Wine 101

Posted by Brandon Marc

August 8, 2008

What exactly IS wine? Ok, I know what you’re thinking… lame! But I think you’d be surprised as to how many people couldn’t accurately answer this question. And since people are often too proud to admit this fact, I thought I’d take the liberty to explain…

Wine is simply fermented grape juice. Ok, but then what is fermentation? This is the process whereby yeasts convert the natural grape sugars (glucose) into alcohol and other lesser-known byproducts. So then we would end up with plain alcohol and no grape juice, right? Wrong. Depending on what amount and strain of yeast and what type of grapes are used in the fermentation, will determine the balance of the wine. Essentially this is the job of the winemaker – to gently guide the fermentation process to produce a required result. Not that easy as you can imagine!

Then you might ask yourself, what is the difference between red wine and white wine? And I’d answer… tannins. Tannins are a group of chemicals found in grape skins responsible for the red colour, and acidic taste, of red wines. Only red wine is fermented with grape skins, therefore resulting in the before mentioned characteristics.

Another important factor responsible for the varying character of wine is the use of different Oak barrels (American or French Oak) for various amounts of time during the fermentation stages adding a distinct complexity to the wine.

Well, I hope you now have a better understanding of exactly what it is you’re drinking and have a new found appreciation for the complexity of wine!

Cheers!