Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes.
Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process.
Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are major factors in different styles of wine that result in complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the grape’s growing environment, and the wine production process.
There are legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine, restricting the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production.
Wines can be made by fermentation of other fruit crops such as plum, cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, currant and elderberry.
The five countries with the largest wine-producing regions are in Italy, Spain, France, the United States, and China.
Wine has long played an important role in religion.
Wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects.
Types of wines:
Red wine is made from blue grapes with skins.
White wine, made from green grapes or destemmed blue grapes.
Rosé wine, made from blue grapes, where the skins are sorted from early in the fermentation process or rosé wine can also be made from rosé wine grape varieties.
Orange wine, made from white wine grapes where the grape skins are not removed.
Sparkling wine, made from both green and blue grapes.
Champagne is made from pinot noir, meunier and chardonnay around Reims.
Fortified wine, wine with a higher alcohol content than the other types.
Ice wine, wine with a characteristically sweet taste and low alcohol content.
Dessert wine, are sweet wines that are typically served with a dessert.
The type of grape used for win and the amount of skin contact while the juice is being extracted determines the color and general style of the wine.
The color has no relation to a wine’s sweetness, as all wines may be made sweet or dry.
Red wine
Red wine gains its color and flavor (tannins), from the grape skin, by allowing the grapes to soak in the extracted juice.
Red wine is made from dark-colored red grape varieties.
The color of the wine ranges from violet, typical of young wines, through red for mature wines, to brown for older red wines.
The juice from most red grapes is actually greenish-white; the red color comes from anthocyanins present in the skin of the grape.
White wine:
To make white wine, grapes are pressed quickly with the juice immediately drained away from the grape skins.
The grapes used are typically white grape varieties, though red grapes may be used if the winemaker is careful not to let the skin stain during the separation of the pulp-juice.
Pinot noir is a red grape, commonly used in champagne.
Dry, low sugar, white wine is the most common, derived from the complete fermentation of the juice.
A rosé wine gains color from red grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine.
Rosé wines are made from a wide variety of grapes all over the world.
Orange wines called amber wines, these are wines made with white grapes but with the skins allowed to soak during pressing, similar to red and rosé wine production.
Sparkling wine are effervescent wines, made in any of the above styles (ie, orange, red, rosé, white).
They must undergo secondary fermentation to create carbon dioxide, which creates the bubbles.
The simple addition of carbon dioxide is used in the cheapest of wines.
The bottles used for sparkling wine must be thick to withstand the pressure of the gas behind the cork, which can be up to 6 standard atmospheres (88 psi).
Dessert wines refers to sweet wines that have a high level of sugar remaining after fermentation.
There are various ways of increasing the amount of sugar in a wine, yielding products with different strengths and names.
Wines from other fruits, such as apples and berries, are usually named after the fruit from which they are produced, and are generically called fruit wine or country wine.
Most fruits lack either sufficient fermentable sugars, proper amount of acidity, or yeast amounts needed to promote or maintain fermentation
Wine is usually made from one or more varieties of the European species Vitis vinifera, such as Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Merlot.
When one of these varieties is used as the predominant grape (usually 75% to 85%), the result is a varietal wine.
Blended wines are not necessarily inferior to varietal wines, rather they are a different style of wine-making.
Wine can also be made from other species of grape or from hybrids, created by the genetic crossing of two species.
About 700 grapes go into one bottle of wine, approximately 2.6 pounds.
European wines tend to be classified by region (Bordeaux, Rioja and Chianti), while non-European wines are most often classified by grape (Pinot noir and Merlot).
In the United States, for a wine to be vintage-dated and labeled with a country of origin or American Viticultural Area (AVA), 95% of its volume must be from grapes harvested in that year.
If a wine is not labeled with a country of origin or AVA the percentage requirement is lowered to 85%.
Vintage wines are generally bottled in a single batch so each bottle will have a similar taste.
Climate’s impact can be significant enough to cause different vintages from the same vineyard to vary dramatically in flavor and quality.
