What is Wine - An Introduction to wine

<p><B>What is wine exactly?</B>
<p>Wine has been around the world for over 7000 years and is made from just 2 basic ingredients, yeast and grape juice. By far the majority
of all wine is made from the juice of the grape, although some wines do use the skin, this mainly colour the wine( rose for example).

<p><B>How is wine made?</B>
<p>Yeast is the main ingredient needed for fermentation yeast is what transforms the grapes into wine. Just as a point of intrest, there are actually wild yeast spores just beign carried all of the place by the wind and to make wine you just need an open container of grape juice patients and time.
The result however, wouldnt be very pleasant to taste.

<p>There are a number of different strains of yeasts, numbering somewhere in 1000's and the types being used to make wine have been
designed for this sole purpose.
So yeast is actually a living organism that feeds off of sugars in the grape juice in a process called fermentation.

<p>When fermenting, yeast spores increase in numbers exponentially, this happens until the sugar content has been consumed.
During this fermentation process, the sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

<p>There are various different flavors the yeast will lend to the finished wine product, the temperature when fermentation takes place,
the particular strain of yeast used s well as a few other things.

<p>When all of the fermentable sugars have been exausted the yeast then falls to the bottom of the container where the fermentation process starts.
The wine is removed, leaving the yeast, and is trasferred to another container to mature to await bottling.

The History Of Alcohol

Thoughout recorded history there has always been alcohol in of some variety,think of this, when you are sitting on a Friday night with your vodka and coke or Pernod and lemonade, does it ever cross your mind how exactly the drink came about. Below is a history of some of the more popular drinks that are enjoyed today such as vodka, gin, Pernod and cachaca.

Pernod
Pernod is an aniseed-based spirit that has been enjoyed in France for approximately 200 years as an aperitif and a zesty cooking ingredient. During the Babylonian era aniseed drinks were known as elixirs with unique qualities to cure a variety of stomach and digestive dissorders. It has long been recognized that when you combine wormwood and aniseed plants it contains certain healing powers and has been known to have mood-altering effects.

Cachaca
Cachaça is made from raw sugar cane and the major difference is that the lighter rums are more commonly made from whats known as molasses, (A thick syrup produced in refining raw sugar and ranging from light to dark brown in color) this is a by-product from boiling the cane juice to extract as much sugar as possible. It is made from fresh sugarcane juice that is fermented and distilled.

Cachaça is Brazils national spirit and the key ingredient in the classic cocktail caipirinha, the history of Cachaça goes back nearly 5 centuries when plantation owners began serving Cachaca to their slaves after seeing that it increased their vigor. Over the next lot of years better Cachaças were being distilled and soon people started drinking it in colonial Brazil while having dinner at home. Shortly after this slavery was banned in 1888, when Brazil was declared a modern Republic.

Gin
Gin The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th century in Holland, although claims have been made that it was produced prior to this in Italy. In Holland it was produced as a medicine and sold in chemist shops to treat stomach complains, gout and gallstones. To make it more palatable, the Dutch started to flavour it with juniper, which has medicinal properties of its own.

British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War, were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in the damp weather through the warming properties of gin. Eventually they started brining it back home with them, where already it was often sold in chemists' shops. Distillation was taking place in a small way in England, but it began on a greater scale, though the quality was often very dubious. The new drink became a firm favourite with the poor.

In 1730 London had over 7,000 shops that sold only spirits. Abuse of alcohol by the poor became a major problem, which was tackled by introducing The Gin Act at midnight on 29 September 1739, making gin prohibitively expensive. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole and Dr. Samuel Johnson were among those who opposed the Act since they considered it could not be enforced against the will of the common people. They were right.

Riots broke out and the law was widely and openly broken, the Gin Act was finally repealed in 1742 and a new policy was introduced with the help of distillers: reasonably high prices, reasonable excise duties and licensed retailers under the supervision of magistrates. In essence this is the situation which exists today. Since then many companies established themselves as well-to-do manufacturers and the gin became the drink of high quality.

Vodka
Vodka is a drink which originated in Eastern Europe. The name stemming from the Russian word 'voda' meaning water or, as the Poles would say 'woda.' The first documented production of vodka in Russia was the end of the 9th century, but the first known distillery at Khylnovsk was about two hundreds years later as reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174. Poland lays claims to having distilled vodka even earlier in the 8th century, but as this was a distillation of wine it might be more appropriate to consider it a crude brandy. The first identifiable Polish vodkas appeared in the 11th century when they were called 'gorzalka' originally used as medicines.

