Classification of wine

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The classification of wine is based on various criteria including place of origin or appellation, [1] vinification method and style, [2] sweetness and vintage, [3] and the grape variety or varieties used. [1] Practices vary in different countries and regions of origin, and many practices have varied over time. Some classifications enjoy official protection by being part of the wine law in their country of origin, while others have been created by, for example, growers' organizations without such protection.

Contents

The term "wine"

Within the European Union, the term "wine" and its equivalents in other languages is reserved exclusively for the fermented juice of grapes. [4]

In the United States, the term is also used for the fermented juice of any fruit [5] or agricultural product, provided that it has an alcohol content of 7 to 24% (alcohol by volume) and is intended for non-industrial use. [6] With the exceptions of cider, perry, and sake, such non-grape wines are to be labelled with the word "wine" qualified by a truthful description of the originating product: "honey wine", "dandelion wine", (blended) "fruit wine", etc. [7]

Other jurisdictions have similar rules dictating the range of products qualifying as "wine". [8]

By appellation

Historically, wines have been known by names reflecting their origin, and sometimes style: Bordeaux, Port, Rioja, Mosel and Chianti are all legally defined names reflecting the traditional wines produced in the named region. These naming conventions or "appellations" (as they are known in France) dictate not only where the grapes in a wine were grown but also which grapes went into the wine and how they were vinified. The appellation system is strongest in the European Union, but a related system, the American Viticultural Area, restricts the use of certain regional labels in America, such as Napa Valley, Santa Barbara and Willamette Valley. The AVA designations do not restrict the type of grape used. [9]

In most of the world, wine labelled Champagne must be made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France and fermented using a certain method, based on the international trademark agreements included in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. However, in the United States, a legal definition called semi-generic has enabled U.S. winemakers to use certain generic terms (Champagne, Hock, Sherry, etc.) if there appears next to the term the actual appellation of origin. [10]

More recently, wine regions in countries with less stringent location protection laws such as the United States and Australia have joined with well-known European wine producing regions to sign the Napa Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin, commonly known as the Napa Declaration on Place. This is a "declaration of joint principles stating the importance of location to wine and the need to protect place names". [11] The Declaration was signed in July 2005 by four United States winegrowing regions and three European Union winegrowing regions.

The signatory regions from the US were Napa Valley, Washington, Oregon and Walla Walla, while the signatory regions from the EU were: Champagne, Cognac (the commune where Cognac is produced), Douro (the region where Port wine is produced) and Jerez (the region where Sherry is produced).

The list of signatories to the agreement expanded in March 2007 when Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Chianti Classico, Tokay, Victoria, Australia and Western Australia signed the Declaration at a ceremony in Washington, DC.

Regional wine classifications

Many regional wine classifications exist as part of tradition or appellation law. The most common of these is based on vineyard sites and include the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, though some regions classify their wines based on the style like the German wine classification system. Vineyard classification has a long history dating from some early examples in Jurançon in the 14th century, in 1644 when the council of Würzburg ranked the city's vineyards by quality, and the early five-level designation of vineyards based on quality in Tokaj-Hegyalja in 1700. [12]

Other well known classifications include:

The follow regions are classified by vineyards, not estate.

By vinification methods and style

Dark purple wine grapes on the vine Dark wine grapes.jpg
Dark purple wine grapes on the vine

Wines may be classified by vinification methods. These include classifications such as red or white wine, sparkling, semi-sparkling or still, fortified and dessert wines. The colour of wine is not determined by the juice of the grape, which is almost always clear, but rather by the presence or absence of the grape skin during fermentation. Grapes with coloured juice, for example alicante bouschet, are known as teinturier. Red wine is made from red (or black) grapes, but its red colour is bestowed by a process called maceration, whereby the skin is left in contact with the juice during fermentation. White wine can be made from any colour of grape as the skin is separated from the juice during fermentation. A white wine made from a very dark grape may appear pink or 'blush'. A form of Rosé is called Blanc de Noirs where the juice of red grapes is allowed contact with the skins for a very short time (usually only a couple of hours).