For consistency, non-vintage wines can be blended from more than one vintage, which helps wine-makers sustain a reliable market image and maintain sales even in bad years.
Wine tasting refers to the sensory examination and evaluation of wine.
Wines contain many chemical compounds similar or identical to those in fruits, vegetables, and spices.
Drinkers have significantly lower mortality from coronary artery heart disease.
Drinking is associated with optimal social, intellectual and personality functioning.
Red wine consumption of 4 or more glasses per week reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
White wine consumption does not decrease the risk of prostate cancer.
Red wine benefits are attributed to phenolic compounds, which mediate its antioxidant effects.
Red wine stimulates the formation of endothelium dependence relaxation factors such as nitric oxide, and improves endothelial function and coronary arteries, possibly because of the high phenol concentration in red wine.
Preconception of red wine prevents most adverse acute effects of smoking (Schwartz V).
The sweetness of wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar in the wine after fermentation, which is relative to the acidity present in the wine.
Dry wine has only a small amount of residual sugar.
Some wine labels suggest opening the bottle and letting the wine breathe for a couple of hours before serving.
Other wines are recommend for drinking it immediately.
Decanting is the act of pouring a wine into a special container just for breathing; it is a controversial subject among wine enthusiasts.
Decanting aeration with a filter allows the removal of bitter sediments that may have formed in the wine: Sediment is more common in older bottlesof wine.
Aeration may benefit younger wines, making it smoother and better integrated in aroma, texture, and flavor.
Older wines, however generally fade and lose their character and flavor intensity with extended aeration.
Aeration/breathing does not necessarily benefit all wines.
Wine tasted as soon as the bottle is opened helps determine how long it should be aerated, if at all.
Individual flavors of wines are due to the complex mix of organic molecules that grape juice and wine can contain.
Experienced wine tasters can distinguish between flavors characteristic of a specific grape and flavors that result from other factors in wine-making.
Flavor elements in wine include chocolate, vanilla, or coffee imparted by aging in oak casks rather than the grape itself.
Some wines exhibit a mineral flavor due to the presence of water-soluble salts as a result of limestone’s presence in the vineyard’s soil.
Wine aroma comes from volatile compounds that are released into the air.
Vaporization of these compounds can be accelerated by twirling the wine glass or serving at room temperature.
Many drinkers prefer to chill red wines that are already highly aromatic.
The ideal temperature for serving a particular wine is a matter of debate.
White wine should foster a sense of coolness, achieved by serving at cellar temperature 13 °C (55 °F)).
Light red wines drunk young should also be brought to the table at this temperature, where they will quickly rise a few degrees.
Red wines are best when served at room temperature: the coolest room in the house and, therefore, always slightly cooler than the dining room itself.
Pinot noir should be brought to the table for serving at 16 °C (61 °F).
Cabernet Sauvignon, zinfandel, and Rhone varieties should be served at 18 °C (64 °F) and allowed to warm on the table to 21 °C (70 °F) for best aroma.
About 40% of individuals above the legal drinking age consider themselves wine drinkers, which is higher than all other alcoholic beverages combined (34%) and those who do not drink at all (26%).
Wine reduction -heat boils off some of the water, leaving a more concentrated, wine-flavoured sauce.
Wine sauce is an example of a culinary sauce that uses wine as a primary ingredient.
Natural wines may exhibit a broad range of alcohol content, from below 9% to above 16%, with most wines being in the 12.5–14.5% range.
Fortified wines, usually with brandy, may contain 20% alcohol or more.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 355 kJ (85 kcal)
Carbohydrates
2.6 g
Sugars 0.6 g
Fat
0.0 g
Protein
0.1 g
Other constituents Quantity
Alcohol (ethanol) 10.6 g
10.6 g alcohol is 13%vol.
100 g wine is approximately 100 ml (3.4 fl oz.)
Wine contains ethyl alcohol, the chemical in beer and distilled spirits.
The effects of wine depend on the amount consumed, the span of time over which consumption occurs, and the amount of alcohol in the wine.
Drinking enough wine to reach a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03%-0.12% may cause an overall improvement in mood, increase self-confidence and sociability, decrease anxiety, flushing of the face, and impair judgment and fine motor coordination.
