Introduction to Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of grapes and grape juice. Wine-like beverages can be produced by the fermentation of other fruits and flowers (fruit or country wines), barley (barley wine), rice (sake), honey (mead), and even herbs (Chinese wine). However, in such cases a qualifier is often legally required (e.g., "elderberry wine"). The English word wine and its equivalents in other languages are protected by law in many jurisdictions.

Etymology

The word wine comes from the Old English win, which derives from the Proto-Germanic *winam which was an early borrowing from the Latin vinum (related to Greek), which can mean either the "wine" or the "vine" . Some believe this word was derived from the Georgian ghvino.

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Early history

Domesticated grapes were abundant in the Near East from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, starting in 3200 BC. There is also increasingly abundant evidence for wine making in Sumeria and Egypt in the third millennium BC. Grapes were, of course, also an important food. There is scanty evidence for earlier domestication of grape, in the form of grape pips from Chalcolithicr Tell Shuna in Jordan, but this evidence remains unpublished.

Exactly where wine was first made will probably never be known. It could have been anywhere in the vast region, stretching from Spain to Central Asia, where wild grapes grow. However, the first large-scale production of wine must have been in the region where grapes were first domesticated, the Near East. Wild grapes grow in the northern Levant, coastal and southeastern Turkey, the Caspian coast of Iran, Armenia, and Georgia. None of these areas can be singled out, despite persistent suggestions that Georgia is the birthplace of wine

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Egypt

In Ancient Egypt, wine played an important part in ceremonial life. A thriving royal winemaking industry was established in the Nile Delta following the introduction of grape cultivation from the Levant to Egypt c. 3000 BC. The industry was most likely the result of trade between Egypt and Canaan during the Early Bronze Age, commencing from at least the Third Dynasty (2650 – 2575 BC), the beginning of the Old Kingdom period (2650 – 2152 BC). Winemaking scenes on tomb walls, and the offering lists that accompanied them, included wine that was definitely produced at the deltaic vineyards. By the end of the Old Kingdom, five wines, all probably produced in the Delta, constitute a canonical set of provisions, or fixed "menu," for the afterlife. The advent of wine in Europe was the work of the Greeks who spread the art of grape-growing and winemaking in Ancient Greek and Roman times.

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Wine-producing regions

Wine grapes grow almost exclusively between thirty and fifty degrees north or south of the Equator. The world's most southerly vineyards are in the South Island of New Zealand near the 45th parallel. Grapevines prefer a relatively long growing season of 100 days or more with warm daytime temperatures (no greater than 95°F/35°C) and cool nights (a difference of 40°F/23°C or more).

The 13 largest export nations (2005 dates) – Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Chile, the United States of America, Germany, South Africa, Portugal, Moldova, Hungary, Croatia and Argentina. In the United States, California accounts for the largest share of wine producers, including Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Monterey, Paso Robles, and Santa Ynez. The vineyards of Algeria used to produce many fine wines, especially during and immediately after the era of French colonization, but civil strife since the 1970s has greatly reduced this industry.

The leaders in export volume by market share in 2003 were:

Steep rock slope at
the Moselle River

In 2000, Great Britain imported more wine from Australia than from France for the first time in history.

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inferior to varietal wines; indeed, some of the world's most valued and expensive wines from the Bordeaux, Rioja or Tuscany regions, are a blend of several grape varieties of the same vintage.

However, flavor differences are not necessarily a desirable quality for large producers of table wine or more affordable wines, where consistency is more important for mass-market wine brands. Their producers will try to minimize differences in sources of grapes, hide any hint of often-unremarkable "terroirs", or climatically under-performing harvest years, by:

.blending harvests of various years and vineyards;
.pasteurizing the grape juice in order to kill indigenous yeasts (to be replaced with ."choice" cultivated yeasts); and
.using flavor additives.

