Are you a wine connoisseur?

[VBenedict]

There are many aspects to everything in life. Many angles from which to approach any subject matter of interest and so I am approaching this wine topic from a historical perspective.

I do not consider myself a true wine connoisseur. My experience with wines is limited to distinguishing taste, aroma and age as a social wine taster. (Alchohol can trigger intense migraines when I intake more than half a glass, even with dinner).

I recently became interested in the historical aspects and process of wine distillation when at a Turkish Cuisine Restaurant I was offered a taste of an imported turkish wine.

I was truly pleasantly surprised at the quality of this wine. It met all my expectations of what a remarkable wine should meet.

I became curious about the origins of no only this wine but wineries in Turkey.

Do you know where the oldest wineries on Planet Earth are?

Or which two countries are the only ones to harvest true native grape vines?

As a wine connoisseur did you know that Turkey and Italy are the only two countries to grow actual native grape vines

What is the origin of wine?

1. Can you help me discover more historical facts about wine making?

2. In your unbiased opinion; who traditionally has been farming the best wine making grapes?

3. Traditionally what climates are best suited for what genre of grapes.

4. What are the oldest species of grapes.

You can tackle one question or more at a time and help me learn more about the historical facts of wine making and the role of wines in society throughout the times.

[VBenedict]

There are many aspects to everything in life. Many angles from which to approach any subject matter of interest and so I am approaching this wine topic from a historical perspective.

I do not consider myself a true wine connoisseur. My experience with wines is limited to distinguishing taste, aroma and age as a social wine taster. (Alchohol can trigger intense migranes when I intake more than half a glass, even with dinner).

I recently became interested in the historical aspects and process of wine distillation when at a Turkish Cuisine Restaurant I was offered a taste of an imported turkish wine.

I was truly pleasantly surprised at the quality of this wine. It met all my expectations of what a remarkable wine should meet.

I became curious about the origins of no only this wine but wineries in Turkey.

Do you know where the oldest wineries on Planet Earth are?

Or which two countries are the only ones to harvest true native grape vines?

As a wine connoisseur did you know that Turkey and Italy are the only two countries to grow actual native grape vines

What is the origin of wine?

1. Can you help me discover more historical facts about wine making?

2. In your unbiased opinion; who traditionally has been farming the best wine making grapes?

3. Traditionally what climates are best suited for what genre of grapes.

4. What are the oldest species of grapes.

You can tackle one question or more at a time and help me learn more about the historical facts of wine making and the role of wines in society throughout the times.

[VBenedict]

@AlexVee thank for recognizing my work. Your kudo means a great deal to me.

@ErmesT I am seeing my wine post twice.

What do you suppose happened? Can you check to see if it appears twice to you?

[ErmesT]

Hi @VBenedict, ies, it seems you posted it twice. You can simply delete this one.

Now, back to your post

I love it, I love everything related to wine, so I am very happy for living in the area of Prosecco. Prosecco will be the subject of the “wine meet-up 2018”, while the subject of wine meet-up 2017 was “Raboso”.

Making wine is a blend of Culture, Tradition, Technology: Exploring Italian Wines - A Modern Traditional Art

Technology is helping, in finding the best soil for every type of wine, whyle tradition is discovering wood and barrels, that for a long time were replaced by concrete and stainless steel.

Do you want to come with us, to visit the Italian vineyards?

Follow the link: September is the month of the Grape Harvest

You will have a lot of fun.

[Shirley]

@VBenedict : I don’t know a lot about the history of wines so thanks for sharing some interesting facts. What I can tell you is that we have had a number of wineries that popped up in the last recent years here in the west coast of Canada. Some of them are smaller and owned by families, some of them are much larger companies. One of the specialties here is ice wine and it is a dessert wine, very much like port from Portugal! I did a bit of a winery tour of some of the “wine country” areas here in the west coast. You can check out the post here.

[VBenedict]

@ErmesT . I did not intentionally post twice. The duplicate simply showed up a few minutes later.

While I was posting I received an Error which I regret not to have screen snapped. I was concerned that I might loose my work if I did anything in between; so I quickly tapped on Post again.

I have lost work before in much the same manner. Poof! Simply disappearing.

The post version you are recommending I delete does not have the delete option on the dropdown (3dots) and that is the one that is getting all of our activity.

The other version does in fact have the Delete option and I think that this is the original one. I am concerned that if I delete the original one it will delete both along with its replies an kudos.

[ErmesT]

Ok @VBenedict , don’t worry. Let’s Googler to manage it and let’s talk about wine, as this is a subject that I really love. Vineyard and winery are all around me, in Treviso, wine is an integral part of our life. Everyone is a farmer, a son or a nephew of a farmer.

Back for a minute to your issue, I always write my original post on Google document first. Than, I copy my post on Connect. In this way I am sure that the original document still in a safe place

[VBenedict]

Let us discuss the used of cement and stainless steel in the wine making industry.

Was this an industrywide move in Italy alone? Or was this worldwide adaptation?

What prompted this break from a proven millions of year old tradition?

[VBenedict]

You are very welcome @Shirley . Much appreciate your input

“…some of them are much larger companies.”

Are the larger companies subsidiaries of pre-existing well known wineries? Or are they simply new well funded wineries.

“One of the specialties here is ice wine and it is a dessert wine, very much like port from Portugal!”

Interesting Marketing using subliminal double entendre… local climate and ice wine. And if the ice wine is pretty much like a Port then add tradition and presence to the subliminal mix.

[VBenedict]

@OSAMA know LGs from Turkey you can tag?

@AlejandraMaria Spain produces outstanding table wines

@Vvincent France => Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion

@LucioV . Where in Italy did its native grape vines first appeared?

