Essay on Wine Culture Appreciation

Wine is a living body. It has the richest and most balanced spirit. It is flying and calm, connecting the sky and the earth, and is related to all other plants. Compare. Below is a wine culture appreciation paper shared with you, welcome to refer to it!

Abstract:

The famous French chemist Martin Chartrand-Courdeau (1772-1838) once said: "Wine reflects human beings." It shows us many things in the history of civilization, such as religion, the universe, nature and life. It is an encyclopedia involving life and death, aesthetics, society and politics. "Drinking Life, wine has been involved in our lives and has penetrated us. life. Tasting red wine is like tasting life. Only by trying it will you understand what red wine brings to you, not only the mood, but also nobility, romance and health. Wine has developed to this day, with a wide variety of varieties and a broad and profound culture. Learning Western food appreciation - wine, then how should we understand wine, what kind of culture does wine contain, how to look at the quality of wine and appreciate the pros and cons of wine?

Keywords: wine, wine culture, wine quality, wine appreciation

Wine is made from fresh grapes or grape juice through full or partial fermentation. Alcoholic beverages with a strength (volume fraction) greater than or equal to 7%.

Types of wine

Based on the color of the finished product, wine can be divided into three categories: red wine, white wine and pink wine. Red wine can be subdivided into dry red wine, semi-dry red wine, semi-sweet red wine and sweet red wine. White wine is subdivided into dry white wine, semi-dry white wine, semi-sweet white wine and sweet white wine. In terms of brewing methods, it can be divided into four categories: wine, sparkling wine, fortified wine and flavored wine.

Wine History and Legends

Legend has it that there was a Persian king in ancient times who loved to eat grapes. He once pressed the grapes tightly and stored them in a large clay pot, marking them "poisonous" to prevent others from stealing them. eat. After a few days, one of the king's concubines got tired of life and drank a drink made from grapes in a pottery jar marked "poisonous" without permission. The taste was so delicious that instead of ending her life, she was extremely excited. , this concubine is full of confidence in life again. She filled a cup and presented it to the king, who also appreciated it very much after drinking it. Since then, the king has issued an order to specifically collect ripe grapes and compress them in containers for fermentation in order to obtain wine.

Effects of wine

Grapes are highly nutritious, and wine made from grapes also contains a variety of amino acids, minerals and vitamins, which the human body must supplement and absorb. nutritional supplements. There are about 600 known ingredients in wine that are beneficial to the human body. The nutritional value of wine has also been widely recognized. According to experts, the roots of grapevines over 25 years old are deeply rooted in the underground soil, and they absorb more minerals and trace elements. The wine brewed from this kind of fruit has the most nutritional value.

Nutritional effects of wine

Wine is a high-end beverage with a variety of nutritional components. Moderate drinking of wine can directly affect the body's nervous system and increase muscle tone. In addition, the various amino acids, minerals and vitamins contained in wine can be directly absorbed by the human body. Therefore, wine can play a good role in maintaining and regulating the physiological functions of the human body. It is especially effective for those who are weak, suffer from sleep disorders and the elderly.

Wine contains a variety of inorganic salts. Among them, potassium can protect the myocardium and maintain heart beating; calcium can calm nerves; magnesium is a protective factor for cardiovascular disease. Magnesium deficiency can easily cause coronary arteriosclerosis. These three elements are important components of human bones and muscles; manganese has the functions of blood coagulation and synthesis of cholesterol and insulin.

Wine culture

1. The choice of wine glasses. The ideal wine glass should be a thin, colorless and transparent tulip glass with a retracted rim. And there must be a four to five centimeter long cup base. This can prevent the temperature of the hand from indirectly affecting the temperature of the wine when holding the cup, and it also makes it easier to observe the color of the wine.

2. The choice of wine. If you drink wine without appreciating its color and aroma, you are giving up the most basic enjoyment of drinking. In addition, there are steps to drinking: you must stop talking before picking up the glass. Before tasting, raise the wine glass upward and watch the full, clear and bright color of the wine with your eyes. Gently shake the wine glass to let the aroma of the wine spread; then smell it with your nose, and then start tasting.

