The Wonderful World of Wine
Wine is a symbol of success. Every time there are celebrations and ceremonies, whether they are weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or other occasions, the wine always completes the event. Without it, the celebration becomes very dull. Not to mention, it is as if there was no party at all. Thus, it can be said that our world is like a world of wine. After all this talk about wines, let us now go deeper. Let us enter the depths of wines, together with its importance and role in our society.
A wine is actually an alcoholic beverage. Usually, it is made from fermented grapes. Since there are various types of grapes, it is but natural to have various types of wines. Commonly used single species of grapes are as follows:
- Vitis Vinifera
- Vitis Labrusca
- Vitis Riparia
- Vitis Rotundifolia
- Vitis Aestivalis
- Vitis Mustangensis
Vitis Vinifera grapes can be used in making wine or can be eaten. They can either be red or green in color. That explains why there are green and red wines. The same goes for the Vitis Labrusca and Vitis Rotundifolia varieties which are wine and table grapes. On the other hand, Vitis Riparia, Vitis Aestivalis and Vitis Mustangensis grapes are only used for making wine.
Aside from the single species grapes, there are also hybrid grapes. These hybrid grapes are made by crossing over the genetic materials of one species of grapes to another. Most often, the parents of hybrid grapes are European grapes. Hybrid grapes have an expansive purpose. But since, we are talking about wines, let us limit ourselves within than. These hybrid grapes are widely used in making wine especially in specialized wines which require special grapes.
Human culture nestles in a world of wine. Even religion is connected to wines. In mythology, the importance of wine can be seen through Dionysius- the God of Wine. In Jewish traditions, wine is very important such as in the ceremony Shabbat where a prayer is to be recited over wine. In addition, wines are also used in Christian ceremonies. For instance, the Holy Eucharist, one of the seven sacraments, is celebrated with wine. It can also be seen in the painting Last Supper that Jesus is sited in a table with his apostles sharing bread and wine. A few protestant denominations have been arguing whether the wine should only be used for the Hole Eucharist or be used as a regular beverage.
Even if there are some countries where wine is forbidden by the law, it is still very true that we are living in a world of wine. A good example would be Brunei and other countries which are Islamic. But still, wine is not totally forbidden. It might be forbidden by law but it still plays an important role in their lives. They use wine for curing different ailments. Many Iranian poems have wine as its theme. Thus, it can not be said that wines are totally out of their world.