During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder. In the 14th century a British Ambassador to Moscow first described vodka as the Russian national drink and in the mid 16th century it was established as the national drink in Poland and Finland.

Since early production methods were crude, vodka often contained impurities, so to mask these the distillers flavoured their spirits with fruit, herbs or spices. The mid 15th century saw the first appearance of pot distillation in Russia. Prior to that, seasoning, aging and freezing were all used to remove impurities, around this time (1450) vodka started to be produced in large quantities and the first recorded exports of Russian vodka were to Sweden in 1505. Polish 'woda' exports started a century later, from major production centres in Posnan and Krakow.

Types produced included: acorn, anisette, birch, calamus root, calendula, cherry, chicory, dill, ginger hazelnut, horseradish, juniper, lemon, mastic, mint, mountain ash, oak, pepper, peppermint, raspberry, sage, sorrel, wort and water melon.

In the 18th century a professor in St. Petersburg discovered a method of purifying alcohol using charcoal filtration. Felt and river sand had already been used for some time in Russia for filtration.

The spread of awareness of vodka continued throughout the 19th century, helped by the presence in many partdrunkennesss of Europe and Russian soldiers involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Increasing popularity led to escalating demand and to meet this demand, lower grade products were produced based largely on distilled potato mash.

After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks confiscated all private distilleries in Moscow. As a result, a number of Russian vodka-makers emigrated, taking their skills and recipes with them. One such exile revived his brand in Paris, using the French version of his family name - Smirnoff. Thence, having met a Russian ŽmigrŽ from the USA, they set up the first vodka distillery there in 1934. This was subsequently sold to a US drinks company. From this small start, vodka began in the 1940s to achieve its wide popularity in the Western World.

Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, a number of Russian refugees took their skills and their love of vodka to many parts of the world.

In the 1930s one such exile emigrated from Russia via France to the United States bringing with him the formula to one of the leading Russian makes of vodka.

Through his dealings with another Russian emigre the first vodka distillery in the U.S. was set up in the 1930s. Although not particularly successful at first, this enterprise was sold on again to an entrepreneur who eventually made a hit in the 1950s with a vodka-based cocktail - the Moscow Mule. Vodka did not see a great boom in popularity in the West until the 1960s and 1970s when many more brands were launched in the USA and the UK.

The timing coincided with the cultural revolution in these countries - the 'swinging 60s.' With a more affluent younger generation and a generally more relaxed lifestyle and the emphasis on adventure and experimentation - vodka's mixability led to its huge and ever rising popularity.

Vodka cocktails are almost as numerous as those of gin and are seen in the same exclusive circles and stylish bars the world over.

Prohibition of The United States

The volstead act or (Prohibition act) took effect in 1920, in several states across america laws were already in place to try and stop the consumption of alcohol, these laws were in effect before the 18th amendment (volstead act, Prohibition act) was passed before congress.

Newyork was the 1st state to have any such laws passed in the year 1697. This law simply stated that all saloons and drinking establishments must close on a sunday as a sunday is revered as a day of rest and prayer and not drinking. Then in 1735, the government introduced its 1st state wide ban on alcohol in the state of georgia which absolutely failed and only lasted 7 years until 1742.

In 1851, they tried again to instill a ban on alcohol in maine, and this time it worked even better than they had hoped. By 1855, A dozen other states had joined Maine in becoming what is known as being "dry state".

In 1880, after the Civil War, women joined the "dries" and it wasnt long before the temperance movement was a power to be noticed. The WCTU (Woman's Christian Temperance Union)was formed and the Prohibition Party started gaining some serious weight.

By 1900, more than 50% of the continental united states had become dry. The prohibitionists thought they had the alcohol ban sortedand that there was no possible way for any person to get liquor into a dry state. Unfortunately for the dries, a loophole was found in the law, the postal service. Because the postal service was regulated by the federal government and not the state government, liquor could be mail ordered and shipped from a wet state.

This maddened the dries so in 1913, an Interstate Liquor Act was passed. This act effectively made it illegal for anyone to send liquor to any dry state by any means. which was actually a big loss for those trying to keep the liquor out as it gave rise to far more illegal methods of obtaining the alcohol as liquor distilleries were now in league with crime bosses.

In 1917, the 18th amendment was drawn up and it stated that it would now be illegal to buy ship or even manufacture liquor. This did not sit well with a lot of states so the amendment was debated in congress for a further 2 years. In 1920 33 states had declared themselves as dry and this meant a major victory for the prohibition party.

