Basic Types of Wine

White Wine
White wine can be made from either black or
green grapes. The grape juice is squeezed out
and placed with yeast in large metal containers
to start the fermentation. When all the sugar has
turned to alcohol, the yeast drops to the bottom
of the tank.
The wine is then siphoned off and left it clear. it
may be placed in oak barrels, at this stage, where
it takes on some of the flavor of the wood. You may
notice this woody flavor with wines such as Char
donnay.

 Red Wine
Only black grapes can be used to make red wine.
The grapes are crushed and the juice and skins are
left to ferment together. The black skin of the grapes
gives red wine its colour and the essential tannin. When
you drink heavy, rich red wines, you will notice a sticky
dryness on your palate; this is caused by the tannin
which acts as a preservative. The tannin is also important
to the way the taste of red wine changes over time, even
long after it has been bottled.

 Rose Wine
Rose wine is made by allowing some of the color in skin
of the black grapes to tint the juice. About half way
through the fermentation period, the skins are taken out
and the remaining juice is left to finish fermenting.


Champagne
For most people, Champagne means celebration; anything
from a birthday to a successful business deal.
It was Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon, who first experi
mented with blending wines from this region to improve the
quality. When new bottles and cork stoppers were developed
in 1715, wine makers discovered how to give the wine its 'fizz'
with a second fermentation in the bottle. This made possible
champagne as we know it today.
All Champagne is cuvee, which means blended. The famous
champagne houses taste the young, un-ripe wines of the champagne
region and blend them to create a unique taste, then after the
second fermentation, the drink is store for at least two years in
huge limestone cellars before it is released for sale.