Wine Lore
The earliest evidence of wine production comes from archaeological sites in Georgia and Iran, dating from between 6000 and 5000 BC. The earliest evidence pointing to the cultivation of grapevines was found in Early Bronze Age sites in the Near East (Sumer and Egypt), dating from the third millennium BC.
Wine was common in classical Greece and Rome, and was frequently referred to in the works of Homer and Aesop. Many of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established by the Romans, and wine-making technology developed considerably during the time of the Roman Empire.
In medieval Europe, the Christian Church was a staunch supporter of wine, which was needed for the celebration of the Catholic Mass. In places such as Germany, beer was banned and considered pagan and barbaric, while wine consumption was viewed as civilized and a sign of conversion.
Wine is usually made from one or more varieties of the European species, Vitis vinifera. When one of these varieties, such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Merlot, for example, is used as the predominant grape (usually defined by law as a minimum of 75 or 85%) the result is a varietal, as opposed to a blended wine. Blended wines are in no way inferior to varietal wines; some of the world's most valued and expensive wines from the Bordeaux, Rioja or Tuscany regions, are blends of several grape varieties of the same vintage.
Wine experts generally classify wine into categories, with the distinctions among the classes based primarily on major differences in their manner of vinification.
Table wines are usually classified as White, Red or Rosé, depending on their colour.
Sparkling wines such as champagne, are fermented twice, once in an open container to allow the carbon dioxide to escape into the air, and a second time in a sealed container, where the gas is caught and remains in the wine. Sparkling wines that gain their carbonation from the traditional method of bottle fermentation are called 'Bottle Fermented', 'Méthode Traditionelle', or 'Méthode Champenoise'. Apart from champagne, other international denominations of sparkling wine include Sekt (Germany), cava (Spain), and spumante (Italy).
Dessert wines range from slightly sweet to very sweet. Late harvest wines such as the German Spätlese are made from grapes harvested after they have reached maximum ripeness. Dried grape wines, such as Recioto and Vin Santo from Italy, are made from grapes that have been partially raisined after harvesting. Botrytized wines are made from grapes infected by Botrytis cinerea or noble rot. These include Sauternes from Bordeaux, Tokaji Aszú from Hungary, and Beerenauslese from Germany and Austria. Eiswein is made from grapes that are harvested while they are frozen.
Fortified wines are often sweeter, and generally more alcoholic wines that have had their fermentation process stopped by the addition of a spirit, such as brandy, or have had spirit added after fermentation. Examples include Port, Madeira and Banyuls.
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