Food and Drink
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What wine really is (just in case you thought you knew)
   
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Sugar
Sweeter wines have more sugar than dry wines. During the fermentation process a lot of the natural fruit sugar is fermented. However, in some wines, residual (remaining) sugar may be higher and therefore a sweeter wine is produced.
Alcohol
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Tannin
Tannin comes from the skin of grapes. Therefore, tannin is much more fundamental as a taste component in red wine than in white. Too much tannin in a wine is not a good thing and can result in the wine tasting spoiled. However, tannin helps to preserve a wine, which means that some wines can be kept for years and even improve with age. A small amount of tannin is also a positive taste characteristic to regular wine drinkers, if a little over-whelming for novice wine drinkers.
Water
All wines contain water that has been extracted naturally from the grapes from which they were produced. Very rarely, if ever, would extra water be added to a wine. In fact, some wines will be criticized for being excessively watery if the other flavors are not sufficiently powerful.
Acid
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Fruit
This is what tends to differentiate one wine from the other. Fruity tastes are what we look for in a wine and different grapes will produce a myriad of fruit flavors. It is the combination of tastes that makes each wine unique and special.
Carbon Dioxide
During every fermentation process, carbon dioxide is produced. Most of this is normally released, however, in some wines a degree of fizz can be left in a wine to add a little extra to an otherwise very ordinary wine. Of course, in sparkling wines, the carbon dioxide is retained and is fundamental to the taste.
Oak
No longer an essential component of everyday quaffing wines, oak barrels are still used on occasions to add a vanilla, oaky flavor. Oak barrels can add an extra dimension to plain wines that will make them much more saleable and enjoyable.
All of these components make the wine that we see in our glasses. Next time you pour yourself a glass of wine, take some time to think about which elements are supporting your enjoyment, and which you could do without.
About the Author
Since Neil Best first pondered the question "Who made the first wine'" he's been recording his findings at http://www.goodglug.com