Categories of wines. By what attributes are the wines divided into categories? Classification of wines by quality categories

As they said in ancient Rome, In vino veritas, and with this it is impossible not to agree. After all, despite the technological progress and the cultivation of new varieties of grapes, wine remains one of the most honest drinks. People can falsify a well-known brand, but it is impossible to forge taste, smell and color. And how 1000 years ago a quality wine is able to unleash a language even to the most laconic person.

Many will be surprised and say "Wine is wine", but it's worth going into the question, and it becomes clear how diverse the world of this drink is.

3 facts of influence on history

1. For the first time the status of the divine gift of wine was received in Greek mythology, when the Gods of Olympus shared his recipe with people. This drink is still used in many religious rituals.

2. Many historians agreed that the beginning for the French Revolution was an increase in the tax on wine, which subsequently made the alcoholic drink inaccessible to the middle class.

3. When taxes were raised in France, friendly relations were established between Britain and Portugal. According to the researchers, the British really liked the taste of Portuguese port wine.

And now we turn to the main question - by what criteria the wines are divided into categories.

General classification

It is impossible to tell about all grades in one article, so let's talk about the most ancient and popular European country for the production of wine drinks - France. It was here that the four-level classification of wines was registered according to the quality categories.

Table wines (VDT or vin de table). The production of beverages can be based on the use of different varieties and grape yields. To ensure a 9% level of alcohol in the wort allowed to add sugar syrup. The label of table wines does not indicate the place of manufacture and the year of harvest. Because of the lack of expressiveness and individuality, they did not deserve the attention of critics and sommeliers, and good restaurants will never include them on the menu.

Vin de pays (VDP), or local, belong to the category of quality wines of a higher level. The production is based on regulated varieties of berries, the drink must have a certain strength and correspond to certain organoleptic characteristics. Grapes used for this category are grown in a special area. The right to produce beverages of this category has 150 locations in France.

Appellation d'Origine Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieure (AOVDQS or VDQS) - high-quality vintage wines. Their production has strict regulations, and control is carried out by special organizations. All drinks related to the branded wine category meet a number of requirements:

- the production of a drink takes place in a locality tied to a certain region;

- only the regulated grape variety is used;

- determine the way of processing and the maximum yield level of each hectare;

- must meet all the rules of vinification, organoleptic requirements and have an established fortress.

Appellation d'origine controlee (AOC) - the highest classification of wines by category, named by its origin and having more stringent requirements than AOVDQS. Here take into account the age of the used vine, the variety of soil and the color of the obtained drink. The main role in the production is played by the "appellation", that is, the name, it guarantees the authenticity of the product. Remember all appellations are difficult, as their number is constantly growing (more than 400), but the most prestigious AOC wines are French, each of them has a distinctive feature.

The rest of the European winemaking cities in Europe, based on the French classification, created similar ones. A clear correlation is shown in the table.

France	Italy	Spain
Vin de table	Vino de Mesa	Vino da Tavola
Vin de pays	Vinos de las Tierras	Indicazione Geografica Tipica
AOVDQS	DO (Denominacion de Origen)	Denominazione di Origine Controllata
AOC	Denominacion de Origen Calificada	Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita

Classification of sugar content

Reds are often dry, so white wines are used as a basis.

1. Sec - dry (less than 4 g / l).

2. Demi-sec is a semi-dry (4-12 g / l).

3. Moelleux - semisweet (12-45 g / l).

4. Doux - sweet (more than 45 g / l).

For sparkling: estra-brut (less than 4 g / l), brut (up to 15 g / l), extra-sec (12-20 g / l), sec (not more than 35 g / l), demi-sec (32 -55 g / l), doux (more than 55 g / l).

CO ₂ content

Vin effervescent is the category of sparkling alcoholic beverages, where the secondary decay of enzymes occurs in the bottle.

Vin mousseux gazeifie is the classification of effervescent wines, where CO2 saturation occurs by the method of carbonation.

Vin petillant - sparkling wines, from others are distinguished by low pressure CO ₂ in the bottle.

Vin perlant - pearly, with low CO ₂ content.

Vin tranquille - quiet wine drinks with almost no CO2.

Classification by technological process

The most difficult kind of division of this drink, since each production has subtleties and differences. Despite this, experts were able to distinguish the following categories:

- Young wines, that is not requiring endurance.

- aged in barrels or bottles up to one year.

- Resisted on your own draft. They include some varieties of white wines, according to this technology they work in the Loire Valley.

