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Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes. It is produced in many regions across the world in a wide variety of styles, influenced by different varieties of grapes, terroir, viticulture methods, and winemaking.
Wine has been produced for thousands of years, the earliest evidence dating from in present-day Georgian wine. Its popularity spread around the Mediterranean during Classical antiquity, and was sustained in Western Europe by winemaking monks and a secular trade for general drinking. New World wine was established by settler colonies from the 16th century onwards, and the wine trade increased dramatically up to the latter half of the 19th century, when European vineyards were largely destroyed by the invasive pest Phylloxera. After the Second World War, the wine market improved dramatically as winemakers focused on quality and marketing to cater for a more discerning audience, and wine remains a popular drink in much of the world.
Wine is drunk on its own, paired with food, or used in cooking. It is often Wine tasting and assessed, with drinkers using a wide range of descriptors to communicate a wine's characteristics. It is also collected and stored, as an Investment wine or to improve with age. Its alcohol content makes wine generally unhealthy to consume, although it may have cardioprotective benefits.
Wine has long played an important role in religion. The Ancient Greeks revered Dionysus, the god of wine, from around 1200BCE, and the Romans their equivalent, Bacchus, at least until the latter half of the second century BCE. It forms an important part of Jewish culture, such as the Kiddush, and is central to the Christian Eucharist.
The spread of wine culture around the Mediterranean was probably due to the influence of the Phoenicians (from ) and Greeks (from ). The Phoenicians exported the wines of Byblos, which were known for their quality into Roman times. Industrialized production of wine in ancient Greece spread across the Italian peninsula and to southern Gaul. The ancient Romans further increased the scale of wine production and trade networks, especially in Gaul around the time of the Gallic Wars. The Romans discovered that burning sulfur candles inside empty wine vessels kept them fresh and free from a vinegar smell, due to the antioxidant effects of sulfur dioxide, which is still used as a wine preservative.
In Middle Ages, monks grew grapes and made wine for the Eucharist. Monasteries expanded their land holdings over time and established vineyards in many of today's most successful wine regions. Bordeaux was a notable exception, being a purely commercial enterprise serving the Duchy of Aquitaine and by association Britain between the 12th and 15th centuries.
European wine grape traditions were incorporated into New World wine, with colonists planting vineyards in order to celebrate the Eucharist. Vineyards were established in Mexico by 1530, Peru by the 1550s and Chile shortly afterwards. The European settlement of South Africa and subsequent trade involving the Dutch East India Company led to the planting of vines in 1655. British colonists attempted to establish vineyards in Virginia in 1619, but were unable to due to the native phylloxera pest, and downy mildew and powdery mildew. Jesuit Missionaries managed to grow vines in California in the 1670s, and plantings were later established in Los Angeles in the 1820s and Napa and Sonoma in the 1850s. Arthur Phillip introduced vines to Australia in 1788, and viticulture was widely practised by the 1850s. The Australian missionary Samuel Marsden introduced vines to New Zealand in 1819.
The 17th century saw developments which made the glass wine bottle practical, with advances in glassmaking and use of and , allowing wine to be wine aging impossible in the opened barrels which cups had been filled from. The subsequent centuries saw a boom in the wine trade, especially in the mid-to-late 19th century in Italy, Spain and California.
The Great French Wine Blight began in the latter half of the 19th century, caused by an infestation of the aphid phylloxera brought over from America, whose louse stage feeds on vine roots and eventually kills the plant. Almost every vine in Europe needed to be replaced, by necessity grafted onto American rootstock which is naturally resistant to the pest. This practise continues to this day, with the exception of a small number of phylloxera-free wine regions such as South Australia.
