What is wine?

For millennia, wine has been made from only a couple of incredients. They are juice from grapes and yeast. Any fruit juice can be used, as a matter of fact, but grape juice is the most popular.

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 giftbasket.

How is wine made?

Yeast is the magical ingredient that turns grape juice into wine. Interestingly enough, there is actually wild yeast spores in the air and all that is really needed to make wine is an open container of grape juice and time. The result however, would probably not be the most palatable of beverages.

Yeast is a living organism. In wine making, the yeast feeds off the sugars. That process is called fermentation. The action of fermentation converts the sugars in the juice into alcohol with a biproduct of carbon dioxide. In contemporary times, special types of yeast have been cultured solely for their use in wine making. The particular strain of the yeast, along with other factors, determines the flavor of the wine.

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.

How does wine get its color?

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.

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.

Never fear, with all of these factors considered even the most avid wine drinker would ever be able to experience all of the different varieties of wine on the market today. Let the treasure hunting begin!

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.