January 29, 1919. The 18th Amendment was ratified to make all hard liquor with an alcohol content over 40% (or 80 proof) be banned. Officially, it banned the "production, sale, or transporting of such alcoholic drinks." this was support by many peopleas they thought that only hard liquor was to be banned and that it would be fine to enjoy a glass of wine with a meal or have a beer after work.

However, it wasnt until a year later, the Volstead Act (prohibion act) was passed. The Volstead Act completely banned all alcohol that had more than 1/2% alcohol content. This effectively banned all forms of alcoholic beverages, with the exception of course being non-alcoholic beers. After the 18th amendment was ratified, the Volstead Act was brought into the light by the Prohibition supporters. For most of the prohibition supports who only wanted a little wine or the odd beer felt as though they had been betrayed as they were left with nothing when the act was passed.

1 group of people that no one considered were the veterans of the 1st world war, these ex soldiers felt very betrayed returning home from fighting in the war. Most of them had been stationed in France and came to know how a moderate amount of aclohol could in many ways enhance the quality of life. Then coming home and finding out that the dries had won a total victory over alcohol added to the bitterness of the veterans disdain.

The fatal mistake with prohibition was to ban all types of alcohol, which lost the Prohibition Party almost 80% of its followers.

Prohibition lasted for 13 years in the US until in 1933 the 21st amendment was passed to offically end the ban on alcohol.

Below explains both the 18th Amendment and the Volstead act and also give the 21st Amendment which is stating the end of prohibition.

The 18th amendment

1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.

2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. The 21st amendment

1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

3. The article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress

Grain Distillation

Aquavit
Aquavit, genever, gin, and whiskey (or whisky as the Canadians and Scots spell it), as well as vodka and the unflavored German schnapps called korn, are all part of the extended family of grain-based spirits. Except for whiskey and korn, whose compositions are strictly controlled by legislation, these potent drinks can also contain so-called agricultural alcohol made from molasses, potatoes, and other ingredients.

The name of this strong Scandinavian spirit is derived from the Latin t|ii,i vitae (water of life), and was once the designation for all liquor. The basis of the pale or golden-yellow aquavit is very pure, almost nil-less alcohol distilled from grain or potatoes with 96 percent alcohol by volume, or almost 200 proof.

It is distilled with water and a variety of flavorings, such as caraway (the most traditional), cinnamon, cloves, coriander, dill, fennel, lemon peel, and star anise, along with a number of "secret" ingredients. The heart of the distillate is then mixed with neutral alcohol and softened water and left to mature in the producer's cellars or warehouse. The alcohol content of dinish aquavit is 80 to 84 proof; German aquavit is 76 to 80 proof.

Serve aquavit very cold in a short glass, similar to a shot glass; this is how its full, round, and distinctive taste develops. It acts as a stimulant on the stomach wall and is very easily digestible, so it is ideal to offer guests after a meal as a digestive.

Genever
Genever is the Dutch national drink, and what is considered to be first gin. The word genever developed from the French word genievre (juniper), which is not surprising because genever, like somevatieties of gin, has a juniper aroma. First-class genever is matured for several years in oak casks and is golden yellow. The alcohol content is 76 to 86 proof. The Dutch drink their genever neat and very cold in small, tulip-shaped glasses as an aperitif. Fruit-flavored genevers are also available.

Gin
Clear spirit is one of the drinks without which a bar would be lost. The alcohol is based on barley and rye, to which a mixture of herbs and spices, called botanicals, is added, such as i, aniseed, cardamom, coriander, juniper, and lemon and orange zests. After distillation, the gin is diluted to the customary strength of 76 to 90 proof. "Dry gin," for example, is 80 proof.

Gins, produced in England, Holland, and the United States, have different taste qualities. The most requested gins are those as "dry gin" and "London dry gin." The dry designations developed to discriminate the contents from that which was labeled Old Tom gin" and "Plymouth Gin," both of which used to be sweeter than they are today. Sloe gin is, in fact, a liqueur, not made by macerating crushed sloes in gin.

Klarer This colorless, weak, and often flavorless spirit is made from potatoes, corn, and millet. The minimum alcohol content is 32 percent

Korn schnapps
When a German orders a "schnapps," the chances are that it is this clear, grain-based spirit that is required, not the flavored, often creamy drinks called "schnapps" in the United States. Korn is the most popular drink in Germany, where it is traditionally drunk neat or as a chaser to beer. Produced from wheat, rye, barley, oats, or buckwheat, it has an alcoholic content of between 32 and 38 percent by volume, or 64 to 76 proof.

