Alcohol

During FERMENTATION, yeasts convert the natural sugar in grapes to alcohol (also known as ETHANOL or ETHYL ALCOHOL) and CARBON DIOXIDE. The riper the grapes, the more sugar they contain and the higher the potential alcohol content of the wine will be. Wines with low alcohol (German rieslings, for example) are LIGHT-BODIED. Wines with high alcohol (many California chardonnays) are FULL-BODIED and almost CHEWY. When a high alcohol wine has too little FRUIT and a low ACID content, it tastes out of BALANCE and gives off a HOT or slightly burning sensation in your mouth.

Retsina is a pungent, resin-flavored wine from Greece. Which of the following tree resins are used to create it?

A. Cypress

B. Pomegranate

C. Olive

D. Pine

To make retsina, small amounts of resin from the Aleppo pine tree are added to savatiano grape juice as it ferments. Retsina’s distinctive piney flavor with a turpentine-like aroma is delicious when paired with many Greek meze (small appetizers served like Spanish tapas). Resinated wines have a long history in Greece: traces of pine resin have been found in Greek wine amphorae dating back to the 13^th century B.C. Now, retsina is made all over the country, although most is made in Attica, the wine region that surrounds Athens.

12

Number of grapes eaten by New Year’s Eve revelers in Spain and parts of Latin America, to ward off bad luck in the coming year. The tradition of the twelve lucky grapes, or uvas de… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed