What Is Wine? Types of Wine Explained (Red, White & More)

What is wine?

Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting grape juice. Grapes are a fruit that has a chemical composition that allows them to ferment without adding sugars, acids, or other nutrients. The fermentation of grapes is carried out by different types of yeast that consume the sugars present in them, transforming them into alcohol.
In the European Union, wine is legally described as the drink obtained exclusively by partial or total fermentation of fresh, whole, crushed or must grapes.

Red Wine

Red wines represent the majority of wines made worldwide.
The colour of red wines varies between ruby and yellowish. The straw colour is associated with red grapes that have not reached the point of ripeness or with varieties that are poor in pigments. On the other hand, the bluish violet colour is associated with one of the most widely used grape varieties in Portugal, Touriga Nacional. Regarding the red colour, it is present in grape varieties such as Alicante Bouschet or grape varieties with great concentration such as Vinhão. Finally, the yellowish colours are related to evolution, age and oxidative processes, present above all in liqueur wines.

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White Wine

White wine is usually made from white grapes, although it can also be produced from red grapes, using a very soft pressing and avoiding the extraction of colour from the skin.
The colour of white wine varies a lot; if, for example, we have a colourless wine it means that it has undergone a bleaching treatment. Usually the colours vary between citrus, as is the case with white Vinhos Verdes, and golden yellow, as is the case for wines aged in wood or with skin maceration.

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Rosé Wine

When making Rosé wine, it is only permitted to use red grapes. This is what distinguishes them from straw-coloured wines that are produced from a mixture of white and red grapes.
Because they are produced from the must of a first pressing of grapes destined for red wines, the maturation steps used to make red wines are usually followed; this method is called “sangria”.

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Sparkling Wine

Sparkling wines are characterised by the production of persistent foam when the bottle is opened.
They have varied styles and can be classified according to the winemaking techniques used in their production.
Sparkling wines are usually white or rosé wines, but reds can also be found in countries like Italy and Australia.

Fortified Wine

Fortified wines, or Liqueurs, stand out for their high alcohol strength, coming from musts whose fermentation was interrupted by wine spirit.
They are distinguished by their high sweetness and high alcohol content (up to 22% by volume, but usually between 18 and 20%), which at the same time requires the presence of acids to guarantee a balanced flavour.

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Late Harvest Wine

Late Harvest wine is produced with grapes harvested later than normal, almost transformed into raisins on the vine. It is a type of fungus that covers the skin of grapes and develops more in humid climates, causing them to concentrate their flavours and dehydrate.
This type of wine depends on this ripeness to have the high sugar content that is so characteristic.

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