3. Food and wine. The matching of food and wine is also a science. Some people emphasize harmony and unity, while others emphasize contrast. For those who lack knowledge about food and wine pairing, it is generally not wrong to pair wine from the same region with local food. Low-alcohol red wine is often used to accompany fish. Most cheeses and wines have to be paired peacefully. Desserts are considered fatal if paired with champagne, but Alsace's Muscat wine and asparagus are paired together. Considered a perfect match!

4. Grape-picking culture.

When talking about wine culture, we cannot fail to mention the culture of grape picking. The grape harvest is one of the most important events in French agriculture. Picking grapes under the hot sun is hard work, but full of joy. Happy people can be seen everywhere and happy singing can be heard everywhere. Every year when new wines are released, French restaurants get busy. Restaurants of all sizes across the country began to sell various brands of new wines, and friends, family, colleagues, and lovers would go to restaurants to get together and taste the new wines. The festive atmosphere of harvest is everywhere in the air.

Wine quality Sugar, acid, tannin, pigments and aromatic substances are the factors that constitute the quality of wine grapes.

Water and sugar are the main components of grapes, which are the material basis for grapes to ferment into wine under the action of yeast. Alcohol is a product of the fermentation of sugars in grape fruits. Under the current fermentation process, about 17 grams of sugar will increase the alcohol content by 1% for every 1 liter of grape juice fermented. Therefore, the amount of sugar in the grape fruit is a factor that restricts the alcohol content of the wine after fermentation.

The acid content in grapes also has a great impact on wine. In wine, in addition to balancing the taste, acid also has the function of antioxidant and keeping the wine delicious. In terms of taste experience, moderate acidity will make the wine sweet but not greasy, and balance the alcohol, sweetness, and fruit flavor of the grapes in the taste, thereby increasing the comfort of the taste.

Tannin and pigments also play a significant role in the characteristics and flavor of red wine. Tannins are good antioxidants. At the same time, its astringency and astringency contribute to the wine's rich, thick quality. Moderate and excellent tannins feel wonderful. The color of wine comes from pigments in grapes. The pigment of grapes determines the color and temperament of red wine.

Aromatic substances are one of the substances that create the flavor of wine. The more aromatic substances there are, the stronger the flavor of the wine.

Although tannins, pigments and aromatic substances account for a very small proportion in the entire material composition of grapes. But they contribute very significantly to the character and flavor of the wine. Tannins, aromatic substances and pigments are more present in grape skins, so sometimes people think that the thickness of grape skins will affect the color and flavor of wine.

In fact, in addition to brewing technology, the content and proportion of the five major elements in the grape fruit play a very important role in influencing the quality of wine. It can be said that the sugar, acid, tannin, aromatic substances and pigments in grape fruits are indicator substances for judging the quality of wine grapes.

Wine Appreciation The steps to appreciate wine are as follows:

1. Look. Shake the wine glass and observe the slowly flowing wine legs; then tilt the glass 45 degrees and observe the color of the wine and the edge of the liquid level (ideally under natural light). This step can determine the maturity of the wine. Generally speaking, white wine is colorless when it is young, but as it ages, its color will gradually change from light yellow with a slight green reflection; to mature straw color, golden yellow, and finally into gold and copper. color. If it turns golden and bronze, it means it is too old and not suitable for drinking. Red wine, on the contrary, will gradually lighten in color over time. When young, it is deep red with purple, then gradually turns to true red or cherry red, then to red, orange-red or brick red, and finally reddish brown. .

