Skin contact refers to the length of time the juice is left in contact with the skins and seeds. The longer the time of contact the greater the extraction of the components of the skins into the juice. In contrast to red wine production, the majority of the important sensory components of white grapes are in the pulp not in the skins. Since the microbial flora of the grapes is located on the skins, skin contact also increases the contact of these organisms with the juice. If the skins are separated from the juice quickly, the microbes are also separated, minimizing their numbers in the primary fermentation