What is Wine?

Wine is an Alcoholic Drink

made from

Fermented Grapes

During Alcoholic Fermentation, Yeast consumes the Sugar in the grapes and transforms it into Alcohol and Carbon Dioxide.

Alcoholic Fermentation

Sugar+Yeast = Alcohol+CO2

Alcohol stays in the wine. CO2 disappears in the air.

ABV (Alcohol by Volume)

ABV stands for Alcohol By Volume.

When a bottle is marked 12% ABV, it means that 12% of the wine is alcohol.

Wine Styles

Different grapes and production methods create different wine styles:

  • Red Wine
  • White Wine
  • Rosé Wine

Wine Types

Different production methods create different wine types:

  • Still wine
  • Sparkling Wine
  • Dessert Wine
  • Fortified Wine

The Wine Grape

The main components of a wine grape are:

  • Stem
  • Skin
  • Flesh (aka Pulp)
  • Seeds

The colour of a wine comes from the skin. The flesh inside a grape is colourless.

Grape Anatomy

Black Grapes

Red wines and Rosé wines are made from black grapes.

The skin of black grapes has a dark color (blue, violet, red).

Red wines get their color from the juice fermenting together with the skins.

White Grapes

White wines and Orange wines are made from white grapes.

The skin of white grapes has light color (yellow, green).

White wines get no color from the skins. The skins are pressed off before fermentation.