Introduction
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from partial or complete fermentation of grape juice.
A product or beverage is known as Wine, if it is comes from grapes. If made from other fruits, the fruits name must be put before the term wine. For example, Blackberry Wine, Apricot Wine, Fig Wine, etc.
Classification of Wine
1. By Colour
- White Wine: It is made from white grapes, but it is made from red grapes in rare cases.
- Red Wine: It is always made from red grapes. The skin are retained in the must during all or part of fermentation to extract the pigment of from grapes giving the wine red colour.
- Rosé Wine: It is made from red grapes. The grape skin are kept in the must for only a short time (i.e. 12 – 36 hours) to impart the light pink colour.
- Blush Wine: It is a different style of rosé wine developed in California, U.S.A. Skins of black grapes are soaked with the must for a very short period which produces a very light pink color wine. Red and white grapes are used together to prepare Blush Wine.
2. By Nature
- Sparkling Wine: Sparkling Wine is known as “Sparkling” because due to presence of CO2 gas and thus gives off bubbles of gas. It is one where natural gas from fermentation is retained in the bottle or one where wine has been artificially impregnated with gas. The best known sparkling wine is “Champagne” which is a blend of many vintages and of both red and white grapes. The chief grapes variety used for production of “Champagne” is black and grey “pinot” and in the more ordinary district the “pinot meunier”. Chardonay is the only grape variety from which champagne is made.
- Aromatized Wine: Aromatized wine is a fortified wine in which herbs, roots, flowers, barks and other flavoring agents have been used to change the natural flavour of the wine. It includes both dry (from French origin) and sweet ( from Italy origin) vermouths and the aperitif wines of the various countries such as Dubounet, Lillet, St. Raphael, etc. Vermouth is the name given to those flavored wines which in theory contain wormwood. Exampes of Vermouth are : Noilly Prat – French Origin (dry and light in flavour), Votrix & Duval – England Origin, etc.
- Fortiffied Wine: These are the wine which are fortified with spirits like brandy during vinification when fermentation process is going on. If fortification is done in the beginning or towards the end of ferrmentation, the end product is sweet or dry fortified wine. The addition of spirits increase the alcoholic content (i.e. around 15% – 24%). Fortified wine may be sweet, dry, white, rosé or red. “Heavy Wine” is the official term for fortified wine. Examples of Fortified Wines are: Sherry, Port, Madiera, Marsala, etc.
- House Wine: Any wine which is not too expensive or too cheap and can be used by any restaurant. No particular brand is branded as “”House Wine“.
3. By Taste
- Sweet Wine: Sweet wine produced by grapes having high sugar content as in these wines even after fermentation a lot of sugar is still left, which is not consumed by yeast and sugar left which provide a very sweet wine.
- Dry Wine: Dry wines provide by grapes with less sugar content and the fermentation is allowed to continue till all the sugar is almost or fully consumed.
4. By Year of Production
- Vintage Wine: Vintage wine are those kind of wines which is harvested in a single year. The bottle will display a specific year (e.g. 2018, 2020). Each vintage is distinct, even some years are considered better than others. Fermentation follows the standard process, but the focus is on preserving the unique characteristics of that vintage year. Blending may still occur between different grape varieties, but all from the same harvest year. Vintage wine may be aged longer in barrels and bottles to develop complexity.
- Non-Vintage Wine: Non-Vintage Wine are those kind of wines which is a blend of wine from multiple years. Usually marked “NV” (Non-Vintage) on wine bottles. It is typically aged for a shorter time and ready to drink sooner.
5. By Body
- Light Bodied Wine: This wine is light in texture, alcoholic content and weight of wine. These wine are not matured in casks rather left in stainless steel or glass vats before bottling. The alcohol content should be less than 12%. For example, Macon Blanc, Pouilly Fuisse, etc.
- Medium Bodied Wine: These are wines which are round, fairly fat with good body, texture and flavour. For example, Rioja (Spanish), Hermitage (French), etc.
- Heavy Bodied Wine: These wines have heavy body, texture and higher alcoholic content, rich taste with forceful flavour. For example, White: Chateau Chalon, Australian Chardonnay, Red: Zinfandels (California), Shiraj (Australian), Barbera (Italy), etc.
6. Unspecified Wine
- Varietal Wine: These are the wines of North America which are labelled after the main grape variety in the bottle. Single grape variety is used for making wine. For example, Red: Zinfandel, Cabernet. White: Sultana, Cabernet, etc.
- Generic Wine: Generic wine are those wine which are named after the long established european areas. Many North American and Australian whines are labelled as Claret, Burgundy, Graves, Hock and even Champagne. A generic wine should have the distinctive color, flavor and aroma of its own.
- Green Wine: It is a portugese wine comes from vine grown on the granite soil in the province of Minho (Portugal). These are acid wines of low alcoholic content. White and red wines are made from it. The most notable types are from the “Alvarinho” and “Azal” grapes. These are quick maturing wines.
- Organic Wine: Organic wine are prepared by without adding chemical in soil. For example, Listel in Carmargne region of France.
Conclusion
Wine can be classified based on color (red, white, rosé, blush), taste (dry, sweet, semi-sweet), nature (aromatized, sparkling, fortified, house), body (light, medium, full) and unspecified (varietal, generic, green, organic). Another key classification is by vintage, which means whether the wine is made from grapes harvested in a single year (vintage wine) or from multiple years (non-vintage wine). These classifications help us understand the style, flavor, and purpose of the wine, making it easier to choose the right one for any occasion.