2. Smell. After shaking the wine, put your nose deeply into the cup and inhale deeply for at least 2 seconds. Repeat this action to distinguish multiple smells, and analyze the aroma of the wine from three aspects as much as possible. Strength: weak, moderate, obvious, strong, extra strong. Texture: simple, complex or pleasant, disgusting. Smell is one of the ways to identify wine. Characteristics: fruity, pungent, plant, mineral, and spice flavors. The specific operation is divided into the following two steps: The first step is to put your nose into the cup while the wine surface in the cup is still. The aroma you smell is relatively elegant and light, which is the most diffuse aroma in the wine. The second step is to hold the glass column with your hands and shake the tasting glass clockwise to make the wine rotate in a circle in the glass and the wine hangs on the wall of the glass. At this time, most of the aromatic substances in the wine can volatilize. After stopping shaking, smell the aroma for the second time. The aroma you smell at this time is fuller, more abundant, and richer, which can reflect the inherent quality of the wine more truly and accurately.

3. Taste. Take a sip and half-gargle, allowing the wine to fully mix with the air and contact all parts of the mouth; when you capture the charming aroma of red wine, the wine will be like a pearl in your mouth It's smooth and tight, as smooth and lingering as silk, so you can't bear to give it up. At this time, tannin, sweetness, acidity, roundness, and ripeness can be summarized and analyzed. You can also swallow the wine to feel the final taste and aftertaste of the wine.

4. Vomit. Good wine needs the appreciation of a close friend. If you want to understand her and appreciate her perfectly, sometimes you have to give up something. This is the last step in the appreciation process: vomiting. When the wine fully contacts the taste buds in your mouth, and your tongue feels its sour, sweet, and bitter taste, then spit the wine out. What you want to feel at this time is the lingering aroma and aftertaste of the wine in your mouth. The lingering, rich aroma and lingering finish indicate that this is a good red wine. It has a long cultural history and a lot of food, wine and fun. As the saying goes: "Glow-in-the-dark cup of fine wine", in order to set off beautiful things, you must use beautiful things to display. Learn about wine, understand its cultural essence, know its quality characteristics, and understand its appreciation principles.

There is no end to learning, learn various cultures and expand your social horizons.

References

[1] Wine. Baidu Knows.

[2] Guo Yongliang, Zhang Lizhong and Li Xinbang "Chinese and Foreign Grapes and Wine" 2003 Issue 4

[3] Li Hua, Wang Hua, Yuan Chunlong and others, "Wine Chemistry" Science Press, 2005 Issue 1

[4] Jeremy Oliver, "Enjoying Wine with Jeremy 》China Tourism Publishing House, 1st Edition, April 2009

[5] Ye Fucheng and Zhang Yi "Red Wine for Health" Qingdao Publishing House, 2nd Edition, July 2009

[6] Wu Shuxian "The Art of Wine Pairing" Century Publishing Group Shanghai People's Publishing House October 2006 2nd Edition

[7] Ikeda Bookstore "Wine Talk" Liaoning Science and Technology Press March 2012 1st Edition P67- P96

Types

There are many varieties of wine. Due to different grape cultivation and wine production process conditions, the product styles vary.

According to my country’s latest wine standard GB15037-2006, wine is an alcoholic drink made from fresh grapes or grape juice through full or partial fermentation, with an alcohol content of not less than 7.0%. .

According to the color of the wine

1. White wine: Made from isolated fermentation of white grapes or grapes with red skin and white flesh. The color of the wine is slightly yellowish with green, almost colorless or light yellow, straw yellow, or golden. Any color such as dark yellow, earthy yellow, brownish yellow or brownish yellow does not meet the color requirements of white wine.

2. Red wine: made from grapes with red skin and white flesh or red skin and flesh, which are fermented by a mixture of grape skins and juice. The color of the wine is naturally deep ruby ??red, ruby ??red, purple red or garnet red. Any yellowish brown, tan or earthy brown color does not meet the color requirements of red wine.

3. Rosé wine: Made from skin-fermented or separated fermentation of colored red grapes. The color of the wine is light red, peach, orange or rose. Any color that is too dark or too light does not meet the requirements of rosé wine. This type of wine has freshness and obvious fruit aroma in flavor, and the tannin content should not be too high. Muscat grapes, Pinot Noir, Carignan, French Blue and other varieties are suitable for making rosé wine. In addition, blending red and white wine in a certain proportion can also be regarded as rosé wine.

