Types of Wine

Sparkling Wines
• Sparkling wine is made from table wine that has undergone a second fermentation.
• The wine maker adds a measured amount of sugar and fresh yeast to the dry wine.
• This can happen in a closed tank, or directly in the bottle, which is the way the most famous sparkling wine, French champagne, is produced.
• The yeast ferments the added sugar, but this time the carbon dioxide gas remains in the sealed bottle, creating carbonation.
• When the sparkling wine is poured into a glass, the gas bubbles to the surface.
• Under the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system, only sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of northeastern France can officially use the name champagne.
• Sparkling wines produced in all other regions of the world, even those produced using the traditional champagne method, are simply referred to as sparkling wines.
• About 13 million cases of sparkling wine are produced in the United States each year.
• Some sparkling wines with their countries of origin are as follows:
o Champagne - Champagne (France)
o Sekt - Sekt (Germany)
o Asti-Spumante - Asti, Cynco, Alessandria (Italy)
o Vino-Verde - Minho (Portugal)
o Dao - Dao (Portugal)


Sparkling Wine Brand Names
• Champagne brands
Moet et Chandon
Tattinger
Krug
Mumm Cuvee Napa
Dom Perignon
Laurent Perrier
• Sekt brands
Blue Nun
Barth
Neakel
• Asti-Spumante brands
Martini Rosso
Luigi Bosca
Cinzano
• Vino-Verde brands
Alveleda
Quinta de Crasto
Meila Encosta
• Dao brands
Dao RD
St. Martinho


Fortified Wines
• Fortified wines contain additional alcohol and are usually consumed in small amounts as aperitifs before meals or dessert wines after a meal.
• Popular examples are port and sherry.
• In port wine making, which originated in Portugal, the grapes are crushed and the fermentation started but then stopped by the addition of more alcohol, which kills the yeast. The resulting wine is sweet and has an alcohol content that is 5 to 10 percent higher than table wine.
• Originally from Spain, sherry is made by adding alcohol to a young dry wine in an oak barrel intentionally filled only halfway. Special yeasts called flor yeast grow on the surface of the wine and create the distinct nutty flavor characteristic of sherry.
• About 8 million cases of fortified wines are produced in the United States each year.
• Some fortified wines with their country of origin are as given below:
o Port - Portugal
o Madeira - Portugal
o Sherry - Spain
o Marsala - Italy

Fortified Wine Brand Names
• Port brands
Quinta Do Crasto
Quarles Harris
The Triple Crown
Hutchinson
Delaforce
• Madeira brands
Borges
Leacock
Carvalho Riberia & Ferreira
Cosart Garden
D’Oliveiras
• Marsala brands
Woodhouse
Fiorio
Witticker
• Sherry brands
Ochavico
Royal Esmerelda
Bristol Cream
Harvey’s
Sandemon



Aromatized Wines
• Aromatised wines have alcohol in the form of brandy added after the fermentation is over, leading to consumption of the entire sugar by yeast resulting in very dry wines.
• Vermouths like Martini Rosso and extra dry fall in this category.
• Typical examples are Vermouths and Commandaria.
• Vermouths are of four main types from Dry - Sweet Rose to red Vermouth
• However, in modern times many aromatized wines fall under the category of aperitifs.

Wines

Wine
• Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the juice of grapes.
• During fermentation, microscopic single-celled organisms called yeasts digest sugars found in fruit juice, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide gas in the process.
• Although grapes are the most common fruit used to make wine, wine is also made from the fermented juice of pears, apples, berries, and even flowers such as dandelions.
• Wine naturally contains about 85 to 89 percent water, 10 to 14 percent alcohol, less than 1 percent fruit acids, and hundreds of aroma and flavor components in very small amounts.
• Wine character—its taste and smell—is derived from many factors including the grapes it is made from, where they were grown, and the production techniques applied by the wine maker, or enologist.
• The practice of making wine is as old as our most ancient civilizations, and wine has played a central role in human culture for more than 8000 years. In contrast to most foods and beverages that spoil quickly or that can spread disease, wine does not spoil if stored properly.
• The alcohol in wine, called ethanol, is present in sufficient concentrations to kill disease-causing microorganisms, and throughout history, wine was often safer to drink than water or milk.
• Wines are categorized using a number of different methods. Sometimes they are grouped into different categories by grape variety, region of origin, by color, by the name of the wine maker or viticulturalist, or by production technique. Four basic groups of wines are most easily distinguishable for the consumer: table wines, fortified wines, aromatized wines and sparkling wines.


Natural Wines
• Table wines, also known as still or natural wines, are produced in many different styles and make up the majority of wines on the market.
• Traditionally consumed as part of a meal, table wines contain between 10 and 14 percent alcohol and are further classified by their color, sugar content, and the variety and origin of the grapes that were used.
• Depending on the grape variety and wine-making technique, wines can be white, red, or pink in color.
• Most table wines are fermented until they are dry—that is, all the grape sugar has been turned to alcohol by the yeast. Slightly sweet or off-dry wines are made by stopping the fermentation before all the sugar is gone or by adding grape juice back to the wine afterwards.
• In wine-producing regions outside of Europe, particularly California and Australia, table wines are often classified by the grape variety they are made from. At least 75 percent of the grapes used to produce the wine must be of the named grape variety.
• In wine-producing regions outside of Europe, particularly California and Australia, table wines are often classified by the grape variety they are made from.
• At least 75 percent of the grapes used to produce the wine must be of the named grape variety.
• Chardonnay, for example, is wine made from at least 75 percent chardonnay grapes.
• Wines classified this way are sometimes called varietals, and include wines such as Riesling, Cabernet sauvignon, and Merlot.
• Natural wines can further be classified into white wine, red wine aqnd rose or blush wine.


Production of wine
• Although wine makers use many different techniques to produce wines with unique characteristics, there are six basic steps involved in most wine production.
• To make red wine,
o Grapes are passed through a mechanical destemmer-crusher to remove the stems and release the juice.
o The juice, stems, and skins, now called must, is transferred to a fermentation tank, where it remains for up to 14 days while yeasts slowly convert the grape sugar to alcohol.
o The juice, now considered wine, is separated from the skins and stems by passing it through a press.
o The wine is pumped into barrels, often made of oak, where it continues to ferment and develop in a process known as aging. During aging, residue settles to the bottom of the barrel and forms sediment called the lees.
o Wine makers may separate the wine from the lees in a process called racking, transferring the wine to clean casks.
o Finally, the wine is mechanically bottled , corked, and packaged for distribution.

• In white wine production,
o the grapes are separated from the skins and stems before fermentation.
o The grapes are passed through a destemmer-crusher, and the must is immediately passed through a press that applies pressure to separate the juice from the skins and stems.
o The juice is transferred to a fermentation tank, where it remains for up to 14 days while yeasts slowly convert the grape sugar to alcohol.
o The juice, now considered wine, is separated from the skins and stems by passing it through a press.
o The wine is pumped into barrels, often made of oak, where it continues to ferment and develop in a process known as aging. During aging, residue settles to the bottom of the barrel and forms sediment called the lees.
o Wine makers may separate the wine from the lees in a process called racking, transferring the wine to clean casks.
o Finally, the wine is mechanically bottled , corked, and packaged for distribution.