Brief History of Wine

WINE

BRIEF HISTORY OF WINE:

The history of wine is very old. Archaeological evidence from Armenia, Georgia, Iran and Egypt suggests that humans have been producing it since around 6000 BC. Wine was not prized primarily as a source of pleasure or even sustenance, but rather as a means of communion with one's god or gods, who gave this gift to men. In ancient Egyptian ceremonies wine was so important to be depicted on the walls of the tombs.

It was highly regarded in both Greek and Roman cultures. The first worshiped Dionysus and the latter carried on his cult, calling him Bacchus. Greek wines often fermented in vats coated with pine resin, giving them a flavour, which can be now found in the current retsina wine.

In Roman times, wine-making reached a high degree of sophistication. Amphorae of wine were sealed with wax and labeled with the following data: year, vineyard, producer and type of grapes, like a modern wine label. It was seldom drunk straight, and mixed with water, sometimes honey, spices and even lead to stop fermentation.

The Roman Empire had an immense impact on the development of viticulture and enology. The major wine-producing regions of Western Europe today were established during the Imperial era.

Consumption of ritual wine was part of the Jewish practice since Biblical times, and became essential to the Christian Church as part of the Eucharist.

During the Middle Age, monks developed techniques and identified many of the finest vineyards in Europe. In the 17th century, when cork was discovered, wine kept in tightly corked bottles lasted much longer, and its taste improved, acquiring a particular feature called bouquet, which refers to the smell of wine.

TASK 1 CIRCLE THE WORDS REFERRING TO THE PLACES, TIME AND CIVILIZATIONS IN THE TEXT

(REMEMBERING : find)

TASK 2 IN SMALL GROUPS FIND PICTURES ON THE WEB WHICH REPRESENT IMAGES RELATED TO WINE AND GODS. DESCRIBE THEM BRIEFLY.

(REMEMBERING: find/describe)

HERE ARE TWO EXAMPLES:

Dionysus playing the harp with dancing satyrs Jesus turning water into wine

WHITE WINE

White wines can be dry, sweet, intensely luscious. They are usually made from white grapes, but occasionally black grapes are also used. White grapes require less warmth than black ones to reach maturity.

The simplest method is to harvest white grapes at optimum ripeness, crush and press them, collecting the juice for fermentation. The result will be white wine, but there are many refinements that can produce higher quality.

RED WINE

Red wines are always made from black grapes. Differently from white wine, the skins are not separated from the juice after the grapes have been crushed. They ferment with the juice, and when the cells become soft, they rupture and release the colouring matter and tannins. Fermentation normally continues until all the sugars have been converted into alcohol.

DIFFERENT PHASES IN WINE-MAKING:

CRUSHING AND DESTEMMING: red grapes are often separated from their stems before crushing, but this will depend on grape variety. In some cases, whole bunches are put into vats to ferment, without crushing. Hand destemming is rare nowadays.

FERMENTING: the juice and the skins go into vats or tanks together, and fermentation begins, through the action of yeasts, which may be present on grape skins, or they may be added by the winemaker. Fermentation may take up to 5 weeks, at temperatures between 15 °C and 30 °C. The richer and darker the wine is to be, the longer the skins will be kept in contact with the juice.

PRESSING: once separated, the skins will be pressed to extract the remaining juice, which is darker and more tannic. It may be added in some proportion to the final blend.

STORING-AGING-BLENDING: the maturation, until wine is deemed ready for bottling, may take place in tanks, vats, or wooden barrels. Once again, the choice of method will depend on the type of wine being made. Generally, this includes a blending stage, whereby wines from different tanks or barrels are put together in order to improve and harmonize the final product.

TASK 3 IN SMALL GROUPS MATCH THE TWO HALVES OF THE SENTENCES

1. Red wines are always made / a. from white grapes.
2. The juice is pumped / b. to release their juice.
3. Residual sugar is grape sugar / c. by the cells when they become soft.
4. Storing, aging and blending / d. and fermentation begins.
5. Juice and skins go into vats / e. to extract the remaining juice.
6. Crushing and destemming are / |f. warmth than black grapes to ripe.
A7. White grapes require less / g. to start fermentation.
8. Fermentation goes on until / h. the first phase of winemaking.
9. Colouring matter and tannins are released / i. all the sugars have been converted into alcohol.
10. Winemakers add yeasts / l. untransformed by yeasts into alcohol.
11. Grapes are pressed / m. into vats.
12. White wines are usually made / n. from black grapes.
13. Once separated, the skins will be pressed / o. are the final phases.

LABELS

A first-class wine can be recognized from its colour, its bouquet and taste. The label on the bottle is an important source of information. Here are some examples:

TURRIGA

CLASSIFICATION

Typical Geographical Indication Red Isola dei Nuraghi.

GRAPE VARIETIES

Cannonau, Carignano, Bovale Sardo, Malvasia Nera.

VINIFICATION TECHNIQUES

Painstaking selection of the grapes. Fermentation at controlled temperature 28-32°C. Maceration for about 16-18 days with good use of the delestage technique.

AGING

18-24 months in French oak barriques.

REFINING

For 12-14 months in the bottle.

TASTING NOTES

Colour: intense ruby red.

Nose: rich, complex bouquet.

Palate: very well structured, balanced, fine and persistent. Very smooth.

FOOD MATCHES

Stewed boar, furred game, red meats, mature Sardinian pecorino cheese.

IS ARGIOLAS

CLASSIFICATION

Vermentino di Sardegna DOC.

GRAPE VARIETY

Vermentino.

