History’s Favorite Beverage

What is wine?

Wine has been produced for many centuries from just two simple ingredients: yeast and grape juice. Actually, just about any fruit juice can be used, but by far the majority of all wine is made from the juice of the grape.

Historically wine was the drink of choice because of the sometimes poor quality of the drinking water in so many regions. Today, of course, we tend to open a bottle of fine wine at times of celebration or offer it as a welcome gift as part of a wine gift basket.

How is wine made?

Since there are yeast spores in the air, wine could be made without effort simply by allowing grape juice to stay in an open container for an extended period of time. You probably wouldn’t find that so enjoyable, though.

There are numerous strains of yeasts and the types used to make wine have been cultured just for this purpose. The strain of the yeast has an impact upon the wine’s eventual flavor. Well anyway, yeast is a living organism that feeds off of sugars in the grape juice in a process called fermentation. It is the fermentation that causes the sugars in the grape juice to turn into alcohol.

The wine is removed from the original container and placed into another container in order to mature before bottling. The yeast stays in the original container.

You probably know that there are green grapes and black grapes and different grapes are used to make different wines. The color of the wine, however, does not directly reflect the color of the grape. In fact, grape juice is largely clear no matter the color of the original grape. The color of wine is determined by whether (and for how long) the skin is allowed to remain in the juice during the fermentation process.

What gives each wine its taste?

Even though there are very few ingredients, there are many things which influence the taste of wine. First of all, there are many varieties of grapes. Each grape variety will produce different flavors, aromas, and even textures. In addition, the soil and climate where the grapes are grown drastically affect these variables. Not only that, but the wine maker can control various things by the technique, temperature and yeast used during fermentation. Other variables such as fermenting or storing in oak barrels will also affect the taste.

It is because of all of these variables that a wine drinker can always notice a flavor difference from one wine to the next. This can make for an interesting hobby of never-ending discovery.

What is tannin?

Tannin is a substance in wine that causes a firm, mouth-drying feeling in your mouth. It is extracted from the skins, seeds and stems of the grapes so red wines will contain more tannin than whites. White wines will get a degree of tannin when oak barrels are used for fermentation or aging. Eat just the skins of grapes or drink strongly brewed, unsweetened tea for a good idea of what tannin feels like in your mouth.

Because of the brevity of this description, this has been only a tiny overview of what there is to know about wine. Hopefully, though, it has given you a few nuggets for your conversation at the next wine and cheese tasting that you attend.

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