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Restaurant Guide and
Food & Drink Article

What is wine?

Wine has been made for centuries from just a two simple
ingredients: yeast and grape juice. Actually, just about any fruit
juice can be used, but by far the majority of all wine is made from the
juice of the grape.

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.

There are numerous strains of yeasts and the types used
to make wine have been cultured just for this purpose. Well anyway,
yeast is a living organism that feeds off of sugars in the grape juice
in a process called fermentation.

During fermentation, yeast spores will reproduce
exponentially until all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed.
During this fermentation process, the sugars are converted into alcohol
and carbon dioxide.

The yeast will also impart a taste to the finished wine
depending on various factors such as the strain of yeast used, the
temperature during fermentation and other factors.

Once all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed,
the yeast will fall to the bottom of the container. The wine is removed
from the container, leaving the yeast, and is trasferred to another
container to mature while waiting to be bottled.

Of course, this whole process has been extremely simplified for a general understanding.

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.

What you might not know is that almost all grape juice (even from the black grapes) is basically colorless to golden in color.

The way a wine gets its color is by letting the skins
soak in the juice during fermentation. You can actually make white wine
from black grapes by not letting the skins stay in contact with the
juice. Champagne is one of the most famous examples.

If the skins are left in the wine for only a short
amount of time, a rose (or blush) will be made. If they are left for an
extended amount of time, a dark red wine will be the result.

What gives each wine its taste?

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.

What are sulfites?

By law, almost all wine made in the United States will
have “Contains Sulfites” on the label. This is because about very small
percentage of asthma sufferers can be extremely sensitive to sulfites.

Sulfites or sulfur dioxide is a compound occurring
naturally during the fermentation process. Sometimes, though a wine
maker will add a little more because of its antibacterial and
preservative qualities. White wines have more sulfites than red wines
because they need more protection.