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Fortified wines are often sweeter, always more alcoholic wines that have had their fermentation process stopped by the addition of a spirit, such as brandy.
Brandy is a distilled wine. Grappa is a dry colorless brandy, distilled from fermented grape pomacer, the pulpy residue of grapes, stems and seeds that were pressed for the winemaking process.

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Wines may be classified by the year in which the grapes are harvested, known as the "vintage". "Vintage wines" are made from grapes of a single year's harvest, and are accordingly dated. These wines often improve in flavor as they age, and wine enthusiasts will occasionally save bottles of a favorite vintage wine for future consumption.

For most types of wine, the best-quality grapes and the most care in wine-making are employed on vintage wines. They are therefore more expensive than non-vintage wines. Whilst vintage wines are generally made in a single batch so that each and every bottle will have a similar taste, climatic factors can have a dramatic impact on the character of a wine to the extent that different vintages from the same vineyard can vary dramatically in flavor and quality.

Superior vintages, from reputable producers and regions, will often fetch much higher prices than their average vintages. Some vintage wines are only made in better-than-average years. Conversely, wines such as White Zinfandel, which don't age well, are made to be drunk immediately and may not be labeled with a vintage year. There are exceptions though. French Champagne is often non-vintage, but still expensive. It can sometimes profit from aging 2-3 years and some Prestige Cuvées even much longer.

Also investment in fine wine has attracted a number of fraudsters who have played on fine wine's exclusive image, and their clients' ignorance of this sector of the wine market. Wine fraud scams often work by charging excessively high prices for the wine, while representing that it is a sound investment unaffected by economic cycles. Like any investment, proper research is essential before investing. False labeling is another dishonest practice commonly used.

Some wines, produced to mark significant events in a country or region, can also become collectible because of labelling design. An example is the Mildara Rhine Riesling produced in 1973 to mark the opening of the Sydney Opera House. Instead of labels, the bottles (red, as well as white) had printing in gold on them, as seen in the illustration.

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Wines are usually named either by their grape variety or by their place of production. Generally speaking, Old World (European) wines are named for the place of production, with the grapes used often not appearing on the label. New World wines (those from everywhere except Europe) are generally named for the grape variety. More and more, however, market recognition of particular regions and wineries is leading to their increased prominence on New World wine labels. Examples of recognized locales include: Napa Valley, Russian River Valley, Willamette Valley, Sonoma, Walla Walla, etc., Still, though, the grape variety is almost invariably present on the label. This is not the case with most European wines because tradition and legal restrictions enable a well trained connoisseur or other expert to know what variety of grape is in the bottle. However, to the typical or even to the well informed wine consumer, the system can be confusing if not impenetrable. For example, 72% of French adults report that they have difficulty understanding wine labels. This is understandable; the many systems of geographic nomenclature with their precise meanings and implications are highly complex.

Within Europe, a major exception to the no-grape rule is with German wines, for which it is not uncommon to find this information on the front label. To accommodate market demands, an increasing number of French wine makers are labeling their bottles with the variety or varieties of grapes included, as permitted by law.

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Regional Wine names

The taste of a wine depends not only on the grape species and varietal blend, but also on the ground and climate (known as terroir) where it is cultivated. Historically, wines have been known by names reflecting their origin, and sometimes style: Bordeaux, Rioja, Mosel and Chianti are all legally defined names, reflecting the traditional wines produced in the named region. These naming conventions or "appellations" (as they are known in France) dictate not only where the grapes in a wine were grown, but also which grapes went into the wine and how they were vinified. The appellation system is strongest in the European Union, but a related system, the American Viticultural Area, restricts the use of certain regional labels in America, such as Napa Valley, Santa Barbara and Willamette Valley. The AVA designations do not restrict the type of grape used. New World wines are known primarily by their varietal content, and not by their region.

The inconsistent application of historical European designations can be confusing. For example, in most of the world, wine labeled Champagne must be made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France and fermented using a certain method, based on the international trademark agreements included in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. However, in the United States (except Oregon), the following European appellations are allowed to be used as generic wine names: Asti, Burgundy, Chablis, Champagne, Chianti, Madeira, Marsala, and Moselle.

