Pinot Grigio Appetizer Pairing - Enjoy Red Wine and White Wine

An Overview of Wine


A popular beverage over dinner, for special occasions, and in romantic settings, wine is one of the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverages. Wine is made from fermented grapes, and can range widely in taste, variety, and color based on the type of grape used to create the wine.

Aging is in an important aspect to the creation of wine, and older wines are often more highly heralded. Many wine drinkers are intrigued by the wine making process, making vineyard and winery tours popular tourist and vacation activities.
 

Common Wine Varieties & Classifications

Wine is typically classified based on its place of origin and/or type of grape. Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot are examples of wines named for their grape, while Napa Valley wines and Bordeaux wines are common examples of wines named for their place of production. In some cases, both the production region and the grape variety are used in the name of the wine, which offers wine connoisseurs an idea of the wine before tasting it.

Wine varieties differ greatly in their taste, presentation, and use. Red and white wine, for instance, are common wines used for complementing food choices. The difference between these two variations is centered on whether or not the grapes used in their creation maintained their skins during fermentation. Red wine is made with grape skins, while white wine is made in the absence of grape skins. Other wine variations include sparkling wines such as champagne, dessert wines, cooking wines, table wines that are often less expensive than others, and many other variations.

Basics of Wine Tasting

There are five main steps to assessing the quality of wine – only two of which actually involving tasting the wine itself. The steps include judging the color, swirling the wine in the glass, smelling the aroma of the wine, sipping and tasting the wine, and savoring the flavor to assess how long the taste remains in the mouth. This method of wine tasting is often given the pneumonic key The Five S’s: See, Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Savor.

Because of the effect that wine can have as an alcoholic beverage, most wine tasters do not actually drink the wine. At events and wineries, wine tasters may receive a spittoon into which to spit the wine, or may be asked to simple spit the wine onto the ground.

Blind tasting involves offering a taste of the wine without allowing the taster any indication as to the wine’s origins or makeup. This usually means presenting the wine without allowing the taster to see the bottle, know the name or the date of origin, and, in some cases, even see the color – which requires the wine to be presented in a black or dark glass.

Many connoisseurs of wine and wine tasting travel around the world to some of the most notable wineries and vineyards in the world in order to participate in wine tasting and winery tours. In many instances, wineries may offer tasting of their vintage wines and other more notable wines for a higher price.

Storing a Wine Collection

True wine collectors and connoisseurs – and all wineries and vineyards – maintain a wine cellar to preserve the taste and quality of the wine. These cellars allow for the maintenance of a constant temperature and complete darkness. This not only prevents spoilage, but also provides an environment in which the wine can continue to age and improve in its aroma, flavor, and color. Temperature fluctuations and exposure to heat and light can cause wine to spoil and lose its best attributes.

Wine Production & Imports

Italy leads the world in terms of the amount of wine produced around the world, and the images of generations-old wineries and vineyards are almost synonymous with the Italian countryside. Italy is closely following by Spain and France in terms of the volume of annual wine production. The United States ranks sixth in the world, and from all U.S. wines, more than 90 percent come from the vineyards and wineries of the California valleys.

Wine in Popular Culture

Oftentimes, references to wine in popular culture can create a spike in interest in wine and wine tasting. The 2004 film Sideways was one such phenomenon that made trips to wineries and vineyards a new fad in the United States. Other notable wine-laden films include French Kiss, A Walk in the Clouds, and many others. In many European countries, however, interest in understanding and appreciating wine has been ongoing for centuries, and little needs a boost from pop culture references.