![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I know it's not Wines-day, but I thought I better post this general little guide thingy before I went too much further with the reviews- so when I say "this wine has raspberries with a hint of fresh grass clippings on the nose" or "this wine has nice legs" you won't think I'm off my rocker.
Besides, I have that durn Wine Prelim coming up next Tuesday night, and this is my way of reviewing for it.
Learn better by teaching, and all that rot.
I think I will write this in series of posts in the next few days as I study. First, I will explain a a little bit about how wine is made, and then, define a few wine terms. Finally I will give you an overview of the basic wine-tasting ritual. (If you want to know the wine-opening-and-serving-ritual, ask me and I'll post it later.)
What IS wine, anyway? Well, here's the basic process:
1. Take a bunch of ripe fruit (you can use any fruit, but 99% of all wine is made from grapes).
2. Put fruit in a clean container that doesn't leak.
3. Crush the fruit somehow to squeeze the juice out (think purple-footed grape stompers, although now we use big machines to do it)
4. Wait.
That's it. After the fruit is crushed, yeasts come into contact with the sugar in the juice and gradually convert it to alchohol. This process is called fermentation, and it's what happens to fresh apple cider if you leave it in your fridge to long. Fermentation is a totally natural process that doesn't need human help at all; actually, wine has been referred to as a "pit stop" between fruit juice and vinegar. But of course, our dear winemakers have found myraid ways to tweak the process, and that's where the Le Art de Winemaking comes into play. Luckily, you don't have to know all the tweaky details to enjoy the end product.
Part 1:( ...Bottle of white...bottle of red...perhaps a bottle of rosé instead... )
Part 2:( Basic Wine Terms (or, wine snob-ese): )
That's it for tonight, folks!
Next time- Sniff, swirl, slurp, spit, swallow? ^_^;
Besides, I have that durn Wine Prelim coming up next Tuesday night, and this is my way of reviewing for it.
Learn better by teaching, and all that rot.
I think I will write this in series of posts in the next few days as I study. First, I will explain a a little bit about how wine is made, and then, define a few wine terms. Finally I will give you an overview of the basic wine-tasting ritual. (If you want to know the wine-opening-and-serving-ritual, ask me and I'll post it later.)
What IS wine, anyway? Well, here's the basic process:
1. Take a bunch of ripe fruit (you can use any fruit, but 99% of all wine is made from grapes).
2. Put fruit in a clean container that doesn't leak.
3. Crush the fruit somehow to squeeze the juice out (think purple-footed grape stompers, although now we use big machines to do it)
4. Wait.
That's it. After the fruit is crushed, yeasts come into contact with the sugar in the juice and gradually convert it to alchohol. This process is called fermentation, and it's what happens to fresh apple cider if you leave it in your fridge to long. Fermentation is a totally natural process that doesn't need human help at all; actually, wine has been referred to as a "pit stop" between fruit juice and vinegar. But of course, our dear winemakers have found myraid ways to tweak the process, and that's where the Le Art de Winemaking comes into play. Luckily, you don't have to know all the tweaky details to enjoy the end product.
Part 1:( ...Bottle of white...bottle of red...perhaps a bottle of rosé instead... )
Part 2:( Basic Wine Terms (or, wine snob-ese): )
That's it for tonight, folks!
Next time- Sniff, swirl, slurp, spit, swallow? ^_^;
