4. Fermentation: Where Sugar Becomes Alcohol
Fermentation is where the magic happens. Natural or cultured yeasts convert grape sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This process usually takes 1–3 weeks, but its impact on flavor lasts much longer.
Temperature, vessel type (stainless steel, oak, or even concrete), and yeast strain all affect the outcome. Cooler ferments preserve fresh, fruity notes—ideal for whites and rosés—while warmer ferments can extract more flavor and structure in reds.
At Whisper Path Cellars, we take a small-lot approach, allowing us to tailor fermentation decisions to each wine’s personality and needs.
5. Aging the Wine
Once fermentation is complete, the wine is racked off its sediment and transferred to aging vessels. This can include:
Stainless steel tanks – Preserve brightness and purity, often used for aromatic whites.
Neutral oak barrels – Add subtle texture without strong oak influence.
New oak barrels – Introduce flavors like vanilla, toast, and spice, often used for structured reds.
Some wines are aged for a few months, others for years. The choice depends on the style we’re aiming for: fresh and fruit-forward, or complex and age-worthy.
Fun fact: The barrel room is where wines quietly evolve, gaining layers of flavor and finesse.
6. Blending, Bottling, and Final Touches
Before bottling, we taste through each lot and make blending decisions. A single-varietal wine might come from multiple vineyard blocks, each contributing something different. For blends, we balance structure, aroma, acidity, and body to craft something greater than the sum of its parts.
Once the wine is clarified and stabilized, it’s bottled, labeled, and ready for release. From here, it’s either stored to age further or made available for you to enjoy.
Why It’s Worth Knowing
Every bottle of wine reflects hundreds of decisions—from vineyard to cellar. The next time you visit our winery in San Antonio or open a bottle of Texas wine, we hope you’ll think about the craft, care, and creativity that brought it to life.
Want to learn more? Join us for a tasting, explore our current releases, or book a behind-the-scenes tour of our winemaking process.
