Portal:Wine

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Wine corks
A Dutch wine bottle made in the 17th century, at The The Higgins Art Gallery & Museum

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Although fruits other than grapes can also be fermented, the resultant wines are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine) and are known as fruit wine (or country wine). Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (e.g. sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer more than wine; ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol content, rather than the production process. The commercial use of the word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and convert them into alcohol. Various varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the types of wine produced.

Wine stems from an extended and rich history dating back about 8,000 years and is thought to have originated in present-day Georgia or Iran. Wine is thought to have appeared in Europe about 6,500 years ago in present-day Bulgaria and Greece and was very common in ancient Greece and Rome; the Greek god Dionysos, and his Roman counterpart Liber represented wine. Wine continues to play a role in religious ceremonies, such as Kiddush in Judaism and the Eucharist in Christianity. (Full article...)


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Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favours what you do.
— King James Bible
Ecclesiastes 9:7


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Penfolds Magill Estate, South Australia
Penfolds Magill Estate, South Australia
Penfolds is an Australian wine producer, founded in 1844 by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries.

Penfold was a believer in the medicinal benefits of wine and before emigrating to Australia, obtained some vine cuttings from France. Arriving in Australia, he set up in practice at Magill on the eastern outskirts of Adelaide, South Australia and planted vines around his stone cottage which he called The Grange after his wife, Mary's, former home. Initially, Penfold produced fortified wines, for his patients in the style of sherry and port. As demand for the wines increased the winery was expanded.

Mary Penfold assumed the running of the winery after the death of her husband in 1870. After Mary retired in 1884 her daughter Georgina and son-in-law Thomas Hyland took over the day to day running of the winery. The Penfold family continued to operate the business very successfully and although the company became public in 1962 the Penfold family remained in control until 1976.

During the 1940s and 1950s the company changed its focus to table wines to accommodate changing tastes. This led to experiments by Penfolds' chief winemaker, Max Schubert which would eventually lead to the production of Penfolds' and Australia's most famous wine, Grange Hermitage, later renamed simply Grange.

Control of Penfolds passed to Tooth & Co, a brewer based in New South Wales in 1976, to the Adelaide Steamship Co in 1982 and then in 1990 to S.A.Brewing which became part of Southcorp, an Australian conglomerate. Since 2005, the Southcorp wine brands and wineries have been owned by the Foster's Group. Penfolds currently operates two wineries; at Magill, near Adelaide and at Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley. (Full article...)


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Grapevine during flowering
Grapevine during flowering
Grapevine during flowering
Credit: Andy Melton
Grapevine during flowering


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