Lesson 1: Wine Basics

What Actually is Wine?

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from the juice of fermented grapes. Fermentation occurs by adding yeast to the grapes and breaking natural sugars into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide gas is allowed to evaporate, while ethanol, the alcohol component of wine, is preserved. The longer grapes are allowed to ferment, the darker and more robust the resulting wine. Once fermentation has taken place for the desired length of time, the wine is clarified/filtered and transferred either directly to bottles or into an oak barrel or stainless steel tank if the winemaker wishes to age it, which will further alter the flavour, aroma, and colour of the wine.

Basic Vocab

Tannins: Tannins are naturally occurring compounds found inside grape skins, seeds, and stems. However, tannins are often used to refer to wine's dryness, bitterness, and astringency. Tannins are commonly associated with red wine, as red wine is fermented with the most grape skins and seeds for the most extended amount of time.

Tannic: Describes a high tannin wine with a dry mouthfeel and bitter taste.

Acidic: An acidic wine is one with a tart, mouth-puckering flavour. Acidity is noted more in white wines but is a component of all varieties.

Dry: technically defined by <10g of residual sugar, typically presenting a more concentrated, heavy, bitter flavour.

Sweet: The opposite of dry, sweet because the fermentation process is shorter and does not give enough time for all the grape sugars to break down into ethanol during fermentation. Sweet wines are not always, but often associated with light and refreshing wines.

Red vs White vs Rose & Varieties in Each Category

There are three main varieties of wine: red, white, and rose, and each array is further broken down into types. Wine varies significantly between the three main varieties and also in their sub-categories. The main determinants of the difference in wine's flavour, sweetness, and acidity are the type of grape, the growing conditions that year (hot, wet, dry, etc.), and when grapes are harvested in their cycle. How long grapes are left to ferment and what parts of the grape are fermented also play a significant role in wine's end taste and flavour components.

A Brief Overview of Wine Varieties and their Sub-categories

White: made by fermenting only grape juice, skins and seed are separated immediately after crushing the grapes. White wine is typically lighter and sweeter than red wine. Popular types of white wine include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling,

Rose: after crushing, grape skins are left to soak in juices for a few hours. Popular types of rose wine include Pinot Noir Rose, Grenache Rose, Sangiovese Rose, Cabernet Franc Rose, White Merlot, Pink Moscato,

Red: made by fermenting whole grapes, including skins and seeds, and left to ferment longer than white or rose wine. Grapes w thinner skin produce lighter (structure and colour) wines like Pinot Noir and Garnache. Thicker skin grapes offer bold and full-body wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tempranillo and Petite Sirah. Popular types of red wine include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel.

As you can see, wine-making is a complicated process with many variables that impact wine's flavour and tasting components. Understanding some of these things can be fun and add to your enjoyment of wine consumption, but really, unless you plan on making wine yourself, just crack that bottle open and don’t worry about it!