It's all about the skins
The juice of almost all grapes is clear. Red wine gets its colour, tannin and much of its flavour by fermenting the juice in contact with the dark skins.
CRUSH
black grapes + skins
FERMENT ON SKINS
colour + tannin extracted
PRESS & AGE
press off skins, mature
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The cap
During fermentation, the skins float up into a 'cap'. Winemakers punch it down or pump juice over it to keep extracting colour and tannin.