The Making Of Wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fruits, grains, or even other fermented foods like milk, potatoes, or ginger. Most often, nonetheless, the phrase refers to that made from fruits, and grapes in particular. Many types exist, with specific regions attaining fame on the basis of their output, giving rise to labels such as “Napa Wine” and so forth. In recent years, nevertheless, fruit wines have become ever more popular, while in Asia, drinks made from fermented grains have always been imbibed. The nomads of Mongolia even drink fermented horse and goat milk!
All wine comes about by means of a multi-step process of cultivation. In the case of grapes, which is the most commonly drunk type of all, some steps are overlooked, since the natural chemical composition of the fruit allows for self-fermentation, without the inclusion of sugars, acids, or enzymes. Yeast is still used, however; it is added to crushed grapes to convert the sugar into alcohol. Different strains of yeast is used on different kinds of grapes to produce all the numerous kinds of wine found on the market today.
Having said all that, nevertheless, it should be observed that the word “wine” is in fact protected by law in many countries. Depending on the jurisdicition, there may be a number of regulations governing just what is allowed to be sold as wine. And within the industry itself or among connoisseurs, there are variations of opinion regarding what is real wine and what is merely labeled wine. For example, the starch-based grains used to make alcoholic beverages in many parts of Asia, such as rice wine and sorghum wine, is often regarded as more like beer and spirits than actual wine. The word “wine” in such cases is considered more an adjective than a noun, used to refer to nothing more than the higher alcohol content rather than the production process..