Generally only less expensive, mass-produced wines (or vin ordinaire) make use of these place names as semi-generic wine names. For example, makers of American sparkling wines now generally find it to be of no advantage in the marketplace to use the name " Champagne" because the quality of their products is widely recognized. Thus, the finest sparkling wines from California will be labeled "sparkling wine", while some less expensive sparkling wines from California as well as states such as Ohio and New York may bear the name " Champagne".

Some blended wine names are marketing terms, and the use of these names is governed by trademark or copyright law, rather than a specific wine law or a patent on the actual varietal blend or process used to achieve it. For example, Meritage is generally a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and M rerlot, and may also include Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Use of the term Meritage is protected by licensing agreements by The Meritage Association.

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Uses of wine

Wine is a popular and important beverage that accompanies and enhances a wide range of European and Mediterranean-style cuisines, from the simple and traditional to the most sophisticated and complex. Red, white and sparkling wines are the most popular, and are also known as light wines, because they only contain approximately 10-14% alcohol. The apéritif and dessert wines contain 14-20% alcohol, and are fortified to make them richer and sweeter than the light wines. Although there are many classes of dinner wines, they can be categorized under six specific classes as follows:

• Apéritif (or better known as "appetizer wines"): include dry sherry, Madeira, Vermouth, and other flavored wines, made to be consumed before eating a meal.
• Red dinner wines: These wines are usually dry and go extremely well with such main-course dishes as red meats, spaghetti, and highly-seasoned foods. They should be served at a cool room temperature to bring out their aroma. The most popular red dinner wines are claret, Burgundy, Chianti, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Pink dinner wines (also called "rose wines"), a special class of red wines, can be served with almost any dish, but are considered best with cold meats, pork, and curries.
• White dinner wines: Usually either very dry or rather sweet, these wines should be served chilled, and go well with white meats, seafood, and fowl. They include Rhine wines, Chablis, sauterne, and wine made from different grape varieties such as Chardonnay and White Riesling.
• Sparkling wines: Usually served at any meal with any course, these wines are most frequently served at banquets, formal dinners and weddings. The most common sparkling wines are Champagne (white) and sparkling Burgundy (red).
• Table wine: Table wine is not bubbly, although some have a very slight carbonation, the amount of which is not enough to disqualify them as table wines. According to U.S. standards of identity, table wines may have an alcohol content that is no higher than 14 %. In Europe, light wine must be within 8.5 % and 14 % alcohol by volume. As such, unless a wine has more than 14 % alcohol, or it has bubbles, it is a table wine or a light wine.
• Dessert wines: Ranging from medium-sweet to sweet, these wines are classified under dessert wines only because they are sometimes served with desserts. Among these are port wine, sweet sherry, Tokay, and muscatel.
• Cooking wines: Typically containing a significant quantity of salt, cooking wine is wine of such poor quality that it is unpalatable and intended for use only in cooking. (Note, however, that most cooking authorities advise against cooking with any wine one would find unacceptable to drink.)

The labels on certain bottles of wine suggest that they need to be set aside for an hour before drinking (ie. to "breathe"), while other wines are recommended to be drunk as soon as they are opened. 'Breathing' means allowing a wine to aerate before drinking. Generally, younger wines benefit from some aeration, while older wines do not. The word, "younger", refers to the first one third of a wine’s life, which varies from wine type to wine type and from wine to wine. For most white wines, "younger" means up to one to two years, while for red wines, they could mean as little as a few months, for a Beaujolais Nouveau, up to ten years for a hearty Barossa Shiraz. "Older", on the other hand, refers to the last one third of their lives.

During aeration, the exposure of younger wines to air often "relaxes" the flavours and makes them taste slightly smooth and better integrated in aroma, texture, and flavor. Wines that are older generally fade (lose their character and flavor intensity) with extended aeration. Breathing, however, does not benefit all wines, and should not therefore be taken to the extreme. In general, wine should be tasted as soon as it is opened to determine how long it may be aerated, if at all. It should then be tasted every 15 minutes until the wine is, according to individual preference, ready to drink. As a general rule, younger white wines normally require no more than 15-30 minutes of aeration while younger red wines should be no more than 30-60 minutes. If in doubt, it is better to err on the side of too little aeration than too much.

