White Wine: There Is Power Within The Succulent Grape

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White Wine – History And How Is It Made?

“There is a power within the succulent grape

That made thee, stronger than all human power.”               

– Francis Saltus Saltus

Wine has been the muse for many poets. The drink has enchanted many writers and poets to turn it into the subject of their works. Till today it is considered to be a sophisticated drink. White wine has many variations and can be either straw-yellow, yellow-green or yellow-gold in colour. The numerous varieties of white wine grapes give the wine its color, texture and flavor.

History

The presence of wine in this world is almost as old as civilization itself. The earliest evidence of wine making techniques date back to 6000 BC in the middle-eastern country of Armenia. Egyptians are also known to have produced wine since ancient times. Scenes of wine-making adorned many tomb walls which show the importance of wine in Egypt. The cities of ancient Greece considered wine to be a drink of the elite.

The popularity of wine was augmented during the Roman era when wine-making techniques spread across most of Europe. It gradually found its way through the silk route to China. Because of its religious impact on the Christians, wine-making was primarily the work of monasteries.

During the Renaissance, The qualities of wine were being appreciated by wine drinkers and by the 18^th century, France had become the unsurpassed producer of wine. Reginal wines which had a distinctive taste and character soon gained popularity and till this day France remains the world’s leading producers of wine.

How is it made?

Crush Grapes and Collect the Juice

White wine can be made with white or red grapes. White wines are fermented without the skin whereas red wine gets its color from the skin of the red grapes. The grapes are pressed off the skin and then the grape juice is ready to be fermented.

Fermentation

The fresh fruit flavors of white wine can be accredited to the fact that they are fermented at cooler temperatures than red wine. During this time the yeast present in the grapes automatically initiate the fermentation process. 2 parts sugar ferments into 1 part wine so the sugar content of the juice is directly proportional to the alcohol level.

MLF and Oaking

Malolactic fermentation transforms the malic acid into lactic acid which changes the texture of the wine to creamy. This is an optional procedure to add a creamy flavor to the wine. Another procedure is oaking the white wine to give it a vanilla flavour. Both these procedures involve time and money which makes the wines that have gone through these procedures more expensive.

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Filtering and Bottling

White wines are always filtered before being bottled. This is done to remove any suspended particles from the wine before it is packaged.

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Gin – 500 Years And Still Going Strong

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What is gin?

Gin, which can also be described as flavored vodka is a neutral grain spirit re-distilled with botanicals along with a predominant juniper flavor. Juniper berries the fruit after which the spirit is named, is the primary source of gin. Coriander, licorice, angelica root and seed, bitter almonds, orris root, cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise are some other common gin botanicals.

Gin was first invented for an utterly different purpose, as a medicine to help in treating several diseases including stomach problems, gout and kidney disease. In 1650, Franciscus de la Boe, a Dutch doctor produced gin in Holland for medical purposes. In the mid 17^th century gin was most likely to be available in a medical pharmacy than a liquor store. Like other spirits, the distinct flavor of gin quickly gained popularity among the people and it became popular internationally.

Types of gin

Gin is one of the most widely used liquors and is more than 500 years old. It’s available in four different styles and these are London Dry gin, Genever or Dutch gin, Old Tom gin and Compound gin.

London Dry gin– This is most familiar ‘gin’ and is a widely available gin type. London Dry gin is light in body, heavily juniper flavored, very dry and aromatic. During the second and third distillation process, London Dry gin is infused with several other aromatic ingredients to bring the botanical and flowery flavor.

Genever or Dutch gin– History says Genever or Dutch gin is the first style of gin which is made from a base of malt grains rather than the combination of cereal grains. It gives the Genever gin a dark color and flavor similar to whiskey.

Old Tom gin– Another style of gin which is sweeter than Genever and recently it has fallen out of production and favor. Old Tom gin comes in somewhere in between Genever and London Dry gin. The main difference between the Old Tom gin and other styles of gin is that sugar is added in the re-distillation process and it makes Old Tom gin sweeter than others.

Compound gin– This was the most common style of gin in the early days during gin production as it was the first choice of beverage to the labor and people out-of work. Turpentine was one of the essences from which Compound gin derives its flavor. Comparatively cheaper essences are added to neutral grain spirit in Compound gin with no re-distillation.

Production methods

Gins are produced following several methods however, the processes are less or more same. Like vodka, neutral spirit is the base ingredient of gin, the thing that makes vodka different from gin is the addition of juniper and other botanicals during the distillation. However, the inclusion of botanicals varies with the gin styles.

Next step is called maceration where the botanicals are soaked in a neutral spirit in order to extract the flavors and aromas from the botanicals. It results a gin called bathtub gin or infused gin which is the last stage of producing gin to some gin makers while some other makers follow one more step in order to make the gin smoother and cleaner.

In this stage, most of the gin makers refine the macerate in a pot still which creates distilled gin or dry gin. Furthermore, some distillers put the required botanicals in a pot high up in the still and keep it away from any liquid. The extraction of the aromas and flavor is carried out by the evaporated spirit as it blows past the botanicals in the still which is called vapor evaporation.

The product is then sent for quality control checking to make sure it meets the required specification. After distillation, only required amount of sugar, alcohol and water are added.

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All About Red Wine

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Wine is one of the most spectacular alcoholic beverages in the world which has been in existence since the days of yore. Wine is tied to many religions and cultures around the world. The Christian Church finds wine to be an essential part of their religious practice.

History

While there is no specific date that can be accredited for the discovery of wine, archaeological evidence shows presence of wine as far back as in 6000 BC. The states of Armenia, Georgia and Iran are linked with the production of the earliest wines in the world. Evidence of wine in these states was found through the wine vessels, jars and remnants of crushed grapes. The oldest winery which included a wine press, fermentation vats and jars was discovered in Armenia and it dated back to 4100 BC.

Process of Making Red Wine

The steps involved in making red wine are:

• The process of making red wine is initiated with the harvest of grapes when they are ripe.
• The harvested grapes is taken to a destemmer and crusher where the stems are removed and the grapes are crushed so they can be fermented through the exposure to yeast and the skin can provide its rich colour to the wine.
• The must, which is made of the grape juice and solids is allowed to sit over a period of time as it picks up flavor and color. This part of the process is known as maceration. Time is of essence during maceration. Too long and the wine can turn bitter.
• The next step is fermentation where the yeast starts fermenting the wine.
• The grape skins start floating on the top and they have to be pushed back so that they are in contact with the must to render their juices and color to the must. This is known as pumping over.
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