@MiaMaria Germany has some very lovely wines…

@TorM . Would love your two cents

@LuisRG What can you share?

What were the origins of Wine?

Would love your input and Please tag anyone interested in wine historical facts and its evolution.

~ Virginia Benedict

Beauty&Lifestyles™

Google Maps Lists Curator

Google Maps Local Guide

[Ivi_Ge]

Hello @VBenedict,

Thank you for sharing some interesting facts about wine, like Latin said : " In vino veritas" (in wine there is truth). I don’t know a lot about the wine history around the world, but I want to share some information about wine in Bulgaria. Wine has been made and consumed in Bulgaria since the age of the ancient Thracians thousands of years ago. Bulgaria’s territory is divided into five main regions, according to the different soil and climatic conditions in the country. Those regions are: Danube Plain (North Bulgarian), Black Sea (East Bulgarian), Rose Valley (Sub-Balkan), Thracian Lowland (South Bulgarian), and Struma River Valley (Southwest Bulgarian). Each region offers specific grape varieties and wines.

And if you want to read a bit more about Bulgarian wine, you can check this article - 7 unique Bulgarian wine varieties you must taste.

[VBenedict]

Outstanding Thank you @Ivi_Ge Beautifully written and precisely the historic data I am hoping we compile for the benefit of everyone interested; not only in wines per se, but its impact on local and world socioeconomic platforms, as well as its influence on our cultures.

It is my pleasure to meet your cyber acquaintance and look forward to building alliance.

Best Regards,

~ Virginia Benedict

Beauty&Lifestyles™

Google Maps Lists Curator

[SoniaK]

Hi @VBenedict , this is an interesting post. I didn’t know the history of wine, until I read this.

I don’t know much about wine. In fact I haven’t tried wine much in my entire life until last year at the summit. Before that, I tried only a couple of times with my friends, and that too was just a glass each time. Sorry, can’t share anything about it. But I am glad that I had a chance seeing the wine making process at Dogpatch Wineworks last year, which was a great experience for me. And also I learned a little about the pairing of food with wine after that from San Francisco Wine School. I never knew the pairing differences between white wine and red wine with vegetables and meat or fish. It was a great learning session.

[VBenedict]

@SoniaK I am glad that you have had the opportunity to learn interesting facts about the role of Wine in the culinary world.

It is said that one glass of red wine with a meal a day keeps the doctors away. More that that is a waste.

Thank you for sharing the Dogpatch link.

[SoniaK]

One glass of wine? Wasn’t it an apple, @VBenedict ? Lol.

My pleasure sharing the link. It is actually forbidden in my religion to have alcohol. That’s the only reason I am away from this drink, otherwise I probably would have been an expert by now.

[VBenedict]

Exactly! One glass of wine a day, normally with dinner. There is a reason your religion forbids alchohol consumption, when you think about it.

This is why I emphasize the importance of one glass of wine.

Is it okay to ask what religion you practice?

I was born a Roman Catholic and intuitively celebrate everyone’s religion because I understand the importance of diversity in both the Socio-Anthropological and the Physical-Anthropological contexts.

[ErmesT]

Yes, it was an apple, @SoniaK but I agree with @VBenedict .

A glass of red wine is suggested by doctors due to the content of polyphenols.

Polyphenols are natural compounds that helps to fight disease.

Several religions prohibited the use of alcoholic beverages. This have of course historical and climate reason, like for some kind of food. Moderation is in any case the rule that I like to follow, both for wine and for food.

[VBenedict]

@ErmesT thank you for the info on “Polyphenols are natural compounds that helps to fight disease.”

If you wish to learn more about the health benefits and risks of Polyphenols you can start here.

Just remember that a balanced diet is a healthy diet. Too much wine, too much alchohol, too much of anything always produces negative effects.

Back to the history of wines… you might wish to read, as I am discovering from @Ivi_Ge 's comment above, about Bulgarian wines and how dating back to 400 BC the ancient Thracians tribes worshipped wine as divine.

[ErmesT]

Thank you @VBenedict for your feedback about polyphenols. I agree with you about a correct diet, avoiding every kind of abuse.

Back to the main topic, I am amazed about the Bulgarian wine shared by @Ivi_Ge . I never tested it, and I want to do it.

It seems that I never responded to your previous question:

"Let us discuss the used of cement and stainless steel in the wine making industry.

Was this an industrywide move in Italy alone? Or was this worldwide adaptation?

What prompted this break from a proven millions of year old tradition?"

On the late '70s, the Italian wine production was moving to the direction of a mass production. In that case the stainless steel is the best material, for a low quality product, that need to ramain stable and constant.

For quality production, stainless steel is not a good material, because it blocks the transpiration / oxidation of the wine, that is the most important step for the maturation. Also, Stainless steel is a good temperature conductor. For a good aging, the temperature mast be kept as constant as possible.

Both, concrete and wooden barrel are better than stainless steel.

On the new century, quality production is becoming prevalent again. So, the production is moving back to concrete and wood, while stainless steel are used for fermentation only.

Aging the wine, as we said, need oxigen, that is slowly passing through wood and concrete.

As far as I know, US wine industry in California is mostly using concrete, while the Italian industry is moving back to wooden barrels, due to the extra taste that the wood can give to the wine. Also, different kind of wood, can give different aging results, with (my own opinion) a better result in term of taste.

Here some traditional machine for grapes pressing

Wooden barrels in a modern farm

Ermes

[SoniaK]

Hi @VBenedict i am a Muslim. You are right. There must be a reason why things are forbidden in some religions. And on top of everything, too much consumption of anything is bad for us.