Port wine is a fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern part of Portugal. It is a sweet red wine that usually comes as dessert wine; it can be in dry, semi-dry and white variations. Just like with Champagne the names Port and Porto can be applied only to wines produced [...]
Wine and Religion – Islam and Judaism
All of the three of the world’s main religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam have their own relationship with wine. While it is accepted by the first two, wine is radically rejected in Islam. But everything has a reason, so let’s take a closer look at each case. Islam Probably everyone knows that alcohol in [...]
Wine and Religion – Christianity
After the invention of wine in the Caucasian mountains, its spread into Middle and Near East and then a glorious conquest of Europe in bags of Roman legionnaires, it seemed that no one could do more for this drink, but this impression was wrong. A new religion born on the turn of the millennia – [...]
Mulled Wine – A Hot Variation
After being introduced and adapted in Western Europe wine naturally passed a number of adaptations including a very interesting climatic variation – mulled wine. When wine spread to regions that have cold winters like Great Britain, Germany, France and Scandinavia, local population in time tried to heat wine to create a form of hot alcoholic [...]
Origins of Wine – Roman Empire – Part 3
Of all the civilizations of the Ancient World the Romans without doubt made the biggest contribution in the history of wine and practically spread this beverage to the most of Europe. Initially winemaking was introduces in the south-eastern part of Italy by Greeks. The region was perfect for vineries and local Italians quickly mastered the [...]
Origins of Wine – China, Near East and Greeks – Part 2
After the process of winemaking was invented, somewhere around the ancient times wine became an established product at least in three regions – Near East, China and Mediterranean. And while it seemed to be a good moment in the history of wine it was actually a dangerous one, because only one of the three regions [...]
Origins of Wine – Ancient Times – Part 1
Wine has been accompanying people since the ancient times and over centuries it became something even more serious than just a beverage or a symbol of celebrations. It became one of the early wonders of ancient world that eventually lead people to understanding of fermentation processes and gave a push to the progress of humanity. [...]
Few Interesting Things About Champagne
Champagne or sparkling wine is often labeled as a wine that was invented by mistake mostly due to a not quite perfect secondary fermentation. But in fact everyone familiar with winemaking knows how problematic this process is and that champagne could hardly be a result of just a bad batch with good taste. Most of [...]
Making Wine at Home – Your Step by Step Guide – Part 3
In the third part of our article we will approach some basics on how to change the taste of your home made wine. There are three easiest ways of changing the taste of your product – stems, sugar and yeast. Stems The first experiment that you can try is to leave some stems while you [...]
Making Wine at Home – Your Step by Step Guide – Part 2
3. Fermentation and Storing At this stage of the process you have some amount of mashed grapes, which are the basis of your wine. More advanced recipes include some fermentation already on this stage, but since it is the basic guide we will stick to the easiest way. Just like in previous stages everything touching [...]
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History of French Wine – The Beginnings
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Vermouth Fortified Wine
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Barossa Valley Wine Region
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The Great French Wine Blight
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Region Review – Napa Valley Wineries
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New World Wines – South America
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New World Wines – South Africa
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Champagne In Popular Cultures
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New World Wines – North America
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New World Wines – Australia