What Is Wine?
Wine could be called the most common and most complex drink on the planet, but at its core, it is just one thing: an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice.
It’s also history, science, artistry and devotion, all aging in basements and barrels around the world. It’s a drink of unity — crossing barriers of culture and status — that has been a staple part of the human experience since Phoenician times in 300 B.C. A powerful economic and agricultural force, wine has thousands of permutations, and is grown on every continent besides Antarctica.
Over 31 billion bottles of wine are bought and sold worldwide every year, which—when compared to world population—is roughly 4 bottles per person.
What's in a bottle of wine?
If you break down what's in your bottle of wine, it will vary according to type. Generally, the largest component is water — at about 85 percent of the volume. Alcohol is next, around 10 percent, followed by “other” components — like chemical compounds and additives for stabilizing wine — which make up that last 5 percent. That smallest percentage typically has the biggest impact on the wine’s characteristics and flavor. What’s in that 5 percent?
You'll find:
- Acid
- Amino acids
- Esters (created when acid reacts to alcohol)
- Minerals, polyphenols (which contribute heavily to color, aroma and tannins)
- Sugar
- Sulfites (both naturally occurring and added as a preservative)
- And other compounds
Wine Grapes Versus Table Grapes
Grapes eaten at your summer picnic and ones grown for wine are pretty different. Both wine and table grapes come in red and white varieties and have the same genus, Vitis, but that’s about where the similarities end. There are over 70 species within that genus, and wine grapes are typically one species: Vitis vinifera. Here are the major differences between wine grapes and table grapes:
WINE GRAPES:
- Small and delicate fruit, typically under half an inch wide
- Thick skin
- Large seeds
- Sweet and full of flavor
- When harvested, they’ll have up to twice the amount of residual sugar as table grapes
- Grow in a vertical trellis to concentrate on quality and flavor concentration over quantity
TABLE GRAPES:
- Large fruit, easier to transport than wine grapes
- Thin skin
- Small or no seeds
- Lightly sweet, mellow flavor
- Grow in a trellis system to maximize quantity — grape clusters hang down providing more sun exposure and more fruit produced
Continued reading about grape varieties
Learn MoreQuick Facts
- 80 to 100: number of grapes in each cluster
- 24: number of grape clusters on a vine
- 75 to 100: number of grapes in a glass of wine
- 1 barrel = 300 bottles = ~1,500 glasses
Winemaker's Insight
The skin is basically the "soul" of a wine, responsible for almost everything you see and feel in the glass. While the juice of nearly all grapes is clear, the skins pack the anthocyanins (pigments) that give red wine its color and the tannins that provide structure and that drying sensation on your tongue. They are also a powerhouse of flavor compounds and phenolics that define a wine's aroma. Because the skins are where the majority of the antioxidants and yeast-friendly nutrients live, winemakers leave them in contact with the juice during fermentation to soak up all that character—a process called maceration.
Chapter 1
Wine Basics
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