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.