Oenophiles - History of Wine Making
Somewhere in 6,000 B.C. the Copper Age was close to dawning, and Neolithic man was experimenting with stone tools and the first agricultural crops. The admixture of yeast and grapes probably occurred in Georgia or Iranian areas, in early peopled settlement with primary development social and agricultural tilling and agora patterns. By 5,000 B.C, farming and agriculture would have reached Europe. The specialty fruits grown there would have evolved into the modern grape.
Two thousand years ago, a person drinking wine would have been wealthy or necessarily noble. A servant would have served the wine, and peasants or slaves would have been responsible for its production. A very limited regional quality and quantity of wine would have been available at any time. References regarding seasonal grape growth, wine sacrifice or celebration of battle or heroic deeds, and the estimation of wine as a precious commodity date from this time. The presence of wine in human culture dates from before antiquity, during the banquets of Lucullus, and is cited in the Bible, and symbolism and depiction in writing and song extend from this era.
The omnipresence of wine stems from the settlement of European liberation from Rome to the time of the Magna Carta. Wine evolves as a precious commodity and trade good saleable in all lands and ports. From the time of the Crusades to the still lifes of Renaissance art, to Franciscan religious writings to epoch making scientific and naturalistic literature, emblematic history will show chronological and contemporaneous presence of wine in everyday life. References abound from this date in every language to wine enjoyment, limited availability, scarcity and value, and taste appreciation.
Originally, a wine product might derive from a trial and error process. A farmer or nobleman with a access to vines, fruit, grapes, the necessary equipment at leisure time might have discovered methods of wine production not known are discussed in their educational cycle or community. Juice, tannins, must, and other equipment and experimentation would have formed a trial and error process. Reaction to certain recipes or mixtures would have led to reproduction of these efforts over time.
Ownership of land in the early history of any country has always been a staple of cultural development. As base food products would have expanded, production of grapes would have likewise evolved. Ecologies which were able to support fruit production would have become more specialized over time. Methods of maintaining grape production yield quality would have developed. Taste and color of these grapes would have formed the basis of agricultural science for that region.
When the middle class developed in later centuries and European political turmoil stabilized, a leisure class evolved that could afford to specialize more closely in a product such as wine. Geographic inconsistencies in soils would have led to some grapes being planted in some places and other types of grapes being planted in different types of soil. The rising merchant class would have encouraged mercenary development, land speculation, and continued foreign trade in wine. As the market grew at home and abroad for the wine product, trade secrets evolved.
Through the centuries, agriculture and production of grapes would have changed hands. Seigneurial landowners would have evolved to individual farm tillers. Likely specialization for wine derivation would have been planned. Populations of agricultural farmers who could specialize in growing grapes and making wine would have kept records in archives. Over time, depreciation of grapes, bacterial diseases, and rarity of good land have altered the commercial availability and increased demand for wine. Thus, production would have evolved for commercial reasons and the agricultural revolution in winemaking was on.
A preponderance of wine literature, wine growing information, traditional wine production methods, and the location of the majority of wine grapes used to produce of most referential of wines lies in Europe. The complex aspect of growing grapes, blending wine, maturing the wine using fermentation and storage, and rendering it a product fit for sale and export has taken place in large part in European countries. The accessibility of the best grapes the world has to offer and gave a European agricultural landowners a distinct market advantage.
The spider web of cultures that have come together through the conjoined events of European politics, Mediterranean agricultural practices, the fruit harvesting Middle Eastern countries, and availability of agriculture products throughout Western Europe and other regions of the known world has produced a body of knowledge extant about wine today. The import and export of wine has been of signal importance every shipping lane, ports and courts throughout the world for centuries.
Adaptation of local wine making methods for wine products imported and exported to other countries expanded winemaking frontiers during the last several hundred years. Increased education, communication, travel, and literary expostulation of winemaking continued. As land became settled in North America and elsewhere, agricultural groups and landowners in many new countries developed more egalitarian land ownership practices, and individual specialization in winemaking arose.
A bottling process that allowed a wine product to be stored and sold in a glass bottle instead of a wine skin changed the wine industry forever. While previous fermentation and storage methods may have involved wooden casks or barrels, cross bottling and 19th century bottling techniques expanded wine markets worldwide. A rising middle class in almost every country created demand for wine as a gustatory pleasure. Many European countries such as France, Germany, and Italy emerged superior.
Increased travel in the 16th 17th, 18th and 19th and 20th centuries broke new boundaries in awareness of wine. Reports and consumption of wine by persons of all classes throughout Europe, Russia, North America, Mexico, another part of the world introduced a sharing of information creation a demand for more differentiated export products. The accessibility of these products had heretofore remained limited by reason of limited shipping methods.
Today, the wine industry has emerged as a global force. The strengths of the old world in wine quality, and knowledge, availability of grapes, seasonal production, and expert guidance has been disseminated worldwide. Centuries of representation of the grape in old lore, wine consumption in literature, depiction of the drinking of wine in art, social aspects of wine in song, and consumption or sale of wine as part of archived history, as well as local, regional, national culture comprise a central component of any country.
Currently, around the world many countries now operate agricultural interests and grape growing and winemaking. Many agricultural efforts by vendors in California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia, and other areas challenged the predominance of winemaking in Europe. Wine making as a business has found new blood in entrepreneurial spirit of the late 20th century. Modern science and technology however, have not yet been able to better many of the classic flavors of European wine making splendor.
Oenophiles
Oenophiles are persons who make a particular study and practice of appreciating wine. The production, composition, coloring, flavoring, barreling, and bottling of wine has become a hobby unto itself. If there is reason to serve wine, consideration of what wine to select opens a Pandora's box. What flavors of that wine will complement the meal? What wine is really a successful blend? How much should a wine cost and what kind of wine is a good value for money? Oenophiles know the answers to these questions. An oenophile might be a connoisseur or merely a hobbyist who knows their way around a wine bottle.
The wine market of today encompasses grape growing in many new countries. Many manufacturers package and bottle lines of various quality. The knowledge extant in the palates of many oenophiles can determine the succes of a modern wine. To determine a good knowledge of wine, the palate requires some training. Terminology and specialized considerations are use to rank and score wines accordingly.
Modern gastronomic standards, fine dining, upscale home cookery, Internet and global import and export commerce make any wine available to any buyer. Oenophiles today have more access to the type of wine globally and all wines globally than at any other time in history. They can make or break a one based on their review or opinion.
Oenophiles are individuals who make a business out of knowing wine. They know what makes a good wine, and they know why a wine is bad when it's bad. They know about the wisdom of bottling and the wisdom of corking. Oenophiles will be able to predict from a wine type what type of grape was used to form that particular wine varietal. Oenophiles become the experts as buyers and consumers, reporters and journalists, shoppers and critics of the wine world.
Oenophiles may have an agricultural background. They may be very well traveled. They may have assembled a knowledge of wine and cuisine around the world from sampling firsthand. While many people may shy from claiming to be experts, many can assert a special knowledge or taste that reflects experience and wisdom about wine and wine making.
Oenophiles may understand more about wine than some people who go into business trying to make wine. They may have scientific degrees in agriculture, science, geology, or hospitality or marketing. Oenophiles make up a valuable community for wine reviewers, manufacturers, commentators, customers, wine critics, and premium buyers for the wine market and wine consumers everywhere
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