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About Wine

According to Webster Dictionary, wine is "the alcoholic fermented juice of fresh grapes used as a beverage." It goes on to explain wine can also be made from other fruits such as apples and cranberries. When such a wine is created they are usually called a fruit wine, or country wine. This page mainly covers wines created from grapes.

In the History section of this site you can find where wine originated and a quick overview of how it survived the ages. Below you will find other aspects about wine, such as, how fermentation works, what it means to be a vintage wine, wine and your health. There are specific spots on this site to learn about red wines and/or white wines, as well as sparkling wines if you are interested more in those.

To start, let's begin with the actual process of harvesting grapes, fermenting the grapes juice and adding different flavors to the wine. The following steps are provided by howtodothings.com. First you must decide what grape you wish to grow, as each will require a different climate, soil type, altitude, etc. If you are planting with roots, as apposed to the seeds, wet the roots for 24 hrs. Place each plant about 8-10 feet apart. The plants require soil with good drainage; this is why most vineyards are in rocky soil and/or on slopes. If the leaves are dark green, that is a sign of a plant that is receiving enough nutrients. Train your vines on a trellis and cover them with a net when they ripen to protect them from birds. Trimming, or pruning, the plant will help focus the nutrients to the appropriate areas. Finally pick the grapes when the middle or lower sections of the bunch are ripe. Tasting the grapes usually helps determine if they are ripe as well.

Without fermenting the grapes, you simply have grape juice. According to honeygrowfarm.com, if nature had its way grapes would turn from juice to wine and then to vinegar, so fermenting them right can be tricky. Most fermentation takes place in barrels. This is done to add extra flavors, such as vanillas to the wine. Some are done in steel vats, to prohibit other flavors from entering the wine. Adding a catalyst, yeast or wild yeast helps speeds up the process. Some add sulfur during crushing to allow the cultured yeast to work more efficiently. When all is said and done…you have wine!

Harvesting the grapes brings us to the question; what is a vintage wine? Well, it is a wine whose grapes are from the same year. There is some leeway, as is Chili and South Africa the wine most be made of 75% of same-year grapes, while most places, like the US, have a rating of 85%. The year the grapes are from can be very important, as certain years produce better grapes than others. For example, vinography.com says that 2005 was a good year for Pinot Noir's in California. So when shopping for Pinot Noir, you would want to find one from California from 2005 to get the best available.

Is wine good for you? Like most things…in moderation is the key. Obviously drinking too much wine (or any alcoholic beverage) is bad for your liver, heart, and other vital organs. But wine, mainly red wine, has been found to have benefits in fighting heart disease. The American Heart Association, or AHA, does not recommend drinking wine in order to increase your HDL cholesterol, although they do admit that it does. There are many studies in science journals about drinking alcohol and the associated reduced mortality due to heart disease.

In this year's March 31st Issue of Wine Spectator, an article discusses an study from the American Journal of Epidermiology in which 1-2 glasses of wine a day has been found to increase blood flow in the legs. Participants in the study found that with minor alcohol intake it lowered their risk of developing LEAD (lower extremity arterial disease).