According to sugar content

1. Dry wine: The sugar content is less than 4g/L, the sweetness cannot be tasted, and it has a clean, elegant, harmonious fruity and wine aroma.

2. Semi-dry wine: The sugar content is 4-12g/L, slightly sweet, the wine tastes clean, elegant, mellow, and has a harmonious and pleasant fruity and wine aroma.

3. Semi-sweet wine: The sugar content is between 12 and 45g/L, and it has a sweet, smooth and pleasant fruity and wine aroma.

4． Sweet wine: The sugar content is greater than 45g/L, with a sweet, mellow, comfortable and smooth taste, and a harmonious fruity and wine aroma.

According to carbon dioxide content

1. Still wine: Wine that does not contain its own fermentation or artificially added CO2 is called still wine, that is, still wine.

2. Sparkling wine and sparkling wine contain a certain amount of CO2 gas and are divided into two categories:

①Sparkling wine: The CO2 contained is produced by adding sugar to the wine and then fermenting it. The sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France is called Champagne and is famous in the world. According to international practice, similar products produced in other regions cannot be called champagne, but are generally called sparkling wine.

②Sparkling wine: Adding CO2 to wine artificially is called sparkling wine. The effect of CO2 makes the wine more fresh, pleasant and refreshing.

According to brewing method

1. Natural wine: Fermentation is carried out entirely using grape raw materials. No sugar or alcohol is added during the fermentation process. The method of increasing the sugar content of raw materials is used to increase the alcohol content of the finished product and control the residual sugar content.

2. Fortified wine: After fermentation into raw wine, adding brandy or deodorized alcohol to increase the alcohol content is called fortified dry wine. Fortified sweet wines that add both brandy or alcohol and sugar to increase the alcohol content and sugar content are called fortified sweet wines. In our country, they are called rich sweet wines.

3. Aromatized wine: made by soaking aromatic plants in original grape wine and then blending it. It is an appetizer-type wine, such as vermouth, clove wine, and osmanthus aged wine; or made by soaking medicinal materials in original grape wine and carefully blended, it is a tonic wine, such as Ginseng wine.

4． Grape distilled wine: Distilled from high-quality grape varieties, or distilled from pressed grape skin residue after fermentation, or distilled from the skin residue separated from grape pulp by a grape juice separator, added to sugar water and fermented. Generally, the one that is carefully blended is called brandy, and the one that is not blended is called grape shochu.

According to alcohol content

1. Soft drink wine (or still wine): divided into two colors: red and white. This type of wine is called table wine, and its alcohol content is below 14 degrees.

2. Sparkling wine (SPARKING): produced in CHAMPAGNE, BURGUNDY, MOSELLE, the United States, etc., with an alcohol content not exceeding 14 degrees.

3. Fortified wine/fortified wine (FORTIFIED): types include SHERRY, PORT, MADEIRA, MARSALA, MALAGA, etc. The alcohol content is 14 to 24 degrees.

4． Spiced wine (AROMATIZED): There are red and white vermouth wines (VERMOUTH) produced in Italy and France, as well as quinine-flavored wines, etc., with an alcohol content of 15.5 to 20 degrees.

According to grape juice content

1. Whole juice wine is brewed from 100% grape juice, represented by dry red and dry white.

2. Half-juice wine and half-juice wine have a certain market in China, but they have no place in the international market.

According to grape source

1. Home wine: wine made from artificially cultivated wine grapes. The product is directly named after the wine. Most domestic wine manufacturers mainly produce domestic wines.

2. Mountain wine: wine made from wild grapes. The product is named after mountain wine or wine.

Aroma

Classified by aroma source

Type I aroma: comes from the aroma substances produced during the growth of grape berries, also called varietal aroma. Although the overall composition of most wine grape varieties is very similar, the aroma composition and flavor differences between them are very significant. Most of these differences are due to relatively small changes in the proportions between the different grape berry components.

