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Q: What is Wine?

A: Simply stated, wine is a simple natural process that turns sugars in juice into alcohol by yeasts. This process is called fermentation. Wine can be made from any fruit, although over 99% is made from grapes.

Q: Why is wine mostly made by fermenting grape juice?

A:  Almost all the grapes, when picked off the vine, taste the same. Grapes, unlike other fruits, contain so many different flavor compounds that when fermented, the juice is amazingly complex, offering a wide variety of flavors and textures. A cherry wine will for the most part taste like cherries. However, the chemical compounds in grapes can mimic various fruit flavors. Lucky for us.

Q: What are different categories of wine?

A: Wine can essentially be divided into three broad categories –sparkling, still, and fortified. Sparkling wines have bubbles such as Champagne. Still wines have no bubbles such as Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, etc. Fortified wines are made by addition of liquor, such as Ports.

Q: What are the different types of still wine?

A: Wine can be white, red or rosé. The juice of the grape is white in color, except for a few varieties of grapes. White wine is made by pressing the grapes to allow the juice to run free.  The juice is than fermented to produce wine. Red wine is made by allowing the skin of the grapes to stay in contact with the juice during fermentation. This allows the wine to absorb the skin color, hence giving wine the red color (Did you know that white wine can be made from red grapes by removing the skin from the juice?) Rosé wine is made by allowing the skin to stay in contact with the juice for a shorter time – hours instead of days.  This process gives the wine just a hint of color.

Q: What are tannins?

A: Tannins are found mostly in red wines. Tannin is a compound present in grape skins, seeds and stems and is detected in the mouth as causing a drying sensation. This is the same feeling when drinking a very strong tea. Since most white wines are not fermented on their skins, they do not contain tannin. To understand the sensation of tannins, take a few grapes, peel the skin and eat it without the pulp. The dryness caused on your palate is from the tannins.

Q: What is dry and sweet wine?

A: Fermentation converts sugar into alcohol. If fermentation is stopped before yeasts have consumed all the sugar, the sugar left behind is termed as residual sugar.  Depending upon the sugar level, the wine can be classified as sweet or semi-sweet. Wines without residual sugar as said to be dry.

Q: Why is acidity so important in a wine?

A: Acids make wine taste refreshing. They are most noticeable in crisp tasting whites, but are present in all wines to a varying degree. Low acid wines taste soft and smooth and can be pleasant to drink, but can also taste flabby with no backbone – akin to a pop that has gone flat. High acidity is perceived as a tanginess that makes your mouth water.