The subsequent decades saw further issues impact the wine trade, with the rise of prohibitionism, political upheaval and two , and economic depression and protectionism. The co-operative movement gained traction with winemakers during the interwar period, and the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité was established in 1947 to oversee the administration of France's appellation laws, the first to create comprehensive restrictions on grape varieties, maximum yields, alcoholic strength and vinification techniques. After the Second World War, the wine market improved; all major producing countries adopted appellation laws, which increased consumer confidence, and winemakers focused on quality and marketing as consumers became more discerning and wealthy. New World wines, previously dominated by a few large producers, began to fill a niche in the market, with small producers meeting the demand for high quality small-batch artisanal wines. A consumer culture has emerged, supporting wine-related publications, wine tourism, paraphernalia such as preservation devices and storage solutions, and educational courses.
The type of grape used and the amount of skin contact while the juice is being extracted determines the color of the wine.
| +Types of wine from grapes ! !Long contact with grape skins !Short contact with grape skins !No contact with grape skins |
There are two primary ways to produce rosé wine. The preferred technique is allowing a short period of maceration after crushing red grapes, which extracts a certain amount of color. The juice is then fermented like a white wine. An alternative is blending a small amount of finished red wine into finished white wine. This practise is not allowed in most controlled wine regions, although Champagne is a notable exception.
Two common methods of accomplishing this are the traditional method, used for Cava, Champagne, and more expensive sparkling wines, and the Charmat method, used for Prosecco, Asti wine, and less expensive wines. A hybrid "transfer method" is also used, yielding intermediate results, and simple addition of carbon dioxide is used in the cheapest of wines.
In the context of wine production, terroir is a concept that encompasses the growing environment of the vine, including elevation and slope of the vineyard, type and chemistry of soil, and climatic and seasonal conditions. The range of possible combinations of these factors can result in great differences in the characteristics and quality of the resultant wine.
Wine grapes grow mainly between 30 and 50 degrees latitude north and south of the equator, although the effects of climate change and advances in viticulture are increasing the area under vine elsewhere. The world's southernmost vineyard is in Sarmiento, Argentina, near the 46th parallel south. The northernmost wine region is Okanagan Valley which reaches up to the 50th parallel north.
The liquid is then transferred to a container for fermentation, which is typically made of stainless steel, wood or concrete, and either open or closed. Yeast is naturally present on grape skins, but most producers choose to use a specific strain for their predictable behaviour, allowing them to control the flavors produced. The yeast consumes the sugars and converts them into alcohol, heat, and carbon dioxide. For red wines, winemakers may choose to encourage the extraction of tannins and flavor from the grape skins by agitating the mixture. If permitted by law, the winemaker may include additives such as sugar, to increase the alcohol content (chaptalization), or adjust the acid levels. Some wines undergo a secondary, malolactic fermentation, in which the harsher malic acid is converted into lactic acid by bacteria. Finally the wine may be filtered to remove microbes and yeast, and sulfite may be added as a preservative.
Most cork for wine bottles comes from Alentejo, but a decline in quality in the late 20th century and an increase in demand spurred development of alternatives. An increasing number of wine producers use alternative closures such as screwcaps and synthetic "corks". Although alternative closures reduce the risk of cork taint, they have been blamed for causing excessive redox.
, also known as "bag-in-box" or "cask" wines, are packaged in plastic bags within cardboard boxes. Wine is poured from a tap affixed to the bag. Box wine can stay acceptably fresh for several weeks after opening because the bladder limits contact with air, thus slowing the rate of oxidation. Box wine is popular in northern Europe and especially Australia and New Zealand, and is generally used to package inexpensive wines intended for early drinking.
Other containers include canned wine which, , is one of the fastest-growing forms of alternative wine packaging on the market, and stainless steel kegs, referred to as wine on tap and intended for use in bars and restaurants.
Bottled and box wines come with different environmental considerations. Glass bottles and aluminum cans are completely recyclable, but their production may cause air pollution. A New York Times editorial suggested that box wine, being lighter in package weight, has a reduced carbon footprint from its distribution; however, box-wine components, even if they are separately recyclable, can be labor-intensive and expensive to process.
