Wine and Spirits
Readings
• Chapter 24, pp. 428-435, and 438-443
Wine
• Wine can be defined as fermented fruit juice.
Most wine is fermented grape juice, but almost
any fleshy fruit can be fermented.
• Fermenting of sugar in fruits to alcohol occurs
naturally, and many animals have enjoyed
getting intoxicated on fermented fruit. Thus it is
not unlikely that crude wine was humanity’s first
experience with alcohol.
• Evidence of fermented grape juice has been
seen in 8000 year old pottery shards from China.
The ancient Egyptians (5000 years ago) had a
well-developed wine production system.
• Wine is mentioned many times in the Bible.
Jesus’s first miracle was converting large
amounts of water into wine at a wedding feast.
Early History
• Many species of grape are found in both the Old
World and the New World.
• The species most used for wine making, Vitus
vinifera, was domesticated in western Asia, in the
Caucasus Mountains region. It soon spread into
the developing civilizations in Mesopotamia.
• The ancient Greeks thought the god Dionysus
gave wine to humans, to ease our suffering.
– Dionysus was the god of wine, ecstasy, and insanity
– Known as Bacchus to the Romans, who celebrated with
orgiastic festivals called Bacchanalia
Native American Grapes
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A second species important to wine making is Vitus
labrusca, which is native to North America.
– Concord and catawba are varieties of labrusca
– When Leif Ericson and the Vikings reached North
America in 1000 AD, they named the place
“Vinland” after the labrusca grapes found here.
(northern end of Newfoundland)
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In 1860, the European vinyards got infected with an
insect, the root aphid, Phylloxera. It is native to North
America, and got imported accidentally.
– It was found that American (labrusca) grape vines
are resistant to Phylloxera, The Europeans
planted it, then grafted vinifera grapes to the
labrusca roots.
– This remains the common practice for wine
grapes: a hardy, disease-resistant rootstock with
good wine grapes grafted on top.
Wine in America
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European grapes didn’t grow well in the northeastern
part of the US, where early English settlement occurred.
The Spanish brought grapes to California in 1769, when
Father Junipero Serra founded the chain of missions that
became the major cities in California.
•
Prohibition (1920-1933) nearly destroyed the American
wine industry. A Constitutional amendment was passed
banning the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol
for human consumption. Although this did decrease
alcohol consumption, it led to widespread criminal
activity, since many people resented the law. Prohibition
was repealed by another amendment in 1933.
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California produces the best American wines, and many
wine critics rate some of them on par with the best
French wines. A blind taste test in 1976, the “Judgment
of Paris”, gave California red and white wines top honors
when compared to the best French wines.
Wine Growing
• Wine grapes like a sunny, dry environment. They
don’t grow well in cooler climates.
• Different cultivars like slightly different conditions,
and even minor variations in climate, such as
north-facing vs. south-facing slopes, can affect the
quality of the wine.
– The weather in a given year also has an effect.
– Soil conditions also affect wine flavor and quality.
• Wine grapes grow as a vine. They are trained onto
trellises and pruned to maximize exposure to the
sun.
• It takes about 5 years from planting to full
production, and a vine can bear good fruit for 50
years or more.
• It takes about 100 days for the grapes to mature
after fertilization. Before maturity, the grapes
contain very little sugar: this gives us the
expression “sour grapes”.
Extracting the Grape Juice
• Grapes can be harvested mechanically or by hand.
Harvest time is set by the winemaker, whose decision
is based on sugar content and acidity.
• The juice is extracted from the grapes by pressing
them. This was traditionally done by human feet, but a
screw press in used today.
– The seeds contain bitter compounds, so pressing is done
at relatively low pressures to avoid breaking them.
• For white wine, the grape skins are immediately
removed. It is possible to make white wine from red
grapes!
• For red wine, the grape skins are allowed to stay with
the grape juice during fermentation. The red pigment
leaches out of the skins into the juice.
Fermentation
• The grape juice is transferred to vats for fermentation.
This process is anaerobic, and the temperature must be
controlled because it generates considerable heat.
• It is possible to ferment the grapes using the natural
yeast that grows on them. This is the traditional method,
but it often led to fermentation failures because other
microorganisms would convert the sugars to sour acids
(vinegar) instead of alcohol.
