About wine

Wine is a noble alcoholic beverage that have been appreciated in ancient Egypt. Now it makes happy people all over the world and even in the Czech Republic it has its important place. It owes its name to the grapevine, because it is produced by its fermentation, or more precisely, by the fermentation of must from grapevine fruit.

Types of wine

The basic distinguishing feature of wines is the colour according to which we know white, red and pink wines. White wine is produced from all colours of grapes, so that pure grape must is fermented by pressing the grapes. White wines made from red or blue grapes are called claret. Rosé wines are made from blue grapes without fermentation and table wines as well as from a mixture of white and red wines. Red wine is produced only by fermentation or heat treatment of blue grapes. Fermentation takes longer and at a higher temperature than white wines, so red wines contain more tannins.
In addition to colour, there are other distinguishing features of wines. For example, according to the sugar content, we divide wines into dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines. We also divide wines by class and type into table wines, terrestrial, quality, with attributes, sparkling, effervescent, kosher and more.

Wines are an exception to other foods as the label does not indicate expiration. About the wine you can find on the labels information about the place and time of wine production, about its composition and characteristics.

Where wines are grown in the Czech Republic

The most famous area is South Moravia, which has favourable conditions for growing grapes. Above all, it is the calcareous soil composition and plenty of sunshine. However, there are several areas outside South Moravia, where the vines thrive. Well-known is Mělník’s Ludmila, made from vine grown on the slopes along the Elbe near Mělník. A completely untraditional area is the North Bohemian Most region, where wine has been grown in recent years in the reclaimed areas of former opencast mines.

Production methods

The wine can also be made in home-made conditions from any fruit. The most common domestic wines are currant, rosehip or sloe. The basis of large-scale wine production is of course grape wine, which is grown in vineyards. Fresh grapes are treated immediately after harvesting in the vineyard, which in our conditions is carried out roughly between early September (early varieties) and late November (late varieties), before pressing, by first separating the berries from the stalks. The pressed must is called mash, from which white wine is produced. The mash is allowed to macerate for about 6 hours for better extraction of the aromatic substances contained in the skin. The production of red wines differs from whites in that the mash is pressed after fermentation. Fermentation is the main stage of production and, to put it simply, it is the process of converting sugar into alcohol. Fermenting must is called half-fermented wine.

Tasting

Wine is best learned by tasting, which involves not only the taste senses, but also sight, smell, hearing and touch. Visually we evaluate colour, by smelling smell and taste and touch of taste wine. Hearing is used for tasting sparkling wines. The right wine should be clear, without dull tones or sludge. It is poured into a glass that we hold by the stem. Then we swirl it to aerate the wine and smell it. Taste so that the wine in the amount of a tablespoon in the mouth of about 10 seconds. The length of the taste after swallowing is essential. There are 4 basic taste directions: sweetness, salinity, acidity and bitterness.

If you have a taste of good wine while reading, visit our e-shop with wine.

The World of wines website contains two sections about wine:
About wine
Interesting facts about wine

This post is also available in: Czech

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