When wine has fully aged it is packaged for sale and consumption. Most finished wines are packaged into bottles and bottling is the final step in the wine production process. Quality control often continues after bottling by occasional opening of random bottled wines awaiting sale to test for any flaws that may have developed and insure the product meets the winery’s standards.
Bottling is the busiest time in the winery outside of harvest as many processing steps are performed before bottling to insure that the quality of the wine is maintained in its final form. Final blends must be assembled, any flaws or deficiencies are addressed, and the wines are stabilized to prevent defects from materializing in the bottle. Wines are often cold stabilized to prevent the formation of tartrate crystals. Problems with wine flavor, aroma, or appearance are dealt with either by fining and/or filtering. Any final adjustments to the wine are made, such as SO2 additions for final microbial stability and preservation from oxidation. The physical process of bottling also requires quality control oversight to make sure sanitary conditions are maintained and an attractive, properly packed bottle of wine is produced.
Decisions on the type of bottle used, the closures to seal the bottle, and labels are all made along with this process.