A type of aroma mainly includes chemical substances such as terpenes, alcohols, and carbonyl substances, among which terpenes have been widely studied. Studies have shown that terpenes are abundant in wine grapes, and the bound terpenes mainly exist in the form of glycosides. These substances will gradually transform into aromatic substances during the fermentation and aging process of wine making.

According to the types of aroma components contained in different wine grapes when they are mature, wine grapes can be divided into three varieties: rose aroma, non-rose aroma and non-aromatic. The terpenes of rose-flavored wine grapes mainly include more than twenty kinds of monoterpenes, among which 3,7-dimethyl-1,5,7-octatrien-3-ol, a unique aroma substance, was discovered. . Non-rose aromatic grape varieties contain many types of terpenes, but the content is very small.

Type II aroma: produced by wine grapes during the alcoholic fermentation process, also known as fermentation aroma, mainly including alcohols, esters, aldehydes and organic acids. The wine making process is actually a complex microbial metabolic process. Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolizes sugars in unfermented grape juice into ethanol, carbon dioxide and other by-products, and also converts sulfur- and nitrogen-containing substances into wine aroma substances. Amino acids and sugars can produce higher alcohols such as isoamyl alcohol, isobutanol and phenylethyl alcohol under the metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Acyl CoA can synthesize higher alcohol esters with higher alcohols or fatty acid esters with ethanol under the catalysis of esterase. The higher fatty acids in wine can produce acids through cleavage reactions or oxidation reactions of alcohols, aldehydes and other substances. Through enzymatic or acidolysis, bound terpenes can be converted into free states, and thiols can also be hydrolyzed into thiols, which are components of the second-class aroma of wine.

The type and content of the second type of aroma are mainly affected by the sugar content of the grapes, the type of yeast used for fermentation and the fermentation conditions. Type II aromas can give wine a dry bread, yeast or fermentation smell. Some Type II aromas decline rapidly or even disappear during the aging and storage of wine. Therefore, most wines with strong Type II aromas are new wines.

The third type of aroma: also known as the aging aroma of wine. Wine aroma and flavor are formed through complex interactions between various aromatic substances and changing environmental and biological factors. However, during the aging process in oak barrels or in the bottle, wine is a dynamic product. Usually, the aging process causes chemical reactions such as oxidation or esterification of compounds in wine, causing the primary and secondary aromas to gradually disappear, forming aroma substances unique to aged wine or aroma substances produced due to the deterioration of wine. In particular, the concentration of branched-chain fatty acid ethyl esters changes during the aging process, and the aging of wine residues can reduce the content of aromatic substances representing grape fruit aroma and increase the content of higher alcohols and volatile fatty acids." When aging wine in oak barrels , the aroma substances and tannins in oak will dissolve in the wine, which greatly increases the richness of the wine aroma.

Active odor classification

For wine aroma components. The Spurrier method is used to classify aromas into the following eight types:

(1) Animal smell: musky smell, fat smell of old wine, meaty smell, etc.

(2) ) Balsam smell: mainly the smell of various resins.

(3) Burnt smell: various burnt and smoky smells, as well as the aroma formed due to the changes in tannins that occur during wine aging or the substances in the oak barrels dissolving into the wine.

(4) Chemical odors: Undesirable odors such as sulfur, vinegar, and oxidation are common in wine. These odors will reduce the quality of wine to varying degrees.

(5) Spice smell: mainly include laurel, pepper, licorice and mint. Spice smell is more common in high-quality wines that have been aged for a long time.

(6) Floral fragrance: All floral fragrances, the most common ones are hawthorn, rose, jasmine, warbler, geranium, fork tree and grape blossom.

(7) Fruity aroma: All fruity aromas, the most common ones are raspberry, cherry, pomegranate, gooseberry, apricot, pear, banana, walnut and fig.

(8) Plant and mineral odors: mainly include smells such as grass, fallen leaves, roots, wet straw and soil.

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