THE HISTORY OF WINE
Early in the development of agriculture men discovered how
to make alcoholic drinks from grapes and corn. The ancient
Egyptians drank both wine and beer, and the Greeks carried on a
lively trade in wine throughout the Mediterranean. Grapevines
are all of a single species although there are hundreds of
varieties adapted to different soils and climates.
Wine is the fermented juice of fresh grapes. The
juice of the wine grape contains sugar, and growths of
yeast form on the outside of the grape skins. In wine-making, the grapes are
crushed in a wine press and the yeast converts the sugar to alcohol, when there is
no air present, by a process called fermentation. Red wine is made from dark
grapes, and white wine from white grapes or from dark grapes whose skins have
been removed from the wine press at an early stage. The most famous wine
growing countries are France, Germany and Italy. Wine was made in England in the
Middle Ages, but the climate is not really suitable for grapevines. Wines must be
drunk quickly once they are opened; otherwise, bacteria will use the air to convert
the alcohol to vinegar. The bacteria are killed by a higher alcohol content than is
found in wine and that is why sherry and port, the specialties of Spain and Portugal
respectively, are fortified by the addition of spirits to make them last longer.
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