
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Although fruits other than grapes can also be fermented, the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine) and are known as fruit wine (or country wine). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (e.g. sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer more than wine; 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 the production process. The commercial use of the word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions. 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. Various varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the types of wine produced.
Wine stems from an extended and rich history dating back about 8,000 years and is thought to have originated in present-day Georgia or Iran. Wine is thought to have appeared in Europe about 6,500 years ago in present-day Bulgaria and Greece and was very common in ancient Greece and Rome; the Greek god Dionysos, and his Roman counterpart Liber represented wine. Wine continues to play a role in religious ceremonies, such as Kiddush in Judaism and the Eucharist in Christianity.
Commandaria (or Commanderia; Greek: Κουμανδαρία) is an amber-coloured dessert wine made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus on the foothills of the Troodos mountains. It has the distinction of being the world's oldest named wine still in production.
The wine has a rich history, said to date back to the time of the ancient Greeks, where it was a popular drink at festivals celebrating the goddess Aphrodite. A dried grape wine from Cyprus was first known to be described in 800 BC by the Greek poet Hesiod and was known as the Cypriot Manna.
Photo credit: Les Grandes Usines, Julien Turgan, ed 1877, part 38
Decauville narrow gauge railway in Champagne cellars
This list is transcluded from the tasks page, to edit this section click here.
|
Here are some tasks you can do for WikiProject Wine:
- Articles to GA: Wine, Australian wine, Bordeaux wine, Burgundy wine, California wine, Champagne (wine), Chianti, Dessert wine, French wine, German wine, Grenache, Italian wine, Merlot, Pinot gris, Pinot noir, Rioja (wine), Sauvignon blanc, Shiraz (grape), Spanish wine, Sparkling wine, Winemaking
- Photo request: Just about all of them! Any pictures of wine regions, grape varieties or wine would be useful. In particular we need wine region maps that can be licensed for Wikipedia.
|
|
|