Making Wine Is An Ancient Art, A Modern Day Science and A World-wide Business

Thefascination of wine must surely lie not only in its variety but in its unique mix of age old art and science.

Wine making has been practiced in one form or another for many thousands of years now with jars found in Persia (present day Iran) dating back to 5,500 BC displaying evidence of grapes use for winemaking. In addition, jars from Jiahu in China dated to between 6000 and 7000 BC have also been found containing wine made from wild grapes.

But whether we are talking about ancient or modern wine making, many of the same conditions apply and comparable techniques are used because the chemistry of the grape is an everlasting quality.

With a few notable exceptions the grapes used in wine making grow only only between latitudes 30-50 degrees North and 30-45 degrees South of the equator. As opposed to the majority of other crops, grapes do not require an especially fertile soil and it is interesting to note that a thinner soil normally produces a small crop but also normally produces higher quality grapes.

Surprisingly, soils that are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients (conditions that are usually highly beneficial for the majority of plants) can produce grapes that are not suited to winemaking. These grapes are however often very good for eating, but lack the required amounts of minerals, sugars and acids for winemaking.

Without doubt, the finest wines come from soils which would be considered poor quality for other agricultural purposes. For example, the stellar wines from Bordeaux are made from grapes grown in gravelly soil, on a base of chalk or clay. The crop here is small, but the quality of the grapes is high. In this instance the pebbly soil permits good drainage, which is essential as grapevines require adequate but not excessive water, but the conditions also force the roots to penetrate deep into the earth where they are able to absorb a range of complex minerals.

Vineyards are also frequently found along river valleys, with slopes that provide plenty of sunshine. Vines in these cases are often of the European species vitis vinifera, from which a variety of well known wines are made, like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Viticulture, the name used for the practice of grape growing for winemaking, is one of the most complex agricultural undertakings today. A master vintner (today, sometimes called an oenologist), has got to be an expert in a wide range of subjects including fermentation, soil chemistry, climatology and several other ancient arts and modern sciences.

In addition to categorization by variety, wines are also classified by vinification methods (sparkling, still, fortified, ros�, blush), by region (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace etc.), by vintage and by several other methods.

Once the farmer, chemist and manufacturer have completed their job, the businessman then takes over and today wine is very big business. Wine sales in the United States alone run to over 600 million gallons, representing over $20 billion in consumer spending. Perhaps not surprisingly France is the world leader when it comes to exports with 22% of export volume, with Italy following close behind.

At the end of the day however, no matter how big a business wine making is today, it remains very much a balance of science, art and business and winemaking is most certainly not a venture to be undertaken by anyone of a timid nature.

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