Wine related articles
The following is a
very basic description of the steps taken to make wine.1. The grapes are crushed so that the sugar in the grape juice comes in contact with the yeast (present in the skin) to start the natural fermentation. This process generates alcohol and carbon dioxide.
2. Red wine is made with dark-skinned grapes and fermented with the grape skins. White wine is made with white grapes, or, if made with dark-skinned grapes, the grape skins must be removed immediately after crushing. Rosé wines have contact with the skins of dark-skinned grapes just long enough to impart a pink color.
3. The fermented wine is then separated from the solid parts of the grapes and transferred into a vat or casks where it is clarified, stabilized, and may undergo other treatments.
4. As a last step, the wine is bottled.
Why do some wines give a
headache to some people?
Some people are sensitive to histamines, which are substances found in
the skins of grapes. The reason why red wines tend to give headaches
more than white wines is because the red wine has spent more time in
contact with the grape skins.
Erroneously, some people point to sulfites as cause for headaches, but this is a misconception.
What are sulfites? Should
I be worried about them?
Sulfite is a term used to describe sulfur dioxide and other sulfur
derivatives. Sulfites are found in all wines as they are a natural
product of fermentation. Since the 16th century, sulfur dioxide has been
widely used in wine making to prevent oxidation, as well as kill
bacteria and wild yeasts, and at the same time stimulate fast and clean
fermentation. The U.S. government requires wine labels to include
'Contains Sulfites' to alert those who may be allergic to sulfites
(approximately 1% of the population is allergic to sulfites).
Is wine fattening?
A 4 ounce glass of wine contains between 80 and 100 calories. Lighter
wines tend to have fewer calories and some wines are higher in
carbohydrates than others due to their high content of residual sugars.
Consider that where a dry white wine may have 1 gram of carbohydrate, a
very sweet, dessert wine could have up to 13 grams. On the other hand,
wine is fat and cholesterol free.
I read somewhere about
botrytized wine. What is it?
Botrytized wines are sweet, aromatic, sometimes called "honeyed" wines
because they were made with grapes infected with a nobel mold known as
botrytis cinerea. The
Italian sweet variety of the Orvieto DOC wine, known sometime as 'il
vino dei Papi', or 'the wine of the Popes', is an example of such wines.
How come wines have
different colors?
White wines are generally made with grapes with yellow or greenish
skins, but they also be made from dark-skinned grapes as long as the
juice is separated from the grape skins (which contains the color
pigments) immediately after crushing.
Red wines get their color from fermenting in contact with the skins of dark grapes, from which they get the color.
Rosé wines gets their lighter or deeper pinkish color either by being left in contact with the skins of dark-colored grapes before fermentation, or by adding small portions of red wine to finished white wines.
What is the malolactic
fermentation?
The malolactic fermentation is a natural process during which
beneficial bacteria convert the malic acid in a wine, which is very
tart, into lactic acid, which is softer tasting. Malolactic fermentation
can either take place naturally or be prompted by the winemaker.
Why is
cork traditionally used to stop wine bottles and where does it come
from?
Cork has been used for centuries to stop wine bottles because of its
structure, which is light, elastic, and impermeable to most liquids and
gases.
Corks are produced from the bark of a tree grown in the western Mediterranean, in parts of Italy, Portugal and Spain. The bark is peeled from the tree trunk without hurting the plant that will then produce new bark.
What does 'vintage' mean?
The vintage indicates the year in which the grapes used to made the wine
was harvested. The characteristics of a particular vintage are
determined by the weather conditions and the resulting quality of the
grapes.
A small amount of wine made from a different vintage year may be mixed with the declared vintage. In California at least 95 percent of grapes must be harvested in the designated year.
What is a kosher wine?
A wine made following strict rabbinical production techniques is known
as kosher. Such wine cannot include any sort of chemical additives,
gelatin, lactose, glycerin, corn products and non-wine yeasts.
Furthermore, the entire winemaking process must involve exclusively
Sabbath-observing Jews operating under strict rabbinical supervision.
Kosher wines are produced in various parts of the world to fulfill wine demand of Jews.
I have seen various
ratings assigned to wines? What do they mean?
First of all, when looking at ratings, keep in mind that the evaluation
of a wine is highly subjective.
That said, the purpose of rating a wine is to evaluate a wine's quality, separate from the factors that determine its price. Some rating systems are based on a 50 to 100-point scale, while others use on a 5-point scale, etc.
Bottle variability, tasting conditions and overall, the judges' taste, influence a rating. You, the consumer, are the best judge of wine when it comes to what you enjoy drinking. Ratings may be used as a guideline for choosing a wine once you are familiar with the raters' favorite wine styles.
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