Since 2009, wine from the European Union has been classified under the geographical indicators "protected geographical indication" (PGI) and "protected designation of origin" (PDO), which protect product names in order to promote the products of a specific area and the methods used. National regulations correspond to these designations and subdivide them, such as in Germany's nocat=yes and nocat=yes, Italy's nocat=yes, and the French system of Appellation d'origine contrôlée.
The classification of Swiss wine was historically complex due to its system of federalism, but was due to be simplified and made consistent with EU rules . Similar to the EU, regulations regarding English wine denote rules for PGI and PDO products.
For consistency, non-vintage wines can be blended from more than one vintage, which helps winemakers maintain a consistent flavor profile. This is common for Champagne, Port, Sherry and Madeira.
As a standard rule, red wines are served at what would historically have been "room temperature" (now, with modern heating and insulation, this would be considered the temperature of a cool room), whites chilled, and sparkling and sweeter whites even cooler. Volatile flavor compounds evaporate more easily at higher temperatures, so warmer wines increase the intensity of aroma. However, alcohol begins to evaporate noticeably over , and the carbon dioxide in sparkling wines is released too quickly at temperatures of about . The palate is more sensitive to sweetness at higher temperatures, so when the sweetness is not balanced by acidity a wine should be served cooler. Cooler temperatures also suppress aroma, and therefore faults detectable on the nose, but increase sensitivity to tannins and bitterness.
When judging a wine's appearance, faults can be apparent due to cloudiness or unexpected effervescence. The color of the wine may indicate its age, with red wines becoming paler and white wines becoming darker, although color is also influenced by the grapes used. "Legs" or "tears"lines formed on the glass after swirlingindicate high alcohol content or sweetness.
A wine's "nose" (smell) may range from neutral to pungent, and it informs most of the experience of tasting a wine. Tasters often use a wide range of descriptors to compare wine aromas to other things, from fruits and vegetables such as pineapple and asparagus to non-consumables such as compost heaps and leather. The origin of these may be the grapes used, or the fermentation or maturation process. When the nose includes an undesirable scent, this may indicate a fault.
On the palate the taster experiences the mouthfeel of the wine, including its sweetness, acidity, bitterness, tannins and alcohol, as well as saltiness in the case of sherry. Once the wine is swallowed or spat out, the length of time the flavours remain detectable is an indicator of quality.
The total global consumption of wine was in decline in the early 2010s, primarily because the French and Italians were drinking considerably less. , however, this trend appears to be reversing due to an increase in popularity with younger Americans and the Chinese. The 2024 global market was estimated at US$515.1 billion, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 7.1% between 2025 and 2030. Trends include a growing demand for organic wine, and for higher-quality products which justify a higher price point.
The stilbene resveratrol has shown Cardioprotection attributes in humans. Grape skins naturally produce resveratrol in response to fungal infection, including exposure to yeast during fermentation. White wine generally contains lower levels of the chemical as it has minimal contact with grape skins during this process. Nevertheless, the potential harms of regular alcohol consumption are considered to outweigh any such benefits.
Research by Pesticide Action Network found that European wines contains large amounts of PFAS ("forever chemicals"), particularly TFA, which have long-term negative health consequences.
The ideal temperature for wine storage is with a humidity of 65–70%. Lower humidity levels and temperature fluctuations can dry out or stress a cork over time, allowing oxygen to enter the bottle, which reduces the wine's quality through oxidation. Wines with corks are typically stored horizontally to help keep the cork moist, but this is not necessary for screwcaps.
Wines may also be bought and then aged for future consumption. Most wine is intended to be drunk within a year of bottling, but top-quality wines are usually sold long before they reach their optimal drinking window, with flavors developing in the bottle over many years. Estimating the optimal time to consume a wine is impossible to do accurately, partly because it is only clear that the ideal time has passed when the quality starts to decline, but also because bottle variation and differences in storage create differences even between wines of the same vