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Article: Wine-making, Biology of
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Wine-making, Biology of
Wine is made by fermenting fleshy fruits, principally the cultivated grape
Vitis vinifera
(family Vitaceae). Grapes are grown on farms called vineyards. Grapevines are trellised to improve air circulation and access to sunlight. When they are ripe, wine grapes are usually harvested by hand and then mechanically destemmed and crushed. The juice is then inoculated with yeast (
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
), which ferments the sugars in the grape juice to form ethyl alcohol, at a final concentration of 12 to 14 percent. White wine is made without the grape skins, whereas red wine uses the skin to give color to the wine. After fermentation, the wine is usually ...
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