Sparkling and still wines

Sparkling wines such as champagne, contain carbon dioxide which is produced naturally from fermentation or force-injected later. To have this effect, the wine is fermented twice, once in an open container to allow the carbon dioxide to escape into the air, and a second time in a sealed container where the gas is caught and remains in the wine. [13] Sparkling wines that gain their carbonation from the traditional method of bottle fermentation are labelled "bottle fermented", "méthode traditionelle", or "méthode champenoise". The latter designation was outlawed for all wines other than champagne (which for obvious reasons does not bother to utilize it) in Europe in 1994. [14]

Other terms for sparkling wine in other languages include Sekt or Schaumwein (Germany), cava (Spain), spumante (Italy) and espumante (Portugal). Semi-sparkling wines are sparkling wines that contain less than 2.5 atmospheres of carbon dioxide at sea level and 20 °C. Some countries such as the UK impose a higher tax on fully sparkling wines. Examples of semi-sparkling synonym terms are frizzante in Italy, vino de aguja in Spain, and pétillant in France. In most countries except the United States, champagne is legally defined as sparkling wine originating from the Champagne wine region in France, especially the city of Reims and the town of Épernay.

Still wines are wines that have not gone through the sparkling wine method and have no effervescence. [15]

Dessert and fortified wine

Dessert wines range from slightly sweet (with less than 50 g/L of sugar) to incredibly sweet wines (with over 400 g/L of sugar). Late harvest wines such as Spätlese are made from grapes harvested well after they have reached maximum ripeness. Dried grape wines, such as Recioto and Vin Santo from Italy, are made from grapes that have been partially raisined after harvesting. Botrytized wines are made from grapes infected by the mold Botrytis cinerea or noble rot. These include Sauternes from Bordeaux, numerous wines from Loire such as Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume, Tokaji Aszú from Hungary, and Beerenauslese. Ice Wine is made from grapes that are harvested while they are frozen. Fortified wines are often sweeter, and generally more alcoholic wines that have had their fermentation process stopped by the addition of a spirit, such as brandy, or have had additional spirit added after fermentation. [16] Examples include Port, Madeira and Sherry.

Other styles

Table wines are inexpensive wines that often do not specify the grape variety used or the region of origin. Some equivalent terms for "table wine" in other languages are "vin de table" (French), "vino da tavola" (Italian), "Tafelwein" (German), and "vino de mesa" (Spanish).

Cooking wine or cooking sherry usually refers to inexpensive grape wine (or rice wine in Chinese and other East Asian cuisine) which is intended for use as an ingredient in food rather than as a beverage. Cooking wine typically available in North America is treated with salt to allow its sale in non-licensed grocery stores. [17] This also acts as a preservative, as the salt in cooking wine inhibits the growth of the microorganisms that produce acetic acid. This will preserve a bottle of cooking wine, which may be opened and used occasionally over a long period of time.

In other countries sherry wine is used for cooking. [18] Fortified wines resist spoilage, as their alcohol content is too high to permit bacterial growth.

By vintage or variety

A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or mostly, grown in a single specified year, and are accordingly dated as such. Consequently, it is not uncommon for wine enthusiasts and traders to save bottles of an especially good vintage wine for future consumption. However, there is some disagreement and research about the significance of vintage year to wine quality. [19] Most countries allow a vintage wine to include a portion of wine that is not from the labeled vintage.[ citation needed ]

A varietal wine is wine made from a dominant grape such as a Chardonnay or a Cabernet Sauvignon and labeled by the name of the grape variety. The wine may not be entirely of that one grape and varietal labeling laws differ. In the United States a wine needs to be composed of at least 75% of a particular grape to be labeled as a varietal wine. [20] In the European Union, a minimum of 85% is required if the name of a single variety is displayed, and if two or more varieties are mentioned, they combined must make up 100% and they must be listed in descending order. E.g., a mixture of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Viognier must be called Chardonnay-Viognier rather than Viognier-Chardonnay.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chardonnay</span> Variety of grape mainly used to make wine

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new and developing wine regions, growing Chardonnay is seen as a 'rite of passage' and an easy entry into the international wine market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Champagne</span> French sparkling wine

