🍺 Types of wine

The types of wine and the criteria for their classification

There are so many typology of wine, which are distinguished by specific properties, in turn attributable to one part a sensory perceptions, which can be both visual and taste-olfactory, on the other to the different vinification processes, which give rise to different products.

Types of wine

Classification of wines based on color

Il colore is the first sensation that wine. transmits us. The distinction between wines Bianchi, red, rosé refers on the one hand to the peel color of the vine, from the other to the vinification method, with or without maceration of the skins in musts.

Classification of wines based on effervescence

The presence of carbon dioxide in wine, when intentional (and otherwise it denotes a problem!) leads to subdivide wines into farm, sparkling e sparkling, depending on the presence of dissolved gas (which gives life to bubbles) and to pressure exercising inside the bottle, greater for the sparkling, lighter for sparkling wines.

Classification of wines based on residual sugars

Il sugar content, that is the quantity of XNUMX/XNUMX cup sugar present at the end of vinification (residual sugar) determines the greater or lesser sweetness of the wine. THE still wines stand out in dry, kind o desserts, while for the sparkling a specification is used scale of sweetness which derives from the one used for Champagne, which goes fromextra profit (completely dry) al sweet o Dolce, with residual sugar top have 50 g / l.

Classification of wines based on the ripeness of the grapes

Il degree of maturity ideal grape for harvest is a choice of manufacturer, which is done on the basis of type of wine you want to get. The “standard” level of maturity involves a equilibrium ideal among the acidic and sugary components contained in the grapes for the production of a wine fermo. If the harvest is delayed, with ripening sugars increase in the berries and then in the must. And blame yes late harvest, depending on the style of winemaking, they can be more or less sweet, but they will always have one structure more full-bodied compared to standard wines and if dry, also a content alcohol very respectable. If the grapes are made wither before the pressing (i.e. they are put to rest for a more or less long period of time in suitable rooms or in the sun, on mats, racks or boxes), obtaining a reduction in the weight of the bunches from 20 to 35% or more, let's talk about dessert winesVery concentrated in extracts is always very sweet (up to 200 g / l or more in residual sugars) or a lot of alcohol, if dry (as in the case ofAmarone).

Classification of wines based on the material of the cellar containers

Depending on whether the wines are produced using inert containers (steel, concrete, fiberglass, terracotta) or wooden containers (barrels of various sizes) their organoleptic profile can undergo more or less accentuated changes according to the type and size of the container. THE wooden containers can be used for both fermentation of wines and their refinement in contact with the lees (in white vinification) that in maturation and refinement of both white and red wines. Wood is a natural and active material, and its contribution to the aging of the wine increases with the inverse of the size of the barrel. Small barrels like barrels (225 liters) oi tonneaux (500 liters) are often subjected to roasting (fumigation with open flame) more or less marked on the inside in contact with wine, which allows the transfer of various classes of substances (especially tannins) to the wines contained, giving the product typical notes (tertiary aromas) of vanilla, toasted, leather and others.

Classification of wines based on the addition of alcohol or aromas

The wines liqueur o fortified are obtained stopping fermentation through the addition of alcohol or brandy, thus obtaining more or less sweet products depending on the fermentation stage at which the addition is made. Famous examples of this type of wines are the Marsala, the Sherry o Jerez, Madeira Island and many others.

If infusions or extracts of herbs or other aromatic substances are added to the wine, i flavored wines, of which the most example famous and the Vermouth, but there are other more particular ones, such as the Barolo chinato.

Classification of wines based on agronomic and oenological management

Recently, to styles traditional di wine production real styles of agronomic management of the vineyards, we will therefore speak of wines from organic grapes, if the organic certification is limited to the vineyard, or of real ones organic wines if the winemaking process also meets certain parameters and requirements. THE biodynamic wines are produced by applying criteria inspired bybiodynamic agriculture, a real philosophy which takes into consideration all the aspects of interaction between agricultural production, territory, environment and human activity. These wines are often also original from an organoleptic point of view, since the use of any synthetic substance and yeast artificially selected.

The wine classes for pairing with the dishes

From the practical point of view, the choice of a wine must be done also based on food with which it must be accompanied. For this purpose the wines are grouped according to theirs organoleptic characteristics that identify the product and its best use to accompany food or, more generally, convivial moments. There starting classification of the types of wine which allows us to continue studying the methods of pairing with food is as follows: