Portal:Wine
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The Wine Portal
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Although fruits other than grapes can also be fermented, the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine) and are known as fruit wine (or country wine). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (e.g. sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer more than wine; ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol content, rather than the production process. The commercial use of the word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and convert them into alcohol. Various varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the types of wine produced.
Wine stems from an extended and rich history dating back about 8,000 years and is thought to have originated in present-day Georgia or Iran. Wine is thought to have appeared in Europe about 6,500 years ago in present-day Bulgaria and Greece and was very common in ancient Greece and Rome; the Greek god Dionysos, and his Roman counterpart Liber represented wine. Wine continues to play a role in religious ceremonies, such as Kiddush in Judaism and the Eucharist in Christianity. (Full article...)
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Brunello di Montalcino is a red DOCG Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino, in the province of Siena, located about 80 km south of Florence, in the Tuscan wine region. Brunello, a diminutive of bruno (lit. 'brown'), is the name that was given locally to what was believed to be an individual grape variety grown in Montalcino. In 1879 the province of Siena's Amphelographic Commission determined, after a few years of controlled experiments, that Sangiovese and Brunello were the same grape variety, and that the former should be its designated name. In Montalcino the name Brunello evolved into the designation of the wine produced with 100% Sangiovese.
In 1980, Brunello di Montalcino was among the four wines awarded the first denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) designation. Today it is one of Italy's best-known and most expensive wines. (Full article...) - Image 2
The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term "champagne" exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine-producing districts within the historical province: Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne. The city of Reims and the town of Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. Reims is famous for its cathedral, the venue of the coronation of the French kings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Located at the northern edges of France, the history of the Champagne wine region has had a significant role in the development of this unique terroir. The area's proximity to Paris promoted the region's economic success in its wine trade but also put the villages and vineyards in the path of marching armies on their way to the French capital. Despite the frequency of these military conflicts, the region developed a reputation for quality wine production in the early Middle Ages and was able to continue that reputation as the region's producers began making sparkling wine with the advent of the great champagne houses in the 17th and 18th centuries. The principal grapes grown in the region include Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier. Pinot noir is the most widely planted grape in the Aube region and grows very well in Montagne de Reims. Pinot Meunier is the dominant grape in the Vallée de la Marne region. The Côte des Blancs is dedicated almost exclusively to Chardonnay. (Full article...) - Image 3The World of Fine Wine, abbreviated WFW, is a British quarterly publication for a wealthy audience of wine enthusiasts and collectors. Originally published by Quarto Magazines Ltd, and now published by New Statesman Media Group (formerly Progressive Media International), the first issue was released in June 2004. It has been described as "an up-market Decanter, with longer, more in-depth features, more credible tastings and less advertising". Hugh Johnson describes The World of Fine Wine as "not a consumer magazine, but the first cultural journal of the wine world".
The World of Fine Wine won the 2009 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best Wine Magazine in the World. and in September 2010 and 2012 the journal won the Louis Roederer Award for International Wine Publication of the Year. (Full article...) - Image 4
Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th century. It has been often cultivated because it makes for abundant production; however, it can produce wines of distinction when planted on acidic soils, which help to soften the grape's naturally high acidity. (Full article...) - Image 5
Chablis (pronounced [ʃabli]) is the northernmost Appellation d'origine contrôlée of the Burgundy region in France. Its cool climate produces wines with more acidity and less fruitiness than Chardonnay vines grown in warmer ones. These often have a "flinty" note, sometimes described as "goût de pierre à fusil" ("tasting of gunflint"), and sometimes as "steely". The Chablis AOC is required to use Chardonnay grapes solely.
The grapevines around the town of Chablis make a dry white wine renowned for the purity of its aroma and taste. In comparison with the white wines from the rest of Burgundy, Chablis wine has typically much less influence of oak. The amount of barrel maturation, if any, is a stylistic choice which varies widely among Chablis producers. Many Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines receive some maturation in oak barrels, but typically the time in barrel and the proportion of new barrels is much smaller than for white wines of Côte de Beaune. Wines not vinified in barrel will instead be vinified in stainless steel. (Full article...) - Image 6
Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a vessel like stainless steel. Oak barrels can impart other qualities to wine through evaporation and low level exposure to oxygen. (Full article...) - Image 7
A cellarette or cellaret is a small furniture cabinet, available in various sizes, shapes, and designs which is used to store bottles of alcoholic beverages such as wine or whiskey. They usually come with some type of security such as a lock to protect the contents. Such wooden containers for alcoholic beverages appeared in Europe as early as the fifteenth century. They first appeared in America in the early eighteenth century and were popular through the nineteenth century. They were usually made of a decorative wood and sometimes had special designs so as to conceal them from the casual observer. They were found in pubs, taverns, and homes of the wealthy. (Full article...) - Image 8
Barolo (/bəˈroʊloʊ/ bə-ROH-loh, US also /bɑːˈ-/ bar-OH-loh, Italian: [baˈrɔːlo]; Piedmontese: bareul [baˈrøl]) is a red denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) wine produced in the northern Italian region of Piedmont. It is made from the nebbiolo grape and is often described as one of Italy's greatest wines.
