Wine is a soul-soothing indulgence that has long been part of our culture. But its storied history is more than just about delicious beverages.
It has helped us develop a deeper understanding of our world. Read on to learn more about the fascinating history of winemaking.
Origins
Wine like NAPA wines has been a favorite drink for over 7,000 years and has played an essential role in many cultures. It has been crucial to religious practice, fueled ancient economies, and encouraged cross-cultural trade. It is also a social beverage and has been associated with romance, philosophical discussion, and even orgies.
Early archaeological evidence suggests that wine was made by accident more than 7,000 years ago when grapes became damaged during harvesting and spontaneously fermented. Wine grape species then followed human populations as they migrated worldwide, mutating and adapting to different climates.
The modern winemaking process was primarily developed in the seventeenth century, with French scientist Louis Pasteur’s discovery of germ theory providing a significant scientific breakthrough that improved the quality of the product. Today, winemakers are engineers and artists using scientific principles to create the perfect bottle of wine. They use tools and equipment like the basket press, which consists of a cylinder of wooden slats on top of a fixed plate that can be forced downward by a central ratcheting threaded screw.
Varieties
The alcoholic beverage of choice for thousands of years, wine has had an immense impact on culture and history. It’s no wonder why so many myths, legends, and stories surround this magical fermented fruit – our natural love for it stems from its taste, nutritional value, and psychotropic effects.
It’s no secret that France, Italy, and Spain produce some of the world’s finest wines – Bordeaux, Champagne, and Sancerre, to name just a few. However, the story of wine begins with something other than those regions. Archaeological evidence points to the Caucasus Mountains of modern-day Armenia and Georgia as the first place where man and grapes cohabited, around 7000 B.C.
The Phoenicians spread wine and winemaking technology to Roman, Greek, and eventually European cultures. They would store their wine in Amphoras, ceramic jugs with two handles and a pointed base. The Romans were not fond of wine initially and only started drinking after the sacking of Carthage in 146 B.C. Then they got a hold of Cato’s first book on winemaking, and the love for wine began to take off.
Fermentation
Winemakers are scientists and artists working within established processes and procedures while adding their distinctive approach to create a unique wine for their vineyards. The main steps in the process are growing and harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, aging, and bottling.
Fermentation is the transformation of sugars in grape juice into alcoholic beverages by yeasts or other microbes. The first phase is primary fermentation, which lasts a short time. To kick off this process, the winemaker inoculates the must with carefully selected yeast strains.
After the yeasts work, the winemaker presses the must to separate the liquid from its solid components. The winemaker will also decide on the aging process, which can occur in barrels or bottles. This step is vital to preserving the integrity of the wine and enhancing its flavor profile. The winemaker will also add preservatives to prevent spoilage.
Bottling
The bottle is the final touch to the winemaking process. This is where the artisanal and craft aspects of wine come through.
Various bottling options are available to producers, from simple glass containers for single-serve consumption to larger 2-liter bottles designed for shareable occasions. Each bottling option has its benefits and drawbacks.
Manufacturers of bottling machinery offer integrated systems that perform more than one step in the process. These are called Monoblocs, Triblocs, or Quadblocs, depending on the number of separate machines in the system.
There is no doubt that a bottle of wine can be a soul-soothing indulgence, but we tend to forget that this beverage’s environmental impacts are not always trivial. Especially with the use of heavy plastics and glass bottles, the bottled wine industry faces some severe sustainability challenges. This is one of the reasons why the push towards lighter packaging could take hold faster in premium wine markets.
