Wine Industry

wine

wine, alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of the juice of the grape. So ancient that its origin is unknown, wine is mentioned in early Egyptian inscriptions and in the literature of many lands. The term wine is also applied to alcoholic beverages made from plants other than the grape, e.g., elderberry wine, dandelion ...

wine

wine, alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of the juice of the grape. So ancient that its origin is unknown, wine is mentioned in early Egyptian inscriptions and in the literature of many lands. The term wine is also applied to alcoholic beverages made from plants other than the grape, e.g., elderberry wine, dandelion wine.

Characteristics

Wines are distinguished by color, flavor, bouquet or aroma, and alcoholic content. Wine is also divided into three main types: still or natural, fortified, and sparkling. Wines are red, white, or rosé (depending on the grape used and the amount of time the skins have been left to ferment in the juice). For red wines the entire crushed grape is utilized; for white wines, the juice only. In traditional rosé wines, the skins are removed after fermentation has begun, thus producing a light pink color; mass-produced rosé wines may be made by adding a small amount of red wine to white wines. Wines are also classified as dry or sweet, according to whether the grape sugar is allowed to ferment completely into alcohol (dry), or whether some residual sugar has been left (sweet).

In a natural wine all the alcohol present has been produced by fermentation. Fortified wines, such as sherry, port, Madeira, and Malaga, are wines to which brandy or other spirits have been added. These wines contain a higher alcohol content (from 16% to 35%) than the still wines (from 7% to 15%). Sparkling wines, of which champagne is the finest example, are produced by the process of secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Highly publicized studies of the French, particularly in Lyons, claim that a moderate consumption of red wine might help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Such findings were judged worthy of further investigation by the American Medical Association.

Production

In natural-wine making the grapes are gathered when fully ripe (sometimes, as for Sauternes, when overripe). Mechanical extraction of the juice, called must, has almost entirely replaced treading, the traditional method. For red wines the must is fermented with the skins and pips, from which the newly formed alcohol extracts coloring matter and tannin. Fermentation starts when wine yeasts (Saccharomyces ellipsoideus), existing on the skins of ripe grapes, come in contact with the must. It may take from a few days to several weeks, according to the temperature and the amount of yeast present or introduced. When the new wine has become still and fairly clear, it is run off into large casks, where it undergoes a complicated series of chemical processes including oxidation, precipitation of proteids, and formation of esters that create a characteristic bouquet. The wine is periodically fined (clarified), then racked into smaller casks. After some months, or for certain wines several years, the wine is ripe for bottling.

The very rare, superfine natural wines made in good vintage years from perfect grapes of the better varieties and possessing the unaccountable quality that vintners call breed are produced in the Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhône regions of France, in the Rhine valley of Germany, in California's Napa and Sonoma valleys and other parts of the United States, and in other regions of the world. The fine sherry of Spain and port of Portugal are superior fortified wines. Champagne is the best-known fine sparkling wine, but superior sparkling wines are also produced elsewhere in the world.

French Wine

France is the most influential wine-producing area in the world and has developed superfine natural still wines and the finest sparkling wine—champagne. The Bordeaux region furnishes red wine known as claret (or simply Bordeaux) and white wine, both dry except for Sauternes. The best-known Bordeaux wines are those of Médoc (red), classified and known by the vineyard names, as Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Margaux, and Château Latour; Graves (red or white); Sauternes (white), sweet, made from overripe grapes and including the noted Château d'Yquem; and St.-Emilion and Pomerol.

Burgundy wines, red and white, are somewhat lighter in body than the Bordeaux. Connoisseurs prize the Burgundies of the Côte d'Or, especially the white Montrachet, and red Clos Vougeot and Romanée. The Chablis area produces fine, white Burgundy. Good wines are made in the Loire valley (Vouvray), the Rhône valley (Hermitage and Châteauneuf-du-Pape), Alsace, and the Jura Mts. A great quantity of wine is produced in S France, some of it made into vermouth, distilled into brandy, or used for blending, and some of it of superior quality.

Bibliography

See A. Lichine, Alexis Lichine's Guide to the Wines and Vineyards of France (4th ed. 1989); N. Faith, The Winemasters of Bordeaux (rev. ed. 1999).

See P. Lukacs, American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine (2000).

See E. Peynaud, Knowing and Making Wine (1984); H. Johnson, Vintage (1989) and Modern Encyclopedia of Wine (4th ed. 1998); S. Spurrier and M. Dovaz, Wine Course (1990); J. Robinson, Oxford Companion to Wine (1994); R. Phillips, A Short History of Wine (2001).