Wine

This article is about the drink. For other uses, see Wine (disambiguation).

Wine
Glasses of red and white wine
TypeAlcoholic beverage
Alcohol by volume 5–16%[1]
IngredientsVaries; see Winemaking
Variants

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented fruit. Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made from grapes, and the term "wine" generally refers to grape wine when used without any qualification. Even so, wine can be made from a variety of fruit crops, including plum, cherry, pomegranate, blueberry, currant, and elderberry.

Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are major factors in different styles of wine. These differences result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the grape's growing environment (terroir), and the wine production process. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production.

Wine has been produced for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of wine is from the present-day Georgia (6000 BCE), Persia (5000 BCE), Italy, and Armenia (4000 BCE). New World wine has some connection to alcoholic beverages made by the indigenous peoples of the Americas but is mainly connected to later Spanish traditions in New Spain.[2][3] Later, as Old World wine further developed viticulture techniques, Europe would encompass three of the largest wine-producing regions. Based on statistics gathered by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine in 2022 the top five wine producing countries were Italy, France, Spain, the United States, and Australia.[4]

Wine has long played an important role in religion. Red wine was associated with blood by the ancient Egyptians,[5] and was used by both the Greek cult of Dionysus and the Romans in their Bacchanalia; Judaism also incorporates it in the Kiddush, and Christianity in the Eucharist. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Israeli wine cultures are still connected to these ancient roots. Similarly the largest wine regions in Italy, Spain, and France have heritages in connection to sacramental wine, likewise, viticulture traditions in the Southwestern United States started within New Spain as Catholic friars and monks first produced wines in New Mexico and California.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ "Learn About Alcohol Content in Wine: Highest to Lowest ABV Wines – 2023 – MasterClass". Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Georgia made 'world's oldest wine'". BBC News. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference archeologyMethodTheory2014322 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Rojo Moro, Alberto. "Ranked: World's Biggest Wine Producers by Country". Visual Capitalist. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. ^ Plutarch (1936). "Isis and Osiris". Moralia. Vol. V. Translated by Babbitt, Frank Cole (Loeb Classical Library ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 3–6. ISBN 978-0-674-99337-2. Retrieved 7 May 2024 – via Loeb Classical Library and University of Chicago Press.
  6. ^ Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1903. p. 263. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. ^ Adams, Fiona (29 April 2019). "New Mexico's Deep Winemaking History". Wine Enthusiast. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  8. ^ California Vineyardists Association; Associated California Fruit Industries (1980). Wines and Vines. Hiaring Company. Retrieved 6 May 2020.