VINIFICATION TECHNIQUE

Painstaking selection of the grapes, very light pressing with use only of first press wine. Cooling at 10-12°C. Fermentation with native yeasts only, at controlled temperature between 16-17°C for 25-30 days. Left to develop on its lees for 40-60 days.

TASTING NOTES

Colour: soft straw yellow with green tinges.

Nose: intense primary aroma, delicate, lingering, excellent secondary aroma, great bouquet.

Palate: lively, fresh, rich, balanced, delicate, fine.

FOOD MATCHES

Fish starters, culurgiones with potato and mint filling, seafood risotto, artichoke risotto, linguine (flat spaghetti) with seafood dressing, stewed and grilled fish, white meat, medium mature cheese.

TASK 7 IN SMALL GROUPS FIND A LABEL OF ANOTHER FAMOUS SARDINIAN WINE ON THE WEB AND COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING CHART:
(REMEMBERING AND APPLYING)

NAME
CLASSIFICATION
VINIFICATION TECHNIQUE
AGING
REFINING
TASTING NOTES
FOOD MATCHES

FOOD AND WINE

Enjoy wine with food is a matter of personal preference and taste, but some flavours and styles definitely bring out the best in each other. Choosing similar styles of wine and food, and balancing their complementary flavours, are among the best ways to ensure an ideal match.

Here are some practical guidelines which can be useful to avoid any clash of combinations:

- red wine is generally served at room temperature, with red meat, game, well-seasoned cheese and other strongly-flavoured dishes;

- white wine is usually served cool, with white meat, fish, salad, light dishes and as an aperitif;

- dry sparkling wine is served chilled, before the meal, as an aperitif, or with desserts;

- sweet wine is served at the end of the meal, with most desserts, some cheese and nuts.

- Rosé wines can be drunk with appetizers, fried and grilled fish, shrimps, crabs, eggs, grilled chicken and side dishes.

TASK 8 HERE ARE SOME RULES REGARDING THE TYPE OF WINE WHICH CAN BE SERVED WITH FOOD. DECIDE IF THEY ARE TRUE OR FALSE, AND CORRECT THE FALSE ONES:

(APPLYING AND EVALUATING)

TRUE FALSE

1. Red wines are served with light meals and desserts, too. [ ] [ ]

…......

2. White wines are drunk with red meat, pork, lamb and game. [ ] [ ]

…......

3. White wines are drunk with fish, poultry and pork. [ ] [ ]

…......

4. Rosé wines are drunk with poultry, fish and light meat dishes. [ ] [ ]

…......

5. Sparkling wines are ideal with desserts, but they are also served with caviar, shellfish and during celebrations. [ ] [ ]

…......

RECIPES

LAMB WITH ARTICHOKES

Ingredients for 4/5 people:

6 artichokes
1kg thigh of lamb
Parsley-1 onion-1 clove of garlic
3 dried tomatoes
1 lemon
1 half spoon of salt
water

Preparation:

Clean the artichokes removing the external leaves and thorns. Divide them into 4 parts and let them soak into water with lemon.

Cut the lamb in large portions, and let them brown in a saucepan with a cup of oil. Turn them often until they are browned on both sides. When they are cooked remove them from the pan and set aside.

Finely chop one onion, garlic, dried tomatoes and parsley. Put these ingredients and the artichokes in the saucepan, previously used for the lamb. Fry on high flame and stir.

When the liquid has evaporated add 2 cups of water and boil for 5 minutes.

At this point, put the ingredients in the pan adding a half spoon of salt, and cook for 1/2 an hour.

CULURGIONES

Ingredients for 8 people:

- 1 kilogram potatoes

- 4 tablespoons olive oil

- 2 cloves of garlic

- mint leaves

- 200 grams of viscidu or casu axedu

- 600 grams flour

- pinch of salt

-300 grams of pecorino cheese (Sardinian sheep cheese)

-300 ml water

Preparation:

Wash and boil the potatoes. Peel them after cooking, mash and put them in a bowl. Add chopped garlic, finely chopped mint leaves, viscidu, pecorino cheese, and some oil. Now mix all the ingredients.

Prepare the dough with the flour, a little oil, a pinch of salt, and knead well. Prepare small disks of dough using a small glass. Fill each disk with a tablespoon of the potato mash mix. Give each disk a cone form, shaping its edges as an ear of corn, and fold it on itself. The culurgiones are now ready to be cooked in boiling water for a few minutes. Serve with tomato sauce and abundant grated pecorino cheese.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

READ CAREFULLY THE ABOVE RECIPES AND CHOOSE THE BEST MATCHING WINE/S. MOTIVATE YOUR DECISION.

(APPLYING AND EVALUATING)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Brief History of Wine

WINE

BRIEF HISTORY OF WINE:

WHITE WINE

RED WINE

DIFFERENT PHASES IN WINE-MAKING:

TASK 3 IN SMALL GROUPS MATCH THE TWO HALVES OF THE SENTENCES

CATEGORIES

TASK 4 IN PAIRS SPOT THE ODD ONE OUT.

TASK 5 IN PAIRS MATCH THE ADJECTIVES ON THE LEFT WITH THEIR OPPOSITES ON THE RIGHT

TASK6 IN PAIRS THIS PUZZLE CONTAINS 7 WORDS. CAN YOU FIND THEM?

LABELS

TURRIGA

IS ARGIOLAS

FOOD AND WINE

TASK 8 HERE ARE SOME RULES REGARDING THE TYPE OF WINE WHICH CAN BE SERVED WITH FOOD. DECIDE IF THEY ARE TRUE OR FALSE, AND CORRECT THE FALSE ONES:

RECIPES

FINAL ASSESSMENT