The zone of production extends into the communes of Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d'Alba and parts of the communes of Cherasco, Diano d'Alba, Grinzane Cavour, La Morra, Monforte d'Alba, Novello, Roddi, Verduno, all in the province of Cuneo, south-west of Alba. Although production codes have always stipulated that vineyards must be located on hillsides, the most recent revision of the production code released in 2010 goes further, categorically excluding valley floors, humid and flat areas, areas without sufficient sunlight, and areas with full-on northern exposures. (Full article...) - Image 9Commandaria (also called Commanderia and Coumadarka; Greek: κουμανδαρία, κουμανταρία and Cypriot Greek κουμανταρκά) is an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus on the foothills of the Troödos Mountains. Commandaria is made from sun-dried grapes of the varieties Xynisteri and Mavro. While often a fortified wine, through its production method it often reaches high alcohol levels, around 15%, already before fortification. It represents an ancient wine style documented in Cyprus back to 800 BC and has the distinction of being the world's oldest named wine still in production, with the name Commandaria dating back to the crusades in the 12th century. (Full article...)
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White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. White wine has existed for at least 4,000 years.
The wide variety of white wines comes from the large number of varieties, methods of winemaking, and ratios of residual sugar. White wine is mainly from "white" grapes, which are green or yellow in colour, such as the Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Riesling. Some white wine is also made from grapes with coloured skin, provided that the obtained wort is not stained. Pinot noir, for example, is commonly used to produce champagne. (Full article...) - Image 11
The phenolic content in wine refers to the phenolic compounds—natural phenol and polyphenols—in wine, which include a large group of several hundred chemical compounds that affect the taste, color and mouthfeel of wine. These compounds include phenolic acids, stilbenoids, flavonols, dihydroflavonols, anthocyanins, flavanol monomers (catechins) and flavanol polymers (proanthocyanidins). This large group of natural phenols can be broadly separated into two categories, flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Flavonoids include the anthocyanins and tannins which contribute to the color and mouthfeel of the wine. The non-flavonoids include the stilbenoids such as resveratrol and phenolic acids such as benzoic, caffeic and cinnamic acids. (Full article...) - Image 12
The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot.
A member of the Cabernet family of grapes, the name "Carménère" originates from the French word for crimson (carmin) which refers to the brilliant crimson colour of the autumn foliage before leaf-fall. The grape is also known as Grande Vidure, a historic Bordeaux synonym, although current European Union regulations prohibit imports under this name into the European Union. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Carménère is considered one of the original six red grapes of Bordeaux. (Full article...) - Image 13Vin délimité de qualité supérieure ("delimited wine of superior quality"), usually abbreviated as VDQS, was the second highest category of French wine, below appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) in rank, but above vin de pays (country wine). VDQS was sometimes written as AOVDQS, with AO standing for appellation d'origine. VDQS wines were subject to restrictions on yield and vine variety, among others.
There were relatively few VDQS as they typically moved on to AOC status after a number of years. VDQS therefore represented a small part of overall French wine production. In 2005, VDQS wines made up 0.9% of volume amounting from 409,472 hectoliters of production. 42.3% of the VDQS wines produced in that year were white, with the remaining 57.7% being either red or rosé. (Full article...) - Image 14
Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted labeling wines varietally rather than generically, which became the standard for New World wines. The Robert Mondavi Institute (RMI) for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis opened in October 2008 in his honor. (Full article...) - Image 15
Grenache (/ɡrəˈnæʃ/) or Garnacha (IPA: [ɡaɾˈnatʃa]) is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, where the grape is believed to have originated. It is also grown in the Italian island of Sardinia, the south of France, Australia, and California's Monterey AVA, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County and San Joaquin Valley.
It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate and produces wine with a relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results. Characteristic flavor profiles on Grenache include red fruit flavors (raspberry and strawberry) with a subtle, white pepper spice note. Grenache wines are highly prone to oxidation, with even young examples having the potential to show browning (or "bricking") coloration that can be noticed around the rim when evaluating the wine at an angle in the glass. As Grenache ages the wines tend to take on more leather and tar flavors. Wines made from Grenache tend to lack acid, tannin and color, and it is often blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo, and Cinsaut. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch
- ... that when Fred Franzia created Two-Buck Chuck, he was said to have "turned the wine industry on its head"?
