Types Of Wine

History : Types Of Wine

Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known production of wine, made by fermenting grapes, took place as early as 8,000 years ago in Georgia^[5] and 6,100 years ago in Armenia.^[15]^[16]^[6] These locations are all within the natural area of the European grapevine Vitis vinifera.

Pressing wine after the harvest; Tacuinum Sanitatis, 14th century

Through an extensive gene-mapping project in 2006, Dr. McGovern and his colleagues analyzed the heritage of more than 110 modern grape cultivars, and narrowed their origin to a region in Georgia, where also wine residues were discovered on the inner surfaces of 8,000-year-old ceramic storage jars in Shulavari, Georgia.^[17]Other notable areas of wine production have been discovered in Greece and date back to 4500 BC.^[18]^[19]^[20]^[16] The same sites also contain the world's earliest evidence of crushed grapes.^[18] On January 11, 2011 in one of Armenia's Vayots Dzor province cave was found a wine making press dating to approximately 6,000 years ago.^[20]^[16]^[21] Literary references to wine are abundant in Homer (9th century BC, but possibly composed even earlier), Alkman (7th century BC), and others. In Ancient Egypt, six of 36 wine amphoras were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun bearing the name "Kha'y", a royal chief vintner. Five of these amphoras were designated as from the King's personal estate with the sixth listed as from the estate of the royal house of Aten.^[22] Traces of wine have also been found in central Asian Xinjiang, dating from the second and first millennia BC.^[23]
Viticulture in India has a long history dating back to the time of the Indus Valley civilization when grapevines were believed to have been introduced from Persia sometime in the 5000 BC.^{[citation needed]} The first known mentioning of grape-based wines was in the late 4th century BC writings of Chanakya who was the chief minister of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. In his writings, Chanakya condemns the use of alcohol while chronicling the emperor and his court's frequent indulgence of a style of grape wine known as Madhu.^[24]
A 2003 report by archaeologists indicates a possibility that grapes were mixed with rice to produce mixed fermented beverages in China in the early years of the seventh millennium BC. Pottery jars from the Neolithic site of Jiahu, Henan contained traces of tartaric acid and other organic compounds commonly found in wine. However, other fruits indigenous to the region, such as hawthorn, cannot be ruled out.^[25]^[26] If these beverages, which seem to be the precursors of rice wine, included grapes rather than other fruits, these grapes were of any of the several dozen indigenous wild species of grape in China, rather than from Vitis vinifera, which were introduced into China some 6000 years later.^[25]
One of the lasting legacies of the ancient Roman Empire was the viticulture foundation the Romans laid in the lands that today are world renowned wine regions. Areas with Roman garrison towns, like Bordeaux, Trier, and Colchester, the Romans planted vineyards to supply local needs and limit the cost of long distance trading.^[27] In medieval Europe, the Roman Catholic Church staunchly supported wine, since they required it for the Mass. Monks in France made wine for years, aging it in caves.^[28] An old English recipe that survived in various forms until the 19th century calls for refining white wine from bastard—bad or tainted bastardo wine.^[29]

Wine : Types Of Wine

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For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation).


Wine glasses of white (left) and red wine (right)

16th-century wine press

Wine boy at a symposium

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes.^[1] The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients.^[2] Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different types of wine.
Wines made from other fruits, such as apples and berries, are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically called fruit wine or country wine (not to be confused with the French term vin de pays). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (i.e., sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer and spirit more than wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the term "wine" refers to the higher alcohol content rather than production process.^[3] The commercial use of the English word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions.^[4]
Wine has a rich history dating back thousands of years, with the earliest known production occurring around 8,000 years ago on the territory of modern-day Georgia.^[5]^[6] It first appeared in the Balkans at about 4500 BC and was very common in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Wine has also played an important role in religion throughout history. The Greek god Dionysus and the Roman equivalent Bacchus represented wine, and the drink is also used in Christian Eucharist ceremonies and the Jewish Kiddush.

European classifications : Types Of Wine

France has various appellation systems based on the concept of terroir, with classifications ranging from Vin de Table ("table wine") at the bottom, through Vin de Pays and Appellation d'Origine Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (AOVDQS) up to Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) or similar, depending on the region.^[33]^[34] Portugal has something similar and, in fact, pioneered this technique in 1756 with a royal charter that created the "Demarcated Douro Region" and regulated wine production and trade.^[35] Germany did likewise in 2002, although their system has not yet achieved the authority of those of the other countries'.^[36]^[37] Spain, Greece and Italy have classifications based on a dual system of region of origin and product quality.^[38]

Classification : Types Of Wine

Main article: Classification of wine

Regulations govern the classification and sale of wine in many regions of the world. European wines tend to be classified by region (e.g. Bordeaux, Rioja and Chianti), while non-European wines are most often classified by grape (e.g. Pinot Noir and Merlot). More and more, however, market recognition of particular regions is leading to their increased prominence on non-European wine labels. Examples of non-European recognized locales include Napa Valley in California, Willamette Valley in Oregon, Columbia Valley in Washington, Barossa Valley and Hunter Valley in Australia, Central Valley in Chile, Vale dos Vinhedos in Brazil, Hawke's Bay and Marlborough in New Zealand, Okanagan Valley and Niagara Peninsula in Canada.
Some blended wine names are marketing terms, and the use of these names is governed by trademark law rather than by specific wine laws. For example, Meritage (sounds like "heritage") is generally a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and may also include Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. Commercial use of the term "Meritage" is allowed only via licensing agreements with an organization called the "Meritage Association".

