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Wine
With a population of 1 million, the Romans really expanded the wine culture. They had thermopoliums that served warm and chilled wine and food. The wine was often diluted with water, but also had honey, spices, and herbs added. Earthen jars were set into the counter and silver ladles were used for dipping out the wine and food. They look like a bar, huh? I'd love to host a cocktail party in a historical site like this!
Many
things happened over the hundreds of hundreds
of history with wine that would take hundreds and hundreds of
pages, but just know that the church and French monks are responsible
for reviving it after its last fall.
Walking through a forest of wine bottles at your local store can be overwhelming. Yes, there is a lot to know about wine, and entire books have been written on wine, but I hope to help you understand the basics. Wine
is made from fermented fruit, and the most
popular fruit used is grapes. Its history spans thousands of years
through every civilization known to people. The top wine producing
countries today are France, America, Australia, Spain, Italy,
and Argentina. Red Wine All wines basically are one of two styles: red or white. These styles break down into three body types: full, medium, and light. Even though there are over ten thousand types of grapes in the world, only about three hundred of these are used to make commercial wine. Out of these three hundred, twenty to thirty are used for the most popular wines. In the wine world, you will hear the word varietal often. This refers to the type of grape used. Popular
red (and black) wine grapes
used to make red wine include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot
Noir, Sangiovese, Shiraz/Syrah, Zinfandel, Gamay, Grenache, Wine
stores and wine sections
are always organized for you (normally by country). After you
narrow down the country, then you can narrow down the body type
of wine you prefer and/or the varietal (grape) you prefer. Wine
labels will give you all the information you need to know about
the wine: location of the vineyard, vintage (year the grapes were
harvest-ed), varietal (grape type), brand name, and producer of
the wine. Some countries have label laws that require a government
warning, alcohol content, and the list of sulfites used. Also
know that varietals are often blended together, so it’s
not uncommon to find a Cabernet-Shiraz or a Cabernet-Merlot mix. White Wine The
first thing to know about white wine
is that it can be made from white, red, purple, or even black
grapes. This is because the grape skins are discarded when making
white wine. With red wine, the skins are not discarded. And for
pink toned wines like White Zinfandel, Rosé, or Blush,
the skins are left on just a little bit to color the wine. Just like red wines, white wines will vary in body. They will also vary from dryness to sweetness. Popular grapes to make white wine include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Viognier. All of these white wine varietals can have a dry or super sweet taste because it all depends on who grows the grapes. The
Chardonnay grape is the most popular white
wine grape in California. It’s also one of the grapes used
to make Champagne. Chardonnay is heavy, buttery, fruity, and oaky.
Some winemakers don’t like the oakiness of Chardonnay, so
they age the wine in stainless steel tanks.
Things to Know to Fake it Like A Wine Pro
•
When doing basic matching with wine and food just remember that
white goes with light food like fish and reds go with hearty food
like steak.
Champagne Ironically,
in modern times we adore and celebrate the
50 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne, but until the mid-1600s,
bubbles in a bottle of wine meant that the winemaker had failed.
The proof was in a wine-soaked cellar full of burst • In 1804 Madame Clicquot invented pink Champagne, the mushroom shaped cork, and invented a way of removing sediment from bottles called riddling. •
Only three grapes are used to make Champagne and they are, Pinot
Noir, Pinot Meunier (Mehr-n-YAY), and Chardonnay.
The most popular sparkling wines are; Prosecco (praw-SAY-co, used in a Bellini), Asti Spumante (AH-stee spoo-MAHN-teh) from Italy, and Korbel (core-BELL) from America. The
reason why there is even a category of sparkling
wine is because of the Champagne Riots in the early 1900s. The
Champagne Riots resulted in a law requiring that only Champagne
made with grapes in the Champagne region could bear the word Champagne
on their label. The words sparkling wine can be seen on all bottles
of
Popular
Champagne drinks are;
Mimosa, Champagne Cocktail, Kir (rhymes with ear), and Kir Royale. Champagne Facts
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A 750ml bottle of Champagne has an average of 50 million bubbles.
Port Wine
The word Port is short for the name of the port townof Oporto, not Portugal.
The
two basic groups of Port
are wood-aged and bottle-aged. The most popular wood aged ports
found in most bars are tawny and ruby. Ruby is sweeter then tawny. There
is one difficult factor
about making Port, and that is the growing conditions of the grapes.
The vineyards are located on remote, steep slopes that drop down
to the Douro
Making
sherry isn’t as cut and dried
as making port. With Port, winemakers just add brandy to prematurely
stop the fermentation of the wine, then age it. Sherry is made
with
Madeira Wine (ma-DEER-uh)
The first thing you should know about Madeira is that was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Madeira was looked upon as something very magical and special. To reach the New World, ships had to pass through the tropics and the heat literally baked the Madeira giving it a soft yet deep pleasant burnt taste. Soon pipes filled with Madeira were installed with ship ballasts and sent on tropical voyages. The heat mixed with the constant rocking made this wine last for years without spoiling.
Vermouth
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