Have you ever wondered what “low-alcohol wine” is, or how winemakers can decrease the alcohol content of wine? Here is a quick overview of wine alcohol content guidelines, the factors that influence wine alcohol levels, and the dynamics driving demand for “low-alcohol wine.” Q: What is “low-alcohol wine?” There is no universal guideline that defines…

Here’s a quick rundown of the process that converts grapes to wine… 1. Crushing and Destemming: Grapes are fed into a machine which crushes them between rollers and removes the stems. The remaining mass of juice, pulp, seeds and skin is known as “must.” 2. Fermentation: Yeast converts the sugar in the must into alcohol…

The bubbles that make sparkling wine so attractive are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. When grape juice is fermented, the sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas. If the gas cannot escape because the wine is in a sealed tank or bottle, it remains dissolved in the wine—and then when the…

Ever wonder where cork comes from or when it was first used to seal wine? Here’s some interesting information we learned from the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR). What is cork? Cork is the bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber L), a tree that grows in Mediterranean regions such as Spain, Italy, France, Morocco, Algeria…

Mead (“honey wine”) is believed by many historians to be the oldest fermented beverage, dating back to about 8,000 B.C. It was enjoyed by ancient people in Europe, Africa and Asia, and mentions of it can be found in ancient myths, folktales, hymns and sacred texts from around the world. To the ancients, mead was…

Wine isn’t only made from grapes. It’s also made from vegetables, berries, fruits, herbs and even flowers…all kinds of flowers, including dandelions, lavender, roses, honeysuckle and marigolds, to name just a few. Basically, any edible flower can be used to make wine, but only the petals/flower heads tend to be used because other parts of the…

In the wine industry where tradition matters almost as much as the product itself, seeing wine in a box can be jarring. However, economic and environmental concerns have led to the development of new packaging options. It’s not surprising—glass bottles aren’t very easy to recycle, their weight makes them expensive to transport, and producing them…

Do you want to know more about oak and winemaking? Here are the answers to some common questions… Why is oak the preferred wood for making wine barrels in which wine is aged? Oak is preferred because it is easily bent, strong enough to withstand wear and tear, slightly porous (which is desirable for aging wines…

Grapes are VINE TALK’s favorite fruit because of all the wonderful wines produced from their juice. We thought it would be fun to find out a little more about this fabulous fruit, so we did a little research and came up with these interesting facts we thought you might enjoy… •Grapes are berries. A cluster…

At the end of the day, wine, whether it is good or bad, red or white, cheap or expensive, is basically aged and fermented grape juice.   Turns out, grapes are not the only fruit used to make wine, nor is wine made from grapes the oldest form. That distinction belongs to honey wine, also known…