By: Mittithyah Harris

     Wine is one of the oldest beverages known to man. The history of wine making dates back at least 8,000 years and archeologists have found evidence of  a honey based wine, made around 10,000 years ago. Wine is made from grapes, its juiced fermented and then bottled. The most common grape is Vitis Vinifera, some varieties of this species is Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Sangiovese. One type of wine can be made in more than one part of the world but in each part, they are made a different way.

The way wine smells and tastes depends on the grape it is made from, the alcoholic fermentation, and the processing and aging of the wine. To make wine you have to decide when to pick the grapes, oversee the crushing and pressing, and monitoring the fermentations. After fermentation, wine makers have to transfer the wine to other vessels (racking), clarification (fining), filtration, blending of different-flavored wines, and bottling. They are responsible for the quality of the wine, inorder to do this they must  sample, taste, and chemical analysis the wine. Production and sale of alcoholic beverages are strictly regulated by the state and federal governments, and wine makers must keep accurate records of the wine produced to ensure that the winery complies with these regulations.

There are red wines, pink wine and white wines.Red wine is made when crushed grapes skin pulp and seeds of purple or red varieties are left with the juice during fermentation periods.Pink wine is produced by removing the non-juice pumace from the must during fermentation.White wines is made from pigmented grapes by removing the skins, pulp and seeds before juice fermentation.Wines can be fortified, sparkling, or still.In fortified wine brandy is added to make the alcohol content higher. Fortified wines are less perishable and stable without pasteurization. Wines can be still or sparkling depending upon the amount of CO₂ they contain. The carbon dioxide may be formed naturally during fermentation or may be added.Sparkling wines are bubbly which means they have a greater amount of CO₂. Still wines are the most natural of all wines. The alcohol concentration itself is not sufficient to preserve natural wines, they are pasteurized.

Jayesh Tekchandaney. WHAT IS WINE? 2008.

http://www.cheresources.com/winezz.shtml 

Vitis vinifera: Information from Answer.com. 2008.

<http://www.answers.com/topic/vitis-vinifera>

Plum Creek Marketing. A History Of Wine Making- Viniculture- Viniculture in History <http://www.plumcreekmarketing.com/articles/wine/winehistory.html>

French Scout.Wine types explained: the different varietals. 2008.

<http://www.frenchscout.com/types-of-wines>

Alcoholic Beverage Industry: Wine

<http://www.bookrags.com/research/alcoholic-beverage-industry-plsc-01/>

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