The Ancient History of Wine

It is very obvious that wine and history have greatly influenced each other. The earliest scientific evidence of grapes is the Fossil vines which are millions of years old. The first written account of wine vines is in the Old Testament of the Bible. It states that Noah had planted a vineyard and made wine.

An ancient Persian tale tells the story of a lady of the court who discovers wine by accident. The princess, had lost favor with the King so she decides to attempt to poison herself by eating some table grapes that had spoiled in a jar. After eating them, thinking that this would kill her, instead she became intoxicated, giddy and quite sleepy. After waking from her nap, she discovered that she felt very different about the stresses that had been making her life miserable. These spoiled grapes had become a source of relief for her and she became a changed person with a mild and favorable demeanor. She regained her favor with the King and shared with him her discovery who inturn ordered the increased production of these spoiled grapes. It was established that grape cultivation and wine drinking had started around 4000BC. The first developments were in Mesopotamia, Persia and around the Caspian Sea, also writings were found in the ancient Egyptian tombs proving that wine was being consumed. The Egyptians had recognized the difference in wine quality and had cultivated the first arbors and pruning methods.

Wine came to Europe during the spread of Greek civilization around 1600BC. Wine became very important to Greece's economy and was used by physcians, including Hippocrates, for medicinal purposes. The Greeks also started to add herbs and spices to curb the bitterness of the spoiled grapes. The spread of viniculture in Western Europe was primarily due to the strong influence of the Romans. Starting around 1000BC, the Romans made strides in the classifying of grape varieties and colors. They identified diseases and the preference of different types of soil. They may also have been the first to use glass bottles, as glassblowing had become more common during this period.

The Roman Empire started exported the wine in barrels to Spain, Germany, England and France. It wasn't long before these countries began developing their own vineyards and exporting their own barrels. To eliminate competition with the local wineries, the Romans forbade the import of French wines. Over the next few centuries France dominanated the world wine market. The Monks became responsible for establishing many vineyards in Burgundy, Champagne, and the Rhine Valley.

During the Reign of Henry II, England had been the principal customer of Bordeaux. At the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453, their was little to no trade of wine between England and France. Ultimately political conflicts limited the export of French wines and England began importing their wines from Portugal. They discovered and developed a great love of Port wine.

Explorations and conquests brought wine to Mexico, Argentina and South Africa in the late 1500's. Although there were many attempts to grow wine vineyards along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, after 2 to 3 seasons the vines would die off and no one took the time to investigate why they were dying in these areas. Mexico and California vineyards didn't seem to have these problems.As in Europe, vineyards were under the care of the Church missions and in 1769, a Franciscan missionary Priest planted the first California vineyard in San Diego. From there Father Serra established eight more missions and vineyards until his death in 1784. Since then, he has been proclaimed the "Father of California Wine" The variety he planted from the original Mexican plantings became known as the "Mission Grape" that dominated the California wine production until the late 1880's. Part I of 2. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Ancient-History-of-Wine&id=7657766

How To Do A Fine Wine Tasting

Determining the quality of a wine is an art, and it is an art that everyone can learn. Here are a few, simple, basic ways to tell if you are tasting an excellent wine. More important, you can explain why you like or do not like a specific wine. This way you can really taste the wine, you can remember it,and you can determine if you want to continue drinking this wine.

Wine tasting involves five simple steps. Look at the wine, swirl it, smell it, taste it, then consider it.

Take a piece of white paper and a clear wine glass. Pour your wine into the glass. Notice that wine is poured up to the widest area of the glass. This gives the wine a change to breathe and release its aroma. Now, for either white or red white, look at its color. Check to see if it is clear. Any cloudiness may indicate unwanted bacterial activity. If the wine is too sparkly, that may indicate a secondary fermentation which you also want to avoid. If it has any hint of brown tinge, it has oxidized, and you will not want to drink it. Notice that white wine ranges in color from pale straw to true yellow to pale pink depending upon the type of wine and the grape or mixture of grapes used. Red wine can range from a deep, dark burgundy to a more transparent, almost translucent, yet still opaque color. Enjoy the color.

Next, swirl the wine around in the glass. The wine takes up about half the wine glass and has plenty of room to swirl. Swirling the wine allows it to release its aroma. Take a few deep breaths. What do you smell? You don't want anything with a hint of mold or fungus. Assuming your wine smells good, what are the odors you are picking up? Think of fruits, citrus, apple, plum or berries, green plants, or herbs, such as cinnamon, pepper. Perhaps it smells to you of coffee or tobacco or leather or minerals. Any of these are common wine aromas, arising from its place of origin-its earth or terroir.

Now for the big one. Taste the wine. Allow it to rest for a moment in your mouth. Feel the wine in your whole mouth. The tip of the tongue detects sweetness and the sides of the tongue acidity. The center of the tongue feels the weight of the wine-light, medium or full-bodied. Think of it like milk. Does it feel like skim, whole milk or cream? This is important because, among other things, the weight of the wine tells the alcohol content. Less for light, medium and then most alcoholic is full-bodied wine.

Your taste will also tell you about the acidity of the wine as well as the balance and smoothness. If you are tasting a red wine, then you must also consider the tannins, an astringent, bitter quality which can change texture in your mouth. Tannins can feel like velvet or suede or rough sandpaper. If you are puckering, it's possibly a cheap, rough wine. Good wine is smooth, though often feeling dry on your tongue.

At this point, you will realize that the smell of the wine hinted at its taste. If you smelled a whisper of mineral, do you taste it as well? Does the wine have a light, citrusy taste or a deep plummy taste? The experience of wine drinking is a total experience, involving the eyes, the nose and the mouth. For the wine to be memorable, all these sense are involved in a particularly notable way.

Now consider the wine you have just tasted. Could you remember this wine? Is it memorable in any way? Would you be willing to purchase it again? How much did you pay for the wine you are tasting? Is it worth it? http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Do-A-Fine-Wine-Tasting&id=5959103