Celebrated each year, it has a sister holiday in February, National Drink Wine Day. Made from fermented grapes or other fruits, wine is an alcoholic beverage. During the fermentation processes, yeast consumes the sugars in the grapes converting it into alcohol. Different grapes produce different wines. Winemakers will combine different wines to create more complex flavors. Wines made from fruit or honey are often named according to the variety of fruit used.
FACTS ABOUT WINE:
• The longest recorded champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, four feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York State.
• Thomas Jefferson helped stock the wine cellars of the first five U.S. presidents and was very partial to fine Bordeaux and Madeira.
• Chilling tones down the sweetness of wine. If a red wine becomes too warm, it may lose some of its fruity flavor.
• The Irish believe that fairies are extremely fond of good wine.
• Foot treading of grapes is still used in producing a small quantity of the best port wines.
