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The taste of a wine depends not only on the grape species and varietal but the ground and climate where it is cultivated. Historically, wines have been known by names reflecting their origin, and sometimes style.

These "appellations"  frequently dictate not only where the grapes in a wine were grown, but also which grapes went into the wine and how they were vinified.

In the European Union, wine labeled Champagne must be made from grapes grown and fermented in the Champagne region of France with a certain method.

The United States  and Canada allow the use of some European appellations as generic wine names:

• Bordeaux
• Burgundy
• Chablis
• Champagne
• Chianti
• Asti

Many wines improve in flavor as they age and so wine enthusiasts often save bottles of a favorite vintage wine to enjoy in a few years' time.

For most types of wine, the best-quality grapes and the most care in winemaking are employed on vintage wines - thus, they are generally more expensive than non-vintage varieties.


While a vintage wine is generally made in a single batch and thus each bottle from a particular vintage will taste the same, climactic factors tend to change the character of vintage wines grown from the same vines somewhat from year to year.

Good vintages, particularly of premium grapes, therefore often sell for much more than average years. Some vintage wines are only made in better-than-average years.

Conversely, wines such as White Zinfandels, which don't age well, are made to be drunk immediately and are not labeled with a vintage year.

Wines may also be classified by vinification methods: sparkling, still, fortified, rosé, etc.

The colour of wine is determined by the presence or absence of the grape skin during fermentation, since most wine grapes have clear juice.

Grapes with colored juice are known as teinturiers. Red wine is made from red (or black) grapes, but its red colour is bestowed by the skin being left in during fermentation.

White wine can be made from any colour of grape, but the skin is not left in during fermentation. A white wine made from a very dark grape may appear pink or 'blush'.

Rosé is a compromise between red and white - the skin of red grapes is left in for a short time during fermentation.

Fortified wines are often sweeter,  more alcoholic wines that have had their fermentation process stopped by the addition of a spirit such as Brandy:

Marsala
Medeira
Sherry
Port

Wines may be also classified by their primary impression on the drinker's palate.

Wines may be described as dry, off-dry, fruity, or sweet, for example.

Specific flavors such as cherry, vanilla (usually from vinification in new oak barrels), new-mown grass, brine, raisin and dozens of others may also be sensed, at least by an experienced taster, due to the highly complex mix of organic molecules such as esters that a fully vinted wine contains.

Brandy is a distilled wine.

Collectible wines

At the highest end, rare, super-premium wines are amongst the most expensive of all foodstuffs, and outstanding vintages from the best vineyards may sell for thousands of dollars per bottle. Red wines, at least partly because of their greater shelf life, are typically the most expensive. Such wines are often at their best years or sometimes decades after bottling.

Many exclusive wines come from France but other regions also have some world-class wines in both quality and price. Secondary markets for these wines have consequently developed, as well as specialised facilities for post-purchase storage for people to "invest" in wine.

The most common wines purchased for investment are Bordeaux and Port. Many wine writers have decried the trend, as it has pushed up prices to the point that few people will consider drinking such valuable commodities, and consequently they are kept in bottles undrunk where they eventually deteriorate into a substance very much like red wine vinegar in taste and desirability.

Medical implications

The health effects of wine and alcohol in general are the subject of considerable ongoing debate and study. In the USA, a boom in red wine consumption was touched off in the 1990s by '60 Minutes' and other news reports on the French paradox.

It now seems clear that a glass of wine daily does reduce mortality for those over the age of 35 or so. Sadly, this effect tails off, and significantly larger amounts show a negative impact on mortality. Compounds known as resveratrols are found in larger amounts in red wine, and there is some evidence that these are especially beneficial. Wine marketers have responded to the demand for healthy wines by producing wines (both red and white) with elevated levels of resveratrol.

Other studies have concluded both that wine is the best form of alcohol to consume, and alternately that the only important ingredient is ethanol.

Sulfites are compounds frequently found in wine that act as a preservative - and can trigger a severe allergic reaction in some consumers. Therefore, all commercially produced wine is required to state on the label that the product contains sulfites.

 

After England lost control of that area in the 14th century, they had to import their wines from Portugal and Germany. In Shakespeare’s time, many people drank beer. But those with more refined tastes began to look for lighter, more delicate wines. At the same time, good drinking water became available in London. People wanted wine as a civilized social drink, now that they didn’t have to drink it. The availability of good drinking water pushed the wine industry to its next phase. In the 17th century, people found other sources for their excessive indulgences, like hard liquor, beer and ale, tobacco, chocolate, and coffee and tea. Wine had lots of competition – another challenge for the industry. It was ironic that the industry was actually forced to compete with itself, when it created Champagne. They now had to create wines of similar or better quality, using the same grapes they’d already been using.   In France, a French widow named Nicole-Barbe Clicquot-Ponsardin, discovered a simple method of removing sediment from Champagne, and adding in its place, wine, sugar and brandy. She also developed an assembly line, so it could be mass-produced. Other important developments in the 17th century were the use of glass bottles, the invention of the cork, the cork screw and other accessories. Also, improved production techniques created more palatable wines. The wine industry was re-emerging. Antique Corkscrew In the 18th century, England wasn’t getting along with France and they couldn’t get  good French wine. Since the British Empire was growing, they turned to their colonies for their supply. At the turn of the century, they took over South Africa, which turned out to be a wonderful source of wine. In fact, Lord Nelson, a British commander, referred to the new British colony as an “immense tavern”. South African Vineyard Despite the Napoleonic Wars, the French wine industry managed to thrive. Bordeaux wines became the envy of winemakers everywhere, as they still are today. Superior-quality wines became the norm. Another effect of the Napoleonic Wars was Britain’s adoption of Port as their wine of choice. At the time, their operations were based in Portugal, and because they couldn’t get good French wine, they brought in Port, from the Portuguese island of Oporto.

Oporto, Portugal

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