Wine, a hugely popular premium alcoholic drink, finds its nomenclature from the Proto-Germanic ”winam” and the Latin word “vine”, meaning grapes. As the name suggests, Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of grape juice. Crushed grapes are fermented using various types of yeast. This yeast converts the sugar content in the grapes into alcohol. The varieties of wines are a result of the variety of grapes and strains of yeast used to produce it.
Wines, like apple wine and elderberry wine, are prepared from Apples and Berries respectively, and are generally known as country wine. There are instances when wine(s) has also been made from barley, rice and other starch based edibles rather than sugar base. But these in taste and nature resemble more with beer than wine. The alcohol content in these wines is also larger than normal grape wine.
The origin of Wine is dated back to 4500 BC from various archaeological sites in Greece and Iran. While, on one hand, Wine was a banned item in nearly all Islamic countries during the Islamic Golden Age, Roman Catholic Church in medieval period promoted consumption of wine as a sign of civility and conversion to Christianity.
Many of the wine promoters would like to advocate for the drink by separating alcohol and wine. While the side effects of Alcohol(s) runs down to a long list, Wine has been promoted in various parts of the world as beneficial to health. Red Wines from France and Italy are known to contain procyanidins, a compound found in grape seeds, that is beneficial to heart. Both Red and White wines reportedly contain anti-bacterial agents.
Classification of wine is mostly done on the basis of grapes used to prepare the wine. Vintage wine is the one made from grapes that were all or mostly grown in a single specified year. Vintage wines are generally bottled in a single batch so that each bottle will have a similar taste. Non-vintage wines can be blended from more than one vintage for consistency. This process, which allows wine makers to differentiate their products from one another, helps them keep a loyal group of consumers attached to them.
Red, white and sparkling wines are known as light wines and alcohol-content in them vary from 10–14%. Mostly wines are sold in glass bottles sealed with corks. Apart from being a popular beverage, chefs find wine an amusing flavoring agent for various dishes.
France, Italy and Spain stand to be the top three wine-producing countries in the world. Iran used to have a thriving Wine Industry. But after Islamic Revolution, the same vanished due to the banning of Wine under Islamic law with Qur'an even going to the extent of declaring |