• Louis Pasteur, in the 1860’s, first studied wine production
from a scientific point of view. He recommended
sterilizing the grape juice, then introducing a pure culture
of a specific yeast.
– Sterilization is done by introducing sulfur dioxide gas.
– Different wineries each have their own special yeast.
– The yeast is a different strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
also used in producing beer and bread.
Further Steps
• Fermentation will continue until all of the sugar has been
converted to alcohol, or until the alcohol concentration
reaches about 18%. This takes 2-3 weeks.
– However, for sweet wines, the process is stopped before all the sugar
is used up, by adding alcohol to the mixture or by killing the yeast with
sulfur dioxide gas.
• A secondary fermentation (aging) then takes place, lasting
several months. During this time fine particles settle out of
the wine. This process is done under anaerobic conditions.
A lot of flavor development occurs during the aging process.
• Before the wine is blended and bottled, a clarifying agent
such as gelatin in added to precipitate out any remaining
particles. This also reduces tannin content: tannin adds
bitterness to the wine. The particles are then removed by
filtering.
• Some wines, especially red wines, continue to improve with
further aging in the bottle.
Sparkling Wines
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Champagne is carbonated wine that is made in the
Champagne district of France. Other sparkling wines
are made by the same process, but aren’t technically
called champagne.
The carbonation comes from adding some sugar and
fresh yeast to bottled wine. The yeast ferments this
extract sugar, and the carbon dioxide gas is trapped in
the bottle.
It is necessary to remove the dead yeast after the
fermentation is complete. This is tricky: you can also
lose all of the carbon dioxide.
During this fermentation, the bottle are stored upside
down, so the yeast accumulates in the neck. After
fermentation is complete, the necks are frozen . The
bottle are opened and an icy plug of yeast and wine
comes out. A little replacement wine is added, and
the bottles are quickly re-sealed.
Distilled Spirits
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The alcohol content of beer and wine is limited by the fact
that an alcohol concentration of 18% or more kills the yeast
that produces it.
To produce stronger alcohol, distillation is needed. The
principle is that ethanol boils at a temperature lower than
water. So, the alcohol boils off, leaving the water behind. You
just need to capture the alcohol vapor and condense it.
– The first 1% or so of what distills off has headache-inducing
compounds in it, and it is generally discarded.
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Distillation was invented by the Arabs around 700 AD.
– The word “alcohol” comes from Arabic: al’kuhul, which
refers to kohl, a preparation used to darken the eyes.
Alternatively, al’ghoul, which means monster or spirit.
This word origin is somewhat debatable.
Alcohol concentration is measured in proof, where each proof
is 1/2 %. So, 80 proof means 40% alcohol. Most distilled
spirits are 80-100 proof.
Alcohol can only be distilled to 95%. It is colorless and
tasteless. The color and taste of distilled spirits come from
other byproducts of fermentation and aging that remain after
distillation.
Brandy
• Brandy is distilled grape wine that has been aged in oak
barrels for up to 50 years.
– Cognac is brandy produced in the Cognac district of France.
• Brandy is consumed using a large glass to concentrate
the fumes.
• Other fermented fruits can be distilled to produce fruit
brandies of various kinds: peach, apricot, plum, cherry,
blackberry, etc.
• Brandy was produced shortly after distillation was
invented, as a way to avoid taxes based on the volume of
product and to make it easier to transport.
• The gunpowder test: if brandy had been distilled to a high
enough alcohol concentration, a pinch of gunpowder put
in the brandy would ignite when the brandy was set afire.
Rum
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The starting material for rum is molasses, the main byproduct in sugar
manufacture. It is first fermented (by adding yeast) to generate alcohol,
and then distilled. Aging it in wooden barrels gives it color and flavor.
Rum was invented on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean by the
slaves.
It got popular in the American colonies, and rum distilling was an early
industry in America.
– One version of the Triangular Trade route was: rum from the American
colonies shipped to Africa and sold for slaves, who were shipped to the
Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. The sugar and molasses then
went to the American colonies.
– Early elections in the US were often accompanied (and influenced) by a
generous supply of rum.
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The British Navy supplied a daily ration of rum to the sailors until 1970,
and even now they do it on special occasions. “Splice the mainbrace” is
the order given to issue the crew a drink.
– When Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
(against the forces of Napoleon), his body was preserved in a cask of rum.