Wine is also used in religious ceremonies in many cultures and the wine trade is of historical importance for many regions. The New Testament even states that Jesus' very first miracle was to turn water into wine (John 2:1-11), and the Old Testament states that the fermentation of grapes was first discovered by Noah after the great flood described in Genesis. (Gen. 9:20-21) Wine remains an essential part of the Eucharistic rites in the Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican denominations of Christianity.

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Medical implications

The health effects of wine (and alcohol in general) are the subject of considerable ongoing debate and study. In the USA, a boom in red wine consumption was touched off in the 1990s by '60 Minutes', and other news reports on the French paradox.

It now seems clear that regular consumption of up to 1-2 drinks a day (1 standard drink is approximately equal to 5 oz, or 125 ml, of 13% wine) does reduce mortality, due to 10%–40% lower risk of coronary heart disease, for those over the age of 35 or so (see Alcohol consumption and health). Originally, the effect was observed with red wine. Compounds, known as polyphenols, are found in larger amounts in red wine, and there is some evidence that these are especially beneficial. One particularly interesting polyphenol found in red wine is resveratrol, to which numerous beneficial effects have been attributed. Red wine also contains a significant amount of flavonoids and red anthocyanin pigments that act as antioxidants. With excessive consumption, however, any health benefits are offset by the increased rate of various alcohol-related diseases, primarily cancers of mouth, upper respiratory tract, and ultimately, cirrhosis of liver.

Other studies have shown that similar beneficial effects on the heart can be obtained from drinking beer, and distilled spirits. However, recent studies show that only red wine reduces the risk of contracting several types of cancer where beer and other alcoholic beverages show no change. Dr. Sinclair of Harvard University and others claim that resveratrol is the active molecule responsible for the significant difference in lowering cancer risks and that the required amounts are only found in red wine. Trace amounts of resveratrol exist in grapes, white wine and peanuts.

Sulfites (or sulphites) are chemicals that occur naturally in grapes and also are added to wine as a preservative. They can trigger a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction in a small percentage of consumers, primarily asthmatics. In the USA nearly all commercially produced wine, including that with no added sulfites, is required to state on the label "contains sulfites." In other countries they do not have to be declared on the label, leading to a common mistaken belief that only wine from the USA contains sulfites. Many consumers who have adverse reactions to wine, such as headaches or hangovers, blame added sulfites but are probably reacting instead to naturally-occurring histamines. The quantity of sulfites in a glass of wine is the same as in a serving of dried apricots.

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Wine-based drinks

• List of cocktails with wine
• Brandy: A general term for distilled wine.
• Calimocho: A cheap alcoholic drink, comprising 50% red wine and 50% cola drink.
• Mulled wine (known in Scandinavia as Glögg and in Germany as Glühwein): A red wine, combined with spices, and usually served hot.
• Sangria Spanish: A wine punch, comprising red wine, chopped fruits, sugar, and a small amount of brandy or other spirits.
• Spritzer: A tall, chilled drink, usually made of white wine and soda water.
• Wine cooler: An alcoholic beverage made from wine and fruit juice, often in combination with a carbonated beverage and sugar.
• Zurracapote: A popular Spanish alcoholic drink comprising mainly of red wine, spirit, fruit juice, sugar and cinnamon.
• Rebujito: A mixture of manzanilla wine, mixed with a soft drink like Sprite or 7 Up.
• Non-alcoholic wine