If the designation Alt or Alter is on the label, the product has been matured for at least six months. Pure korn just tastes of grain, nothing else. If it is distilled from wheat, it is very mild; but if it is based on rye, it is powerful and spicy. Some varieties, called Kornbrand, contain a minimal addition of flavorings such as aniseed, cinnamon, cloves, or coriander. Apel Korn has been made with apples.

Vodka
In Russian, the meaning of the word vodka is "little stream." Vodka is a colorless, clear, smooth, and pure spirit with a neutral taste. It is distilled from mixtures of grains or potatoes. The top brands, however, consist only of grain (primarily barley and wheat, and occasionally rye). Its strength is usually at least 80 proof, with some brands being far more potent. Flavored vodkas have become popular and the range is constantly expanding.

Widely available flavors include lemon, lime, pepper, and other fruits. In the United States, vodka is perhaps best known as the main alcoholic ingredient in Blood Marys and Screwdrivers, but in many countries it is drunk neat as a straight shot. When you serve neat vodka, make sure it is as near ice cold as possible. If you store your bottle in the freezer, the high alcohol content prevents the liquid turning to ice and it will always be ready to enjoy.

Whiskey
"Whiskey" may be the generic term for the most widely drunk liquor in the world, but you will find great variety, not least of all determined by where it is produced. Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and the United States are the great whiskey producers.

Each country produces different product, and within each country there is great diversity. Even the spelling of the word is not the same: the americans and the Irish spell it "whiskey"; the Scots and the canadians spell it "whisky."Scotish whisky, or scotch as it is commonly known, is produced from malted barley or a mixture of grains, which can include malted and unmalted barley and the whole grains of cereals, such as corn or wheat, It is aged for at least three years in oak casks (traditionally second hand sherry casks) before bottling.

You will also see on the label the scotch is blended or a single malt. Blended scotch, as the term implies, contains scotch from several distilleries and will contain malt and grain whiskies married together. Single malts, on the other hand, are produced from only malted barley. If the label on a blened whiskey also contains an age, that is how long the youngest whiskey in the blend was aged in the cask.

One other characteristic of some scotch, especially some single malts is a smoky aroma. This occurs if the barley malt grains aredried over burning peat taken from the moorlands. Irish whiskey, produced from barley, wheat, rye, or oats, is blended, with only one significant single malt produced.

(The Irish use the term -vatting not "blending.") After distillation, clear water is added to give the whiskey its final alcoholic content of about 80 proof'. Irish whiskey is matured in wooden casks (for at least three years that previously stored sherry, rum, or bourbon. As a general rule irish whiskey has a mellower flavor than scotch, and you will never find any with the smoky, peaty aroma of some scotches because the grains are not dried over peat-fueled fires. In the United lush whiskey is best known as a component in Irish coffee or after-dinner drinks.

Bourbon
Good bourbon is aged for four to six years, but some is left much longer in the cask. Like scotch, bourbon is also available either blended or straight, the latter meaning that it has been distilled from a single grain and all the whiskey comes from a single distiller.

Rye whiskey, also popular with Americans and often simply referred to as rye, is distilled from a mash with at least 51 percent rye and matured for about four years. The taste is generally spicier than that of bourbon, and it also comes in blended and straight varieties.

Tennessee whiskey, which must be produced in the state to be labeled as such, is filtered through wood charcoal and is therefore very mild. Some of the best-known brands also have a distinct flavor, easily recognizable as different from bourbon because they are produced from a sour mash containing some previously fermented yeast (similar to the starter used to make sourdough bread; fresh yeast produces a sweet mash). This is the whiskey someone wants if they ask for a "sour mash whiskey."

American blended whiskey is a mixture of bourbon, rye whiskey, and corn whiskeys. Canadian whisky is blended from straight grain whiskies and practically flavorless neutral alcohol, resulting in drink that is paler and lighter in flavor than most American whiskeys. This is why Canadian whisky is often used in drinks with soft-drink mixers, such as ginger ale.

Distillation from Plants and Roots

Aniseed-flavored spirits
Some 1,500 years before Christ, these licorice-flavored spirits were valued as healing agents by the Egyptians. In the nineteenth century, absinthe, a potent aniseed aperitif distilled from wormwood, became a highly fashionable drink on both sides of the Atlantic, but intemperate enjoyment of it proved dangerous because it often led to madness or death. Consequently, early in the twentieth century, it was banned in many countries.

