Art of winemaking has been practiced since antiquity all around the world. Sipping wines and celebrating with wines are age-old traditions. But what is a wine? Wine is a fermented juice of plants, grains and / or fruits. Wines are made from dandelion plants, rice and fruits, including grapes, mulberries, peaches and pears. Grapes are the most commonly used fruit for winemaking. Each wine has its unique personality, but it could be golden, pale, rose, ruby red or white in color. The wine color depends on the color of grapes’ skin. For instance, white wines are made from yellow and pale green grapes, whereas red and dark colored grapes are used for red wines.
Purity of a wine is measured in terms of clarity. Light passing through a wine free of floating sediments / un-dissolved substances appears brilliant and sharp. That is characteristic to wines with high level of clarity. Sediments / un-dissolved substances make wines cloudy / hazy. Wines could be brilliant, clear, cloudy, dull, hazy, transparent and turbid depending on the amount of substance. Taste of wines changes with every passing day.
The alcohol content of a wine depends on the amount of sugar present in the grapes used for winemaking because sugar accumulating in ripening grapes converts into alcohol during fermentation process. So, the more sugar accumulates, the more alcohol is produced. Even adding brandy and other spirits to wines enhance alcohol level. These blended wines are known as fortified wines. For example, Madeira (Portugal), Marsala (Italy), Port (Portugal), Sherry (Spain) and Vermouth. Spirits also modify wine flavor. But, taste of the fortified wine depends on time of blending the spirit i.e. before or after the fermentation process. Shelf life of an open fortified wine bottle is longer than that of traditional wine. Fortified wines are available in sweet and dry styles, and white and red colors.
Sparkling wine contains substantial amount of carbon dioxide, making the wine fizzy. For instance, Cava (Spain) and Champagne (France) are sparkling wines. Non-sparkling wines (still) are without carbonation / effervescence. Both sparkling and non-sparkling wines could be of any color.
Depending on usage, wines are also classified in three categories: aperitif, dessert and table. Aperitif and dessert wines are sipped before and after dinner respectively. Dessert wines are generally sweet. Table wines are served with meals. So choose your wine accordingly.
I'm big fun of spanish wine, as well. I think spanish wine is the best option if you need high quality wine and not very expensive.
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