When it got back to England, they opened the barrel, and the rum was all
gone. The sailors had bored a hole in it and drunk the rum: Nelson’s Blood.
(Yet another story of dubious truthfulness).
Whiskey
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Whiskey is a distilled spirit made from fermented grain. It is
aged in wooden barrels, usually made from white oak that have
been charred. Some whiskies are distilled several times.
As in beer making, the starches in the grain need to be
converted into sugars before yeast can ferment them. Malt
whiskey is made using only malted barley, without other grains.
In contrast, grain whiskey is made by mixing malted barley with
other grains.
– Malted barley: allow the barley kernels to germinate, which
produces the enzymes that convert starch to sugar. Then, the
kernels are dried and ground up.
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Different forms of whiskey use different grains. The legal
systems of various countries define the types.
– Bourbon whiskey is made from corn. It was invented in Bourbon
County, Kentucky and is a distinctly American product.
– Scotch whiskey is made in Scotland from malted barley plus other
grains. The smoky flavor comes from drying the malted barley
over a peat fire.
– Rye, wheat, and corn whiskies are made from the respective grain.
Whiskey Manufacture
The Whiskey Rebellion
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After the American Revolution, settlers started moving west of
the Appalachian Mountains. They were farmers, but shipping
corn and rye over the mountains to the markets on the East
Coast was expensive. It was much easier to distill it into
whiskey and ship that.
The government of the United States that we still have today
started in 1789, after the Constitution was ratified. It
inherited a large debt from the previous government.
Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary wanted to
pay this off by levying a tax on domestic whiskey production.
He thought whiskey was a luxury so there wouldn’t be too
much objection.
The people on the Western frontier thought they were being
unfairly targeted. Their lives were hard and dangerous. The
federal government hadn’t built any roads or canals in the
West, and Indian attacks were common.
They refused to pay taxes, and mistreated the tax collectors.
President George Washington sent troops to suppress the
rebellion, and eventually the tax was repealed.
Gin
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Gin is a distilled spirit flavored with juniper berries. Juniper is
a gymnosperm, and the “berries” are actually the cones
(reproductive structures).
Gin is made by fermenting wheat, corn, and rye with malted
barley, and then distilling it with juniper berries and other
spices mixed in. It does not need to be aged, which made it an
attractive product during Prohibition.
Gin was invented in Holland, and came to England during a
war in the early 1600’s. It was the original “Dutch courage”, a
term that means courage gained from being drunk.
Gin became very popular among working class people in
England, because it could be brewed from grain unfit for
making bread or beer, and it wasn’t taxed, unlike other
distilled spirits. It was often flavored with turpentine. Lots of
extreme drunkenness and otherwise immoral behavior during
the Gin Craze (1700-1750).
The English in India prevented malaria with quinine. Since
quinine is very bitter, they mixed it with carbonated water and
gin, with a lime : the gin-and-tonic.
Gin Lane, London, 1751
Vodka
• Vodka is the traditional distilled spirit of Russia,
Poland, Finland, and other Eastern European
countries.
• Vodka is made from fermented grains (mostly wheat
and rye), or from potatoes. It is distilled repeatedly
until it is almost pure alcohol (95% = 190 proof).
Then, it is diluted to a drinkable concentration,
around 40% alcohol. Flavoring is sometimes added
at this point, but pure vodka is unflavored.
• Vodka is not aged.
• Vodka was rarely consumed outside Europe before
1950, but it has become very popular in the United
States since then.
Absinthe
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Absinthe is a bitter tasting distilled spirit flavored with
wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). Anise and fennel are
also added for flavoring. It is usually green, and in
literature it is often called the Green Fairy.
Absinthe was traditionally made by soaking wormwood
leaves in concentrated alcohol, then distilling the mixture.
It was invented in Switzerland and became very popular
with artists and avant-garde types in France in the late
1800’s. Preparation involved pouring the liquor into a
glass, then adding cold water poured over a sugar cube.
Absinthe contains thujone, which is alleged to induce
hallucinations. Absinthism was considered a problem
separate from alcoholism.
For this reason, absinthe was banned in the US and most
of Europe in about 1910. However, the quantities of
thujone present in absinthe seem too low to be
dangerous beyond the normal dangers of alcohol.
Thujone-free absinthe is now legal in the US.