In the meanwhile, however, a plethora of "benign" successors developed; aniseed drinks which, in France, are known as pastis. They are based on star anise, with the essential oils being distilled and then mixed with sugar, pure alcohol, and various flavorings, such as mint, lemon balm, herbes de Provence, and licorice.

Pernod and Ricard are among the well-known brands from France (now also available as an alcohol-free drink), and anisette is a spiced liqueur. Creek ouzo and Turkish raki are also members of this big family of aniseed-flavored spirits. Ouzo is a sweet aniseed drink at 80 to 90 proof. Raki tastes dry and spicy, is not as sweet as ouzo, and is available at 80 to 100 proof.

Arrak
Similar to rum, this Asian spirit is distilled from sugarcane molasses with the addition of Indonesian red rice. Arrak is aged in oak barrels before it is bottled. The most respected variety comes from Batavia, in Indonesia, but similar drinks using a variety of ingredients, such as dates, also come from Goa in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Cachaca
This is a Brazilian spirit distilled directly from the juice of the sugarcane. The best-known cachaga is the straw-colored, clear Pitu. It has a soft, mild aroma and is 82 proof.

Sake
Many people would not consider a Japanese meal complete without a bottle of this clear, usually straw-colored, fermented-rice spirit. Even though sake, which is the Japanese national drink, is often referred to as wine, its production process is more like that of beer. Sake tastes similar to sherry and has an alcohol content of only 16 to 17 percent by volume, or about 35 proof.

Tequila
Mexico's number-one spirit, drunk since the time of the Aztecs, is distilled from the blue agave cactus. Clear, white tequila, also called silver tequila, is bottled immediately after distillation. Cold tequila, or tequila anejo, gets its golden-brown color from several years storage in oak barrels, during which time the flavor also mellows and becomes smoother. Most brands of tequila are about 90 proof. Mexican laws specify that only tequila produced in a specific geographical area around the town of the same name can be labeled as such.

Rum Formerly the drink of bootleggers, pirates, smugglers, and slave traders rum was for centuries the most commonly traded contraband. The home of rum is in the Caribbean islands of Jamaica,martinique, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Here, as in the past — and among the atlantic coastal countries of Central and South America — rum and sugar are important exports. Yet, the varieties of rum produced on the different islands differ from each other as much in terms of aroma taste and bouquet as do the wines of California's Napa Valley, or does from Tennessee sour mash.

The exact recipe for rum production is always the distiller's secret. What all types of rum have In common, however, is their raw material — the brown, viscous molasses by-product of sugarcane refining. After distillation, rum is clear and colorless. For light rum to remain clear, it is first matured in pale ash-wood barrels for only one year and is then transferred to stainless-steel tanks for additional aging. Dark rum, on the other hand, is left to mature for years in dark, wooden casks for five to seven years, where it develops its golden or brownish color and a full-flavored body.

Caramel is also added to some brands to intensify the color. In between light and dark rum is a grade called gold, or amber, which is aged for three years. Light rum not only looks lighter than dark rum, it also has a much more delicate taste than the latter. For this reason, light rum blends intensify superbly with other ingredients such as fruit juices, liqueurs, and lemonades in cocktails, without concealing its own taste.

Its slight flavor evaporates very quickly though, so light rum is not so well suited to hot punches and grogs.

Mezcal
Mezcal is a similar drink distilled from a different variety of the agave cactus, but it does not have the same labeling regulations. Contrary to popular belief, mezcal is the Mexican drink that traditionally contained a worm in the bottom of the bottle, not tequila.

Chicken Recipes

Chicken recipes are a part of diets for many of the worlds people, many of these recipes we have made over and over and others, are special recipes, this could be as an old family Christmas recipe or a special occassion fondue chicken recipe.

In the united states the population eat more chicken then any other meato the market, but we still strive to create new and intresting recipes or even just spicing up an old.

When cooking with chicken you must remember about food safety, chicken contains bacteria that you need to avoid contaminating yourself and your guests. Always wash your hands before and after touching or handling raw or cooked chicken. Use hot water you can and antibacterial soap when washing hands. When handling raw chicken be sure not to touch any equipment or items before washing your hands. This will prevent cross contamination.

When cooking chicken, make sure you cook it until it reaches the required temperature. Chicken NEVER be eaten raw cooking it thoroughly kills any harmful bacteria that may be on your chicken. Again, make sure to use utensils that are clean everytime you go to check the chicken and never use the same utensil for checking a raw chicken and a cooked one