Wine ranks among the world’s favorite beverages, alongside beer, tea, coffee, and plain water. Wine, or fermented grapes, has been made for a few thousand years, often developed independently by a number of civilizations, and the same is true of beer. Most wine known today is either red or white wine, and is descended from how the Greeks and Romans made it. In fact, our term “wine” comes from the Latin “vinum”, which is also where “vineyard” comes from. Today’s wine varies not only in color, but white wines and red wines alike may be dry or sweet, have different fruit flavors, and vary in age and brand. France and Italy in particular make most of the world’s wine, and some brands and wineries date back centuries and have solid reputations. Some rare wine bottles fetch high prices indeed in auctions, but most wine customers today are more interested in ordering wine online, getting wine for wedding venues, and knowing how to pour wine perfectly. How to pour wine perfectly? It may seem silly at first to ask, but there are some ways to mistreat wine and damage the drink. Asking “how to pour wine perfectly” is in fact a good idea.
All About Wine
A budding wine enthusiast will soon discover that wine is not just any drink. In some circles, wine is taken quite seriously, and that includes not only the wine’s age and flavor, but also how it is prepared. In particular, “how to pour wine perfectly” involves “how long do you let wine breathe?” Wine is not always poured right after its bottle is opened; while champagne, most white wines, and rose wines can be poured right away, other wines need time before being poured. Wines younger then eight years old may have tannic acid in them and the air inside the bottle, which may impact the flavor somewhat. To avoid this, a wine bottle is opened, and allowed to mingle with fresh air for an hour or two before serving. Wines older than eight years might need only a half hour of this, and very old wines may not need this process at all. Someone with solid wine experience will know how long a bottle needs to breathe, if at all.
Finally, the question of “how to pour wine perfectly” may also involve sediments. Some wines have unwanted sediments in the liquid, so a freshly opened bottle can be poured into a decanter or similar vessel first. The wine may in fact be poured back and forth between two containers a few times to clear up any sediments and make for a finer drink. A newer wine enthusiast may refer to experienced wine lovers on how and when to do this.
The Market for Wine
Wine is largely cultivated in France and Italy, but the United States has emerged as the third and newest major wine-producing nation in the world. Most American vineyards are much younger than European ones, but they offer a wide variety of brands and flavors of wine for domestic buyers, and often prove popular. Most American states have at least a few wineries, but California in particular is home to 90% of American vineyards due to that large state’s favorable climate and terrain.
Who is drinking wine? Many people, to put it simply, and they often skew younger. Americans of all ages like to drink wine, but the young adults born from 1982-1995, known as Millennials, are some of the most enthusiastic wine drinkers today. On average, they consume more wine in a sitting than their Baby Boomer parents do, and USA Today revealed that in 2015, Millennials alone drank 42% of all wine consumed in the United States. That adds up to some 159.6 million cases of it in that year alone.
A wine lover may visit a local winery and choose some of their favorite brands, along with wine accessories like tote bags and corkscrews. Other customers may find their preferred wine brands online and order them, and these wines may be delivered by truck and stored in cooler units in a warehouse near the customer’s residence. The customer will then be notified, and may pick up their wine at the warehouse.