Food and Beverage 1
9th august 2012
Wines, Spirits & Cocktails
Wine production
Beer & Spirits production
Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.
Wines
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit juice, usually that of grapes. The
natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition
of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes
and converts them intoalcohol.
The sweetness of wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar in the wine after
fermentation, relative to the acidity present in the wine. Dry wine, for example, has only a
small amount of residual sugar.
Sparkling wine (wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy) can be made by
means of a secondary fermentation.
The classic example of a sparkling wine is Champagne.
Spirits
Beverages produced by fermentation followed bydistillation have higher alcohol content and
are known as spirits.
Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at least
20% ABV are called spirits. Spirits are produced by the distillation of a fermented base
product. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners. For the
most common distilled beverages, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around
40%.
Spirits can be added to wines to create fortified wines, such as port and sherry.
9th august 2012
Wines, Spirits & Cocktails
Wine production
Beer & Spirits production
Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.
Wines
Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit juice, usually that of grapes. The
natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition
of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients. Yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes
and converts them intoalcohol.
The sweetness of wine is determined by the amount of residual sugar in the wine after
fermentation, relative to the acidity present in the wine. Dry wine, for example, has only a
small amount of residual sugar.
Sparkling wine (wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy) can be made by
means of a secondary fermentation.
The classic example of a sparkling wine is Champagne.
Spirits
Beverages produced by fermentation followed bydistillation have higher alcohol content and
are known as spirits.
Unsweetened, distilled, alcoholic beverages that have an alcohol content of at least
20% ABV are called spirits. Spirits are produced by the distillation of a fermented base
product. Distilling concentrates the alcohol and eliminates some of the congeners. For the
most common distilled beverages, such as whiskey and vodka, the alcohol content is around
40%.
Spirits can be added to wines to create fortified wines, such as port and sherry.
