Wine
One of the oldest alcoholic beverages known to man is wine. Wine is distilled from grapes, actually coming from the juice that is fermented for quite a while. Juice coming from crushed grapes is fermented using various yeasts, which in turn process the sugar in the juice and turn it into alcohol. Many cultures have their own versions of producing wine. Countries such as Australia, Italy, France and other European countries are famous producers of wine.
History of wine
The oldest evidence of wine was culled from the area that is now occupied by Georgia and Iran. Wine-making probably originated in 6000 BC. In Europe, however, the oldest evidence of wine and its production were found in Greece. Wine was already produced in this country as early as 4500 BC. Wine was also discovered in China, where aside from being made from grapes, wine was also distilled from rice. Wine was purported to have been in production in this part of Asia as early as the first or second millennia BC. Wine has also been found in Egypt, where many amphoras of alcoholic beverages identified as wine were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.
Uses of wine
Wine wasn't only a beverage for celebration back then, but was used mostly as a tool or implement for religious purposes. Greek mythologies often cite wine in many of its tales, and the Greek god Dionysus and Roman counterpart Bacchus were deemed as the deities of wine and celebration. Wine was also a part of Christian religious rites. However, there are some conservative groups that have replaced the wine used in the Eucharist with grape juice. The Islamic religion also forbids consumption of wine and any other alcoholic beverage, though Iran once had a thriving wine-producing industry until 1979.
Ingredients of wine
Grape wine
Wine is usually distilled from grapes, especially those of the Vitis vinifera species and its variations. There are different types of wine that can be culled from different types of grapes. Pinot Noir wine, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and merlot are the types of wine that can be distilled from the Vitis vinifera species. White wine is distilled from white grapes, hence, the clear and pale colouring, while red wine is culled from darker varieties of grapes that yield rosy dark tinges to the resulting liquid.
Non-grape wine
Aside from grapes, wine can also be distilled from other fruits. Wines distilled from different fruits aside from the grapes are termed by connoisseurs as New World wine. Wine can be distilled from fruit juices from apples and berries. Starch-producing cereals such as barley and rice also yield wine. There have also been reports of producing wine from unconventional materials such as palm tree and even marijuana.
