Chapter 1- What is Wine?

international varietals

also called classic varietals, they are grape varieties that are most familar to and popular with wine drinkers around the world -they include: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah

Viticulture

grape growing (Romans took this to a new height)

18th century characteristics

improvements in glass manufacturing development of sparkling wine

Vintage

the year in which the grapes for a wine were harvested

Louis Pasteur

used wine in experiments and determined that the fermentation was caused by microorganisms

Volstead Act

18th amendment implementing the prohibition of the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages

Ancient Egypt (main characteristics)

3000 BC winemaking from grapes had begun artwork shown how winemaking was done wine= Egyptian Aristocracy wine in burial chamber for afterlife

What winemaking region was included in Eleanor of Aquitaine's dowry? And what estates were combined to make the single largest holding of vineyards of its time in 1152 by Henry II, King of England?(Twelfth Century to modern history)

Bordeaux in southwestern France and Loire Valley

Dionysus

Greek God of wine

Bacchus

Roman God of wine

Who began the practice of trellising vines off the ground by training them to grow up trees?

The Romans, this practice remains in parts of Italy and Portugal

Enology

The study of winemaking

What species of grape is most often used for the production of wine?

Vitis Vinifera

Champagne

a sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France

When was wine first consumed (popular belief)

areas of Persia (modern day Iran) around 5000 to 6000 BC

Middle Ages (main characteristics)

church kept control of winemaking pressed in monasteries viticulture and enology improved by wealth inequities between peasants and wealthy

boom and bust

economic cycle characterized by periods of overproduction and underproduction

When was the Church's vineyard holdings throughout Europe broken up and passed into private hands? (12th-modern history)

end of the 17th century

Greece (main characteristics)

expansion of Greek Empire led to vineyards and winemaking to other regions made from dried grapes or raisins=heavy sweet, syrup like liquid stored in amphorae

Amphorae

jar with an oval body, narrow neck, and 2 handles used by the ancient Greeks to transport wine

Fermentation

natural process that acts to stabilize grape juice and protect it from spoilage, allowing it to be stored as wine for later consumption

How long did it take for the French to dislodge the English from their precious vineyards? (12th Century to modern history)

nearly 3 centuries, wars between 1337 and 1453 (hundred years war)

Prohibition

period of time from 1920-1933 when the purchase or sale of alcohol was illegal in the United States -most wineries went out of business -few were allowed to make sacramental wine or medicinal "wine tonics" -American's tastes changed because wine drinkers became used to homemade wines

Wine

result from processing and subsequent fermentation of the juice from grapes

phylloxera

root-eating aphid native to North America that devastated the vineyards of Europe and California in the late nineteenth century

Roman Era (main characteristics)

technological advances in viticulture and enology first-rate barrel makers expansion of vineyards popularity of Christianity, also wine medicinal qualities of wine Empire declined in size and influence since 3rd century