Wine, which is one of the major types of alcoholic beverage, is considered by a lot of people to be beneficial to our health. Studies show that it decreases the chances of heart disease, kidney stones, and diabetes. The other two major types of alcoholic beverages are beer and spirits. Beer is generally fermented at a minimum of two weeks and aged for another two weeks and have alcohol content of four to six percent. Spirits, which are essentially unsweetened, are alcoholic beverages that are distilled at the end of a prolonged period of fermentation and aged again over a long period after the distillation process. They usually have alcohol content of at least twenty percent. Wines, which are considered as libation fit for gods, are fermented and aged for months or years and have nine to sixteen percent of alcohol content. Wines, either drank or used in cooking, complement the taste of most dishes of European and Mediterranean cuisines. They are known for their wonderful aroma and exquisite flavor. Most wines are expensive but with wine making kits of your own, you could make and enjoy them without shelling out much money!

History of Wine Making

The practice of wine making could be traced back to 6000 BC in Mesopotamia, 7000 BC in China, and 4500 BC in Europe. Wine makers used amphorae and similar implements as storage and fermenting vats. The favorite raw materials of the ancient worlds in making wines were grapes and rice. Archaeological finds include wine making kits that differed from one culture to another. Its history is closely linked with agriculture, which was the provider of the raw materials, and with cuisine or the art of food because wine was served in banquets and ordinary meals and were even used as ingredients in food to improve taste. Even the New Testament cites Jesus Christ breaking bread and drinking wine with his disciples. Bacchus, the Roman god of agriculture, fun, and theater, is even portrayed as a wine lover. In recent history, wine drinking became a status symbol because it symbolized refinement. Christianity on the rise popularized drinking as a non-barbaric act. Contemporarily, people who drink wine are perceived to be sophisticated, cultured, and moneyed.

A View on Vintage Wines

Among wine drinkers, vintage wines are considered as royalty. They are made from grapes that are unique because they are picked only during a particular time in a year. Longer periods of aging make the wine made out of the especially picked grapes taste better and acquire greater value in the eyes of wine lovers. The production of vintage wines is not limited to established producers, you could even make them using your own wine making kits.

The Process of Wine Making

Wines may be produced using grapes, apples, berries, barley, rice, and ginger. The process basically involves the following phases:

▪ Pressing of the base material such as grapes
▪ Fermentation of the raw material extracts with yeast
▪ Aging of the fermentation
▪ Separation of the dead yeast and other sediments from the fermentation
▪ Chilling of the strained fermentation
▪ Chilling and bottling

At home you may do these tasks and love them doing using inexpensive wine making kits that you could buy online. For better quality and prices, search for The Grape and Granary. Enjoy your wines even before you drink them!