Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermented grape juice] The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients.Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and convert them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the types of wine being produced.
Although other fruits such as apples and berries can also be fermented, the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically known as fruit wine or country wine (not to be confused with the French term vin du pays). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (e.g. sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemblebeer and spirit more than wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol content, rather than production process. The commercial use of the English word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions.
Wine has a rich history dating back to around 6000 BC and is thought to have originated in areas now within the borders of Georgia and Iran.Wine probably appeared in Europe at about 4500 BC in what is now Bulgaria and Greece, and was very common in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Wine has also played an important role in religion throughout history. The Greek god Dionysos and the Roman equivalentBacchus represented wine, and the drink is also used in Christian and Jewish ceremonies such as theEucharist and Kiddush.
"Elderberry Wine" redirects here. For the Elton John song of the same name, see Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.
Fruit wines are fermented alcoholic beverages made from a variety of ingredients (other than grapes) and having a variety of flavours. Fruit wines are usually referred to by their main ingredient fruit (e.g., plum wine), since the word wine alone is often legally defined as a beverage made only from grapes.[1] In the European Union "wine" is legally defined only as the fermented juice of grapes.[2] The term country wine is also commonly utilized in Great Britain and the U.S. interchangeably with fruit wine to indicate any non-grape wine, and should not be confused with the French term vin de pays. In British legislation, the term made-wine is used.[3]
Wine can be made from any sufficiently sweet food or, with addition of sucrose in the form of table sugar orhoney, from other fruits and many other plant sources. This can include wines produced from fruits like apples and elderberries, starches likerice, vegetables like carrot or peapod, as well as flowers and herbs such as dandelion, elderflower, and even marijuana.[2] The most common, narrow definition of wine relates to the product of fermented grape juice, though it is sometimes broadened to include any beverage with afermentation based on the conversion of a sugar solution into alcohol (fermented beverages based on hydrolyzed barley such as beer are often excluded). Some drinks such as cider, mead and perry are also excluded from this broad definition of wine for historical reasons.[4]
Fruit wines have traditionally been popular with home winemakers and in areas with cool climates such as North America and Scandinavia. Most fruits and berries have the potential to produce wine. Few foods other than grapes have the balanced quantities of sugar, acid, tannin, nutritive salts for yeast feeding and water to naturally produce a stable, drinkable wine, so most country wines are adjusted in one or more respects at fermentation. The amount of fermentable sugars is often low and need to be supplemented by a process called chaptalization in order to have sufficient alcohol levels in the finished wine. Sucrose is often added so that fruits having excessive levels of acids (usually citric ormalic acid) can split the sucrose into fermentable fructose and glucose sugars. If the specific gravity of the initial solution is too high, indicating an excess of sugar, water or acidulated water may be added to adjust the specific gravity down to the winemaker's target range. Many fruit wines suffer from a lack of natural yeast nutrients needed to promote or maintain fermentation. Winemakers can counter this with the addition ofnitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available commercially as yeast nutrient. Like many conventional white wines, fruit wines often do not improve with bottle age and are usually meant to be consumed within a year of bottling.
The fermentation of fruit wines at home was particularly fashionable in the UK in the 1970s and was popularized in the BBC TV series The Good Life.
Ingredients
The other ingredients that give the wine its flavour and character can be fruits, flowers, herbs, etc. Examples are elderberry wine and dandelionwine. A wine made from elderberry flowers is called elder blow wine. If the flavouring ingredients are leaves or roots then the beverage is sometimes called a beer (for example, ginger beer). (Note that the beverages known as root beer, ginger beer and ginger ale are often non-alcoholic.)
If the sugar source is honey then the beverage is usually called mead; if it is apple or pear juice then the beverage is called cider or perry, respectively. Cyser is made from apples and honey.
List of fruits and plants used
Wines made from fruit:
| Wines made from flowers:
Wines made from vegetables and roots: Wines made from tree sap :
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