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Wine-related objects

• Aging barrel: A barrel used to age wine or distilled spirits.
• Amphora: A type of ceramic vase, used for transporting and storing wine.
• Barrel: A hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves, used for fermenting and aging wine.
• Butt: An old English unit of wine casks, equivalent to about 477 litres (126 US gallons/105 imperial gallons).
• Cork (material): Tissue material, harvested from the Cork oak tree, and very suitable as a material for bottle stoppers.
• Corkscrew: A tool, comprising a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle, for drawing stopping corks from bottles.
• Drip dickey: Like a wine collar this accoutrement slips over the neck of a wine bottle and absorbs any drips that may run down the bottle after pouring - preventing stains to table cloths, counter tops or other surfaces. But unlike wine collars it is elastic and can accommodate many sizes of bottles.
• Napkin is used around a bottleneck to stop drops running on bottle surface after pouring wine to glasses.
• Screwcap: An alternative to cork for sealing wine bottles, comprising a metal cap that screws onto threads on the neck of a bottle. Also called a "Stelvin".
• Wine bottle: A small container, with a neck that is narrower than the body, that allows long-term aging of wine when combined with a high-quality stopper, such as a cork.
• Wine collar: This accoutrement slips over the neck of a wine bottle and absorbs any drips that may run down the bottle after pouring - preventing stains to table cloths, counter tops or other surfaces.
• Wine cooler: An accessory, such as an ice bucket, for cooling wine.
• Wine glass: Glasses used to drink wine from.
• Wine label: The label on a wine bottle that must provide at least the minimum amount of information prescribed by law.
• Wine-press: A device, comprising two vats or receptacles, one for trodding and bruising grapes, and the other for collecting the juice.
• Wine stopper: An accessory, used to close leftover wine bottles because it is hard to put the original cork back into the bottleneck.

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Professions

• Cooper: Someone who makes wooden barrels, casks, and other similar wooden objects.
• Négociant: A wine merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers, and sells them under his own name.
• Vintner: A wine merchant or producer.
• Sommelier: A waiter in a restaurant who specializes in wine.
• Winemaker: A person that makes wine.
• Oenologist: A wine scientist. Often referred to as a winemaker.

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Blind wine tasting

Blind tasting of wine involves tasting and evaluating wines without any knowledge of their identities. This is done because knowing the identity of a wine easily prejudices tasters for or against it because of its geographic origin, price, reputation, or other considerations.

The importance of blind tasting is demonstrated in the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, the Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981, the St. Catherines Wine Tasting of 2005, and many others.

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Films & TV

• Mondovino, USA/France 2004: A documentary film directed by American film maker, Jonathan Nossiter, explaining the impact of globalization on the various wine-producing regions.

• Sideways, 2004: A comedy/drama film, directed by Alexander Payne, with the tagline: In search of wine. In search of women. In search of themselves., in which wine, particularly Pinot Noir, plays a central role.

• Falcon Crest, USA 1981-1990: A CBS primetime soap opera about the fictional Falcon Crest winery and the family who owned it, set in the fictional Tuscany Valley of California. The series was very popular and a wine named Falcon Crest even went on the market.

References

• Daniel Zohary, Maria Hopf (2000). Domestication of plants in the Old World , Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198503563. Authoritative source on evolution and domestication of the grapevine.
• Paul T. Nicholson and I. Shaw (2000). Ancient Egyptian materials and technology , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521452570. Grapes and wine in ancient Egypt; includes critique of chemical evidence for wine residues.
• Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting the Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.
• Jancis Robinson, The Oxford Companion to Wine. ISBN 019866236X
• Ed McCarthy, Mary Ewing-Mulligan, Piero Antinori, Wine for Dummies. ISBN 0764525441
• Hugh Johnson, Hugh Johnson's Wine Companion. The Encyclopaedia of Wines, Vineyards and Winemakers, Mitchell Beazley 2003, 5th edition
• Stuart Pigott, A Grape by Grape Visual Guide to the Contemporary Wine World, (Mitchell Beazley)
• Dean Edell, M.D.. Eat, Drink and be Merry: America’s Doctor Tells You Why the Health Experts are Wrong. NY: HarperCollins, 1999, pp. 191-192.

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