Regulations Concerning Wine
Posted on March 3, 2010Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fruits, grains, or even other fermented foods like milk, potatoes, or ginger. Most often, however, the phrase refers to that made from fruits, and grapes in particular. Many varieties exist, with distinct regions achieving fame on the basis of their output, giving rise to labels such as “Napa Wine” and so forth. In latest years, however, fruit wines have become significantly popular, while in Asia, drinks made from fermented grains have always been imbibed. The nomads of Mongolia even drink fermented horse and goat milk!
All wine comes about through a multi-step process of cultivation. In the case of grapes, which is the most widely drunk type of all, some steps are overlooked, since the natural chemical composition of the fruit allows for self-fermentation, without the element of sugars, acids, or enzymes. Yeast is still used, however; it is added to crushed grapes to convert the sugar into alcohol. Distinct strains of yeast is used on different kinds of grapes to produce all the numerous kinds of wine found on the market today.
Having said all that, nevertheless, it should be observed that the word “wine” is really protected by law in many countries. Depending on the jurisdicition, there may be a number of regulations governing just what is allowed to be marketed as wine. And within the industry itself or among connoisseurs, there are differences of opinion regarding what is real wine and what is merely labeled wine. For example, the starch-based grains used to make alcoholic beverages in many parts of Asia, such as rice wine and sorghum wine, is often thought to be more like beer and spirits than actual wine. The word “wine” in such cases is considered more an adjective than a noun, used to refer to nothing more than the higher alcohol content rather than the production process..
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