- ... that Green Day wrote a tribute song for singer Amy Winehouse following her death, despite never having met her?
- ... that the Anglo-Saxons may have used a mixture of garlic, another Allium, wine, and bovine bile as an eye medicine?
- ... that Adele reduced the length of "I Drink Wine" from fifteen to six minutes because her label thought that no one would play a fifteen-minute song on the radio?
- ... that Cisco wine was nicknamed "liquid crack"?
- ... that Julia Marden was the first known person to create a Wampanoag twined turkey-feather mantle since European contact 400 years earlier?
- ... that sociologist Richard Twine has developed the concept of the "vegan killjoy" who challenges anthropocentrism by their mere presence?
- ... that Benjamin Wallace wrote a book about wine bottles allegedly owned by Thomas Jefferson?
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“ | Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favours what you do. | ” |
— King James Bible Ecclesiastes 9:7 |
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Orlando Wines is a famous Australian winery located in the small township of Rowland Flat, between Lyndoch and Tanunda, in South Australia's Barossa Valley wine-growing region. Orlando Wines was the valley's first commercial winery. It is currently part of Pernod Ricard Pacific, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. It is best known as the producer of Jacob's Creek, Orlando's main wine brand, which was first released in 1976.
In 1847 Bavarian immigrant Johann Gramp planted his first grape vines on the banks of the then recently named Jacob's Creek. The vines flourished and led to the production of their first vintage in 1850, making around 12 dozen bottles of hock style white wine from one small octave barrel.
The winery now produces some of Australia's most successful export wines, with some 80% of sales being made in 50+ export markets and having the leading brand in the UK, New Zealand and Asia. Orlando Wines was named Australian Exporter of the Year in 1993 and won the Maurice O'Shea Award in 1994.
A modern visitor's centre and wine tasting cellar, known as the Jacob's Creek Visitor's Centre, was opened in 2002, at which time a time capsule was buried to be opened in 2027. (Full article...)
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- Image 2The world wine export 2020 shows the annual wine export production of various countries. (from Winemaking)
- Image 4Archaeological sites of the Neolithic, Copper Age, and early Bronze Age in which vestiges of wine and olive growing have been found. (from History of wine)
- Image 5Monastic cellarer tasting wine, from Li Livres dou Santé (French manuscript, late 13th century) (from History of wine)
- Image 6A mechanical destemming machine in use at Chateau Montelena winery in Napa Valley (from Winemaking)
- Image 7Manual grape gathering (from Viticulture)
- Image 9The corkscrew-shaped feed auger sits on top of a mechanical crusher-destemmer. Grape clusters are fed into the machine, where they are first crushed, then destemmed. Stems exit at the end, while juice, skins, seeds, and some debris exit the bottom. (from Winemaking)
- Image 11Georgian Kvevri, a jar dated to the 6th millennium BC found at the Shulaveri site (Georgian National Museum). (from History of wine)
- Image 12In ancient times, berries were crushed by foot in a barrel or pit (from Winemaking)
- Image 13Dionysus in a vineyard; amphora dated to the late 6th century BC (from History of wine)
- Image 16Satyr working at a wine press of wicker-work mats (1st century AD relief). (from History of wine)
- Image 18Mechanical harvesting of Sauvignon blanc grapes in Côtes de Duras, France (from Viticulture)
- Image 20Hellenistic mosaics discovered close to the city of Paphos depicting Dionysos, god of wine (from History of wine)
- Image 21Central component of a mechanical destemming. Paddles above the small circular slots rotate to remove the larger chunks of stems. Grapes are pulled off the stems and fall through the holes. Some small amount of stem particles are usually desired to be kept with the grapes for tannin structure. (from Winemaking)
- Image 22Entrance to the Areni-1 cave in southern Armenia near the town of Areni where a winery dated to c. 4100 BC was found in 2007. (from History of wine)
- Image 23Shipping wine in Roman Gaul: amphoras (top) were the traditional Mediterranean vessels, but the Gauls introduced the use of barrels. (from History of wine)
- Image 24Grape cultivation, winemaking, and commerce in ancient Egypt c. 1500 BC (from History of wine)
- Image 25Crushed grapes leaving the crusher (from Winemaking)
- Image 26Stainless steel fermentation vessels and new oak barrels at the Three Choirs Vineyard, Gloucestershire, England (from Winemaking)
- Image 27Antique wooden wine press in front of World Heritage vineyards (from Winemaking)
- Image 29A cap of grape skins forms on the surface of fermenting red wine (from Winemaking)
- Image 31A wine labelling machine with adhesive labels in France (from Winemaking)
- Image 32Anatomy of a grape, showing the components extracted from each pressing (from Winemaking)
- Image 33Wine grapes from the Guadalupe Valley in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico (from Winemaking)
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