Wine was discovered about 6,000 years ago in either Mesopotamia,
Palestine/Israel or what is now called Georgia. It originally fermented
by accident when native yeasts stuck to grapes stored in containers
turned sugars in the grapes into alcohol. The ancient Egyptians
refined the sciences of both grape-growing and winemaking, to the point
of including wine in burial crypts for consumption in the afterlife.
The Greeks spread winemaking throughout the Mediterranean and the Romans
turned it into a big business. Spanish exploration of the New World
brought winemaking to the Americas, and other Europeans took it to
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Winemaking, from all
indications, also was practiced by the ancient Chinese, though its
discovery in Chinese history is vague.
How Wine is Made
Single-celled organisms called yeast convert the sugar in grapes
into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and also release heat in the process.
The process has been refined over thousands of years with the
cross-breeding of grapes and discoveries about how climate affects
them, as well as through discoveries about aging, yeast and storage,
But the basic principles remain the same.
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Fermentation
The process of primary fermentation, left uncontrolled, can happen
very rapidly, especially in red wines. Winemakers typically want to
slow down the process, to allow more flavors and, in the case of red
wines, colors to be extracted. The typical red wine fermentation lasts
less than a week. Whites are fermented longer, sometimes over a span of
several weeks, to bring out more flavors and aromas.
Where Wine is Made
Wine is made on every continent except Antarctica, but its historic
home is in Europe, especially France, Italy and Spain. Despite
demographic changes through the years, those three countries still lead
the world in wine production. Most of the major modern research about
wines began in those countries, with the first academic center devoted
to the study of wine in France.
Wine Colors
Almost all wine grapes produce clear juice. Red wines get their
color from the skins, which are included in the mix when a red wine is
fermented. White wines usually are fermented only from juice, so they
are much lighter in color. Pink wines typically are made from starting
a fermentation with red wine juice and skins, then removing the
partially fermented wines from the skins after a short period.
Flavors and Smells
Wines get their basic sensory characteristics from the grapes; a
wine’s “aroma” is the product of the grapes that were used to make it.
But other factors can influence and enhance the sensory experience,
including the area where the grapes were grown, ripeness levels, yeast,
fermentation temperatures, storage conditions, the use of barrels or
other wood, and even the time and conditions when a wine is in a bottle.
Proper Storage
Wines that have corks in them should always be stored in such a way
that he cork stays moist — on their sides or upside down. A dry cork
can let wine leak out or air leak in. All wines also should be kept in
moderate temperatures and somewhere where there is little variation in
that temperature. Large fluctuations in can affect the cork, as well as
wine sealed in other ways. Wines also should be kept away from sources
of vibration and chemical contamination.
Bottles
Traditionally, wine is sold in a bottle that reflects the origins of
the grapes that made the wine. The bottles with high shoulders and
long, slender necks are for wines that originated in the Bordeaux
region of France, and they include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and
Malbec. Bottles with the longer, sloping shoulders are for wines that
originated the Burgundy region of France. They include Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir. The name for the very tall and slender Hock bottle comes
from a British term for the region of Germany and France where they
originated. They also are known as Alsatian or German bottles, and the
wines in them typically are made from Riesling or Gewurztraminer. In
most places, there are no laws to regulate which bottles are used for
which wines. But the wine business can be very traditional, so many
wineries stick to the bottle guidelines.
Temperature
The temperature at which a wine is served is critical to its flavors
and aromas. In general, the lighter-bodied a wine is, the colder it
should be served. The cooler a wine, the more apparent its acidity will
be, and acidity is a major component of a white wine’s character. Red
wines are much more complex chemically, so they are served at a
temperature where the acidity still can be sensed, but only as a
balancing component. “Room temperature” for a red wine means 65-70
degrees, and whites should be served at 45-50 degrees, depending on
their weight.
Labels
Outside of Europe, if a label says the name of a grape, then that
grape made up a large percentage of what is in the bottle. (The
percentage varies from one country to the next.) A traditional European
wine label identifies the region where the wine was made, although more
and more of the European wines made for export are now labeled with the
name of the grape. The year on a label indicates the year the large
percentage of the grapes were picked.