Wine

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Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the type of wine being produced.

Although other fruits such as apples and berries can also be fermented, the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically known as fruit wine or country wine (not to be confused with the French term vin de pays). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (i.e., sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer and spirit more than wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol content, rather than production process. The commercial use of the English word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions.

Wine has a rich history dating back to around 6000 BC and is thought to have originated in areas now within the borders of Georgia and Iran. Wine probably appeared in Europe at about 4500 BC in what is now Bulgaria and Greece, and was very common in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Wine has also played an important role in religion throughout history. The Greek god Dionysos and the Roman equivalent Bacchus represented wine, and the drink is also used in Christian and Jewish ceremonies such as the Eucharist (also called the Holy Communion) and Kiddush.

The word "wine" derives from the Proto-Germanic "*winam," an early borrowing from the Latin vinum, "wine" or "(grape) vine," itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European stem *win-o- (cf. Hittite: wiyana ,Lycian: Oino, Ancient Greek οῖνος - oînos, Aeolic Greek ϝοίνος - woinos).

For more information about Wine, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with red wine


Controlling key enzyme in brain offers clue for future obesity treatment

Controlling key enzyme in brain offers clue for future obesity treatment

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 1

The Sirt1 enzyme in the body has generated enormous attention as a possible secret to living longer. Some scientists believe that fasting and drinking wine appear to aid in this quest because both likely activate ...





Search results for red wine


NORAD is tracking Santa Claus's progress

Follow Santa Claus, courtesy Google and NORAD

Technology / Internet

created 19 hours ago | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Santa Claus is coming to your town -- and NORAD is tracking him as he drops off presents around the world. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which monitors the North American airspace, on Thursday ...


Genomic toggle switches divide autoimmune diseases into distinct clusters

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Genomic switches can predispose an individual to one set of autoimmune disorders but protect the same person against another set of them, scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have found.


Keck Telescopes Take Deeper Look at Planetary Nurseries

Keck Telescopes Take Deeper Look at Planetary Nurseries

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory have peered far into a young planetary system, giving an unprecedented view of dust and gas that might eventually form planets similar to Jupiter, ...


Genomic differences identified in common skin diseases

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- If you have dry skin, wet it, if wet skin, dry it. This has been a general rule of dermatology for centuries, but scientists are working to develop more precise treatments for the dozen-plus inflammatory ...


The Formation of Blue Stragglers

Vampires and collisions rejuvenate stars

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 2

Stars in globular clusters are generally extremely old, with ages of 12-13 billion years. However, a small fraction of them appear to be significantly younger than the average population and, because they ...


First adhere, then detach and glide forward

First adhere, then detach and glide forward

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

How do one-celled parasites move from the salivary gland of a mosquito through a person's skin into red blood cells? What molecular mechanisms form the basis for this very important movement of the protozoa? ...


Filipino troops try to keep volcano evacuees safe (AP)

Filipino troops try to keep volcano evacuees safe

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(AP) -- Police and soldiers donned Santa hats and red clown noses and belted out songs in crammed evacuation centers in hopes of keeping 47,000 displaced residents from sneaking back to their homes on the ...


Anemia drug not helpful for kidney disease patients

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

An international study authored by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has concluded that the anemia drug darbepoetin alfa works no better than a placebo in several other applications previously thought to be promising.


Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 4

More than a hundred years after its discovery, the limbs and vertebrae of a fossil have been pulled off the shelf at the American Museum of Natural History to revise the view of early carnivore lifestyles. ...


Kew botanists discover more than 250 new plant species in 250th anniversary year

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Giant rainforest trees, rare and beautiful orchids, spectacular palms, minute fungi, wild coffees and an ancient aquatic plant are among more than 250 new plant and fungi species discovered and described by botanists from ...



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