A BAC of 0.09% to 0.25% causes lethargy, sedation, balance problems and blurred vision.
A BAC from 0.18% to 0.30% causes profound confusion, impaired slurred speech, staggering, dizziness and vomiting.
A BAC from 0.25% to 0.40% causes stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia, vomiting, and death may occur due to respiratory depression and inhalation of vomit during unconsciousness.
A BAC from 0.35% to 0.80% causes coma, life-threatening respiratory depression and possibly fatal alcohol poisoning.
The social context and quality of wine can affect one’s mood and emotions.
Consumption of alcohol in wine by pregnant mothers may result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that moderate ethanol consumption brings no mortality benefit compared with lifetime abstention from ethanol consumption.
A systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study found that consumption of ethanol increases the risk of cancer and increases the risk of all-cause mortality, and that the most healthful dose of ethanol is zero consumption.
Ethanol consumption increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.
Risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking which may result in violence or accidents.
About 3.3 million deaths (5.9% of all deaths) annually are due to ethanol use.
Alcohol use disorder refers the inability to stop or control alcohol use despite harmful consequences-health, job, or relationships; alternative terms include alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence, or alcohol addiction and alcohol use is the third leading cause of early death in the United States.
Although red wine contains more of the stilbene resveratrol and of other polyphenols than white wine, the evidence for a cardiac health benefit is of poor quality and at most, the benefit is trivial.
Grape skins naturally produce resveratrol in response to fungal infection, including exposure to yeast during fermentation.
White wine generally contains lower levels of the chemical as it has minimal contact with grape skins during this process.
Most wines are sold in glass bottles and sealed with corks, and 50% of which come from Portugal.
Alternative closures such as screwcaps and synthetic plastic “corks”, are less expensive and prevent cork taint, they have been blamed for such problems as excessive reduction.
Some wines are packaged in thick plastic bags within corrugated fiberboard boxes- “box wines”, or “cask wine”.
A tap affixed to the bag in box, or bladder, that is later extended by the consumer for serving the contents.
Box wine can stay acceptably fresh for up to a month after opening because the bladder collapses as wine is dispensed, limiting contact with air and, thus, slowing the rate of oxidation.
Bottled wine oxidizes more rapidly after opening because of the increasing ratio of air to wine as the contents are dispensed; it can degrade considerably in a few days.
Canned wine is one of the fastest-growing forms of alternative wine packaging on the market.
The glass used to make bottles is a nontoxic, naturally occurring substance that is completely recyclable, whereas the plastics used for box-wine containers are typically much less environmentally friendly.
Box wine, being lighter in package weight, has a reduced carbon footprint from its distribution.
While a wine box is recyclable, its plastic bladder most likely is not.
Some wine is sold in stainless steel kegs and is referred to as wine on tap.
Wine cellars, or wine rooms, are places designed specifically for the storage and aging of wine.
In an active wine cellar, temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate-control system.
Passive wine cellars are not climate-controlled.
Wine is a natural, perishable food product.
All types of wine including red, white, sparkling, and fortified, and can spoil when exposed to heat, light, vibration or fluctuations in temperature and humidity.
Wines can maintain their quality and in some cases improve in aroma, flavor, and complexity as they age, with proper storage.
Experts contend that the optimal temperature for aging wine is 13 °C (55 °F), while others 15 °C (59 °F).
Wine refrigerators offer a smaller alternative to wine cellars.
Wine refrigerators serve to chill wine to the proper temperature for drinking.
These refrigerators keep the humidity under 50%, below the optimal humidity of 50% to 70%.
Lower humidity levels can dry out corks over time, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle, which reduces the wine’s quality through oxidation.
It is not possible to safely freeze wine in the bottle, as there is insufficient room for it to expand as it freezes and the bottle will usually crack.
There are a large number of occupations and professions that are part of the wine industry: growers of the grapes, prepare the wine, bottle it, sell it, assess it, market it and finally make recommendations to clients and serve the wine.