Champagne is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, specific grape-pressing methods and secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to cause carbonation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparkling wine</span> Wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide

Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsanne</span> Variety of grape

Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as grosse roussette. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viognier</span> Variety of grape used to make white wine

Viognier is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley. Outside of the Rhône, Viognier can be found in regions of North and South America as well as Australia, New Zealand, the Cape Winelands in South Africa, south Moravia region in Czechia and Israel. In some wine regions, the variety is co-fermented with the red wine grape Syrah where it can contribute to the color and aroma of the wine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White wine</span> Wine fermented without skin contact

White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. White wine has existed for at least 4,000 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jura wine</span>

Jura wine is French wine produced in the Jura département. Located between Burgundy and Switzerland, this cool climate wine region produces wines with some similarity to Burgundy and Swiss wine. Jura wines are distinctive and unusual wines, the most famous being vin jaune, which is made by a similar process to Sherry, developing under a flor-like strain of yeast. This is made from the local Savagnin grape variety. Other grape varieties include Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay. Other wine styles found in Jura includes a vin de paille made from Chardonnay, Poulsard and Savagnin, a sparkling Crémant du Jura made from slightly unripe Chardonnay grapes, and a vin de liqueur known as Macvin du Jura made by adding marc to halt fermentation. The renowned French chemist and biologist Louis Pasteur was born and raised in the Jura region and owned a vineyard near Arbois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French wine</span> Alcoholic beverage made from grapes grown in France

French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and American wine-producing regions. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BCE, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines of the post war period.

South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must only contain grapes from the specific area of origin. "Single vineyard" wines must come from a defined area of less than 6 hectares. An "Estate Wine" can come from adjacent farms if they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type or climate and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish wine</span> Wines of Spain

Spanish wine includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely planted wine-producing nation, but the second largest producer of wine in the world, behind Italy and ahead of France and the United States. This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry soils found in some of the Spanish wine regions. The country is ninth in worldwide consumption with Spaniards drinking, on average, 21.6 litres per person a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout Spain, though 88 percent of the country's wine production is from only 20 grapes — including the reds Tempranillo, Bobal, Garnacha, and Monastrell; the whites Albariño, Airén, Verdejo, Palomino, and Macabeo; and the three Cava grapes Parellada, Xarel·lo, and Macabeo.

The glossary of wine terms lists the definitions of many general terms used within the wine industry. For terms specific to viticulture, winemaking, grape varieties, and wine tasting, see the topic specific list in the "See also" section below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of wine</span> Overview of and topical guide to wine

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to wine

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparkling wine production</span> Method in wine production

Sparkling wine production is the method of winemaking used to produce sparkling wine. The oldest known production of sparkling wine took place in 1531 with the ancestral method.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limoux wine</span>

Limoux wine is produced around the city of Limoux in Languedoc in southwestern France. Limoux wine is produced under four Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) designations: Blanquette de Limoux, Blanquette méthode ancestrale, Crémant de Limoux and Limoux, the first three of which are sparkling wines and dominate the production around Limoux. The main grape of the region is the Mauzac, locally known as Blanquette, followed by Chardonnay and Chenin blanc. In 2005, the Limoux AOC was created to include red wine production consisting of mostly Merlot. Wine historians believe that the world's first sparkling wine was produced in this region in 1531, by the monks at the abbey in Saint-Hilaire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Carneros AVA</span>

Los Carneros AVA is an American Viticultural Area which includes parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties in California, U.S.A. It is located north of San Pablo Bay. The proximity to the cool fog and breezes from the bay makes the climate in Los Carneros cooler and more moderate than the wine regions farther north in Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley. The cooler climate has made Los Carneros attractive for the cultivation of cooler climate varietals like Pinot noir and Chardonnay. Many of the grapes grown in Los Carneros are used for sparkling wine production. Receiving its AVA status in 1983, the Carneros area was the first wine region in California to be defined by its climate characteristics rather than political boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loire Valley (wine)</span> French wine region