Grape varieties : Types Of Wine

Main article: List of grape varieties

Grape vineyard

Wine is usually made from one or more varieties of the European species Vitis vinifera, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Merlot. When one of these varieties is used as the predominant grape (usually defined by law as a minimum of 75% or 85%), the result is a varietal, as opposed to a blended, wine. Blended wines are not necessarily considered inferior to varietal wines; some of the world's most expensive wines, from regions like Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley, are blended from different grape varieties of the same vintage.^{[citation needed]}
Wine can also be made from other species of grape or from hybrids, created by the genetic crossing of two species. Vitis labrusca (of which the Concord grape is a cultivar), Vitis aestivalis, Vitis rupestris, Vitis rotundifolia and Vitis riparia are native North American grapes usually grown to eat fresh or for grape juice, jam, or jelly, but sometimes made into wine.
Hybridization is different than grafting. Most of the world's vineyards are planted with European V. vinifera vines that have been grafted onto North American species rootstock. This is common practice because North American grape species are resistant to phylloxera, a root louse that eventually kills the vine. In the late 19th century, most of Europe's vineyards (only excluding some of the driest vineyards in Southern Europe) were devastated by the bug, leading to massive vine deaths and eventual replanting. Grafting is done in every wine-producing country of the world except for Argentina, the Canary Islands and Chile—the only countries not yet exposed to the insect.^[30]
In the context of wine production, terroir is a concept that encompasses the varieties of grapes used, elevation and shape of the vineyard, type and chemistry of soil, climate and seasonal conditions, and the local yeast cultures. The range of possibilities here can result in great differences between wines, influencing the fermentation, finishing, and aging processes as well. Many wineries use growing and production methods that preserve or accentuate the aroma and taste influences of their unique terroir.^[31] However, flavor differences are not desirable for producers of mass-market table wine or other cheaper wines, where consistency is more important. Such producers try to minimize differences in sources of grapes through production techniques such as micro-oxygenation, tannin filtration, cross-flow filtration, thin film evaporation, and spinning cones.^[32]

Wine competitions : Types Of Wine

There are critics who argue that the results of such competitions may be misleading and should not be relied upon as a measure of quality^[2]. Other commentators argue that, because of wine competitions, wine quality has improved in many countries around the world.

International Wine and Spirit Competition: 300 experts, considered to be the oldest and most prestigious wine and spirit competition in the world
New York Wine Tasting of 1973: Fourteen experts, including France’s Alexis Lichine, ranked 23 Chardonnays from France, California, and New York State.
San Diego Wine Tasting of 1975: Eight Bordeaux and two California wines were evaluated by 28 judges.
Paris Wine Tasting of 1976: This notable wine competition is briefly described above.
San Francisco Wine Tasting of 1978: The same wines earlier evaluated in the Paris competition were again judged.
Concours Mondial de Bruxelles “wine world-championship” with more than 6000 participating products from the four continents. As a whole, these samples represent more than 500 million marketed bottles.^[3]
Wine Olympics (1979): A French food and wine magazine organized a competition of 330 wines from 33 countries evaluated by 62 experts.
Great Chardonnay Showdown (1980): A total of 221 Chardonnays from around the world were evaluated by 25 judges.
Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981: In the Ottawa competition, experts evaluated 13 wines from France and California.
French Culinary Institute Wine Tasting of 1986: On the tenth anniversary of the Paris competition, eight judges evaluated nine of the ten red wines earlier ranked.
Wine Spectator Wine Tasting of 1986: A different 'tenth anniversary' competition.
The World Wines Competition: An annual double blind competition established in 1991 in which the top red and white wines are separately ranked one to four by experts from six continents.
Grand European Jury Wine Tasting of 1997: European jury tasted three vintages (1989, 1992 and 1994) of 27 Chardonnays from seven countries.
Ottawa Wine Tasting of 2005: Eighteen wines (six each from Bordeaux, Ontario, and British Columbia) were evaluated by 35 expert tasters and monitored by an organization responsible for marketing French wine.
The Tasting that Changed the Wine World: 'The Judgment of Paris' 30th Anniversary. A 30-year anniversary replication of the 1976 Paris competition.
The Asian Wine Competition （Shenzhen, China, 2010） Its aim is guiding the development of grape and grape wine in Asia, supervising and improving the quality of the grape and grape wine, promoting the exchange of vine and wine industry technology and relevant talents.
Hong Kong International Wine & Spirit Competition It is the first truly Asian competition designed specifically for the tastes and consumption preferences of the Asian market.
Grand Collections (Moscow, Russia, 2008) The International Wine and Spirit Tasting Competition “Grand Collections” was established to recognize and encourage best wine and spirits brands in different price segments at the Russian and foreign market. ^[4]