- Liquor wines produced by mutating, that is, adding alcohol or brandy to the wort.

- Boiled wines, in particular, produced in the French Provence. The production is based on prolonged heating and evaporation of the wort. Brewed wine has a specific taste and contains a high level of sugar.

Classification according to the shade of the wine drink

Not always the fault is divided by color, sometimes they are classified by chemical composition. For example, did you know that there is champagne made from black grapes, but having a white tint?

Red wines contain tannins, which are responsible for the astringency and pigments that cause color.

Pink wines have not received the attention of critics, although their range of colors is very diverse: from poorly colored to saturated.

Also there is a green wine produced in Portugal, black (Cahors) and yellow.

And now we will briefly consider the wine category DO.

What is DO?

The Spanish analogue of high quality vintage wines (AOVDQS). More than 164 Spanish wine growers have the right to produce products for this category.

The largest area of vineyards for the wine category is the La Mancha - 188,181 hectares. Their products have a pronounced woody tint and velvet taste.

A little bit about white wine

Categories of white wines are divided into 6 varieties:

1. Dry wine of a light "body". As the sommelier says, it has a "steel" core. It has a reduced amount of sugar, but a high acid concentration, the percentage of alcohol does not exceed 12% and a slightly subtle flavor. But experienced experts say that this type of white wine can sometimes have a flavor and taste - it all depends on the sort of grapes used. For example, "Sauvignon Blanc" has herbal shades, and "Riesling" - fruit.

2. The term of aging white wine of the average "body" - at least 3 years. It is produced from the varieties Chardonnay, Role and Schengen Blanc. The alcohol level is 10 to 13%, and the taste and aroma are expressed in floral fruit notes.

3. Categories of faults of a full "body", as a rule, stand in barrels for several years. They have a fruity aroma, low acidity and a large amount of tannins. Alcoholicity is from 12 to 14%.

4. Aromatic white wine drinks are distinguished by a pronounced exotic fruity smell. They are low-acid with an alcohol level of 12-14%.

5. Semi-sweet wines are made from the varieties Moskatel, Tokaj-Pinot-Gri and Shenen Blanc. Alcoholism is 14%, and the drink is served in a cooled to 10 ⁰ C form.

6. Sweet white wine drinks contain up to 18% of alcohol, usually served with dessert. Famous representatives of the alcoholic beverage "Sautern" and "Barsak" (France).

A few words about a sparkling drink

Sparkling is called wine, which contains carbon dioxide, created by a special technology. Their production is divided into 4 methods:

1. Carbonation. In the manufacture of low-quality beverages, artificial introduction of CO _{2 is used.}

2. The method where the completion of the primary fermentation of alcohol occurs not in a barrel, but in a bottle, is called rural (methode rurale).

3. If the secondary decomposition of organic substances takes place in acratophores (special reservoirs of metal), the production of wine takes place according to the Sharma method.

4. The classical method is when the process of repeated fermentation takes place in a bottle.

Also worth mentioning is that there are two special categories of sparkling wines: pearly and sparkling. The first contain the most minimal amount of carbon dioxide, and the latter have a weak pressure in the bottle and a low strength (7%).

Which dishes are served wine

Quality wine, good food and a pleasant company - this is the guarantee of warm memories of dinner. The choice of companions is a private matter for everyone, and everyone should know what dishes are combined with wine.

We should start with prohibitions, namely with food, which is not recommended to be served to an alcoholic drink, so as not to muffle its taste. Categorically, you should not serve wine and snacks filled with vinegar.

Among the prohibitions are nuts. The fact is that, by switching to the fetus, the taste buds stop reacting to other ingredients and the wine drink.

The last prohibition concerns smoking. Tobacco smoke will drown out the aroma, and the taste of nicotine will not allow you to fully experience the wine.

Despite the numerous varieties, there is a rule regarding dishes: the harder the taste on the plate, the easier the wine drink in the glass, and vice versa.

Red comes to sharp meat appetizers, fruits, pasta, pizza, fish and a variety of cheeses.

White to the taste is ideally in harmony with seafood, veal, poultry meat and caviar.

Elements of wine pink color are meat cold snacks, seafood and desserts.

Semisweet and sweet varieties accompany ice cream, fruit and chocolate.

Sparkling drinks, namely champagne - an ideal drink for opening a gala dinner.

Conclusion

If earlier this "divine drink" for you was divided into white, red, dry and strong, then I would hope that, armed with the information from this article, you learned what categories of wines exist and you can not only read the label from the label, but also To recognize the variety and method of production.