The Loire Valley wine region includes the French wine regions situated along the river Loire from the Muscadet region near the city of Nantes on the Atlantic coast to the region of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé just southeast of the city of Orléans in north central France. In between are the regions of Anjou wine, Saumur, Bourgueil, Chinon, and Vouvray. The Loire Valley itself follows the river through the Loire department to the river's origins in the Cévennes but the majority of the wine production takes place in the regions noted above. The area includes 87 appellations under the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), Vin Délimité de Qualité Superieure (VDQS) and Vin de pays systems. While the majority of production is white wine from the Chenin blanc, Sauvignon blanc and Melon de Bourgogne grapes, there are red wines made from Cabernet franc. In addition to still wines, rosé, sparkling and dessert wines are also produced. With Crémant production throughout the Loire, it is the second largest sparkling wine producer in France after Champagne. Among these different wine styles, Loire wines tend to exhibit characteristic fruitiness with fresh, crisp flavors-especially in their youth. The Loire Valley has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 1st century. In the High Middle Ages, the wines of the Loire Valley were the most esteemed wines in England and France, even more prized than those from Bordeaux.

Dawnine Sample Dyer is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who pioneered the use of champagne-making methods in California's fledgling sparkling wine industry in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California wine</span> Wine made from grapes grown in California, United States

California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian wine</span>

Victorian wine is wine made in the Australian state of Victoria. With over 600 wineries, Victoria has more wine producers than any other Australian wine-producing state but ranks third in overall wine production due to the lack of a mass bulk wine-producing area like South Australia's Riverland and New South Wales's Riverina. Viticulture has existed in Victoria since the 19th century and experienced a high point in the 1890s when the region produced more than half of all wine produced in Australia. The phylloxera epidemic that soon followed took a hard toll on the Victoria wine industry which did not fully recover till the 1950s.

This glossary of winemaking terms lists some of terms and definitions involved in making wine, fruit wine, and mead.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wine Classification".
  2. ↑ M. Ewing-Mulligan & E. McCarthy Wine Style: Using Your Senses To Explore And Enjoy Wine Introduction Wiley Publishing 2005 ISBN   0-7645-4453-5.
  3. ↑ J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 752 & 753 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN   0-19-860990-6.
  4. ↑ Harding, G. A Wine Miscellany, pp. 5-9. Clarkson Potter Publishing (New York), 2005. ISBN   0-307-34635-8.
  5. ↑ 26 U.S.C. §5381: "Natural wine". Accessed 9 November 2013.
  6. ↑ The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. §4.10: "Meaning of terms: Wine". Accessed 9 November 2013.
  7. ↑ The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. §4.21: "The standards of identity: Class 5; Fruit wine" & "Class 6; Wine from other agricultural products". Accessed 9 November 2013.
  8. ↑ George, Rosemary (1991). The Simon & Schuster Pocket Wine Label Decoder. Fireside. ISBN   978-0-671-72897-7.
  9. ↑ Title 27 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §4.25 Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Title 27 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §4.24 Archived 2007-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "Center for Wine Origins | Declaration to Protect Wine Place". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-10-16. Napa Declaration to Protect Wine Place and Origin (press release, Napa Valley Vintners).
  12. ↑ J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition, p. 175 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN   0-19-860990-6, classification Archived 2008-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible p. 170 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN   1-56305-434-5.
  14. ↑ winepros.com.au. The Oxford Companion to Wine. "champagne method". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  15. ↑ "Freedictionary.com".
  16. ↑ K. MacNeil The Wine Bible p. 488 Workman Publishing 2001 ISBN   1-56305-434-5.
  17. ↑ "27 CFR § 24.215 - Wine or wine products not for beverage use". Legal Information Institute. Cornell Law School. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Cooking With Sherry. By Lalo Grosso, edited by Diputación de Cádiz in 2002. ISBN   978-84-95388-54-4.
  19. ↑ Weil, Roman L. (25 May 2001). "Parker v. Prial: The Death of the Vintage Chart [Lighten Your Wallet]" (PDF). Chance. 14 (4): 27–31. doi:10.1080/09332480.2001.10542295. S2CID   60638965 . Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  20. ↑ Robinson, Jancis (2014). The Oxford Companion to Wine (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 727. ISBN   978-0-19-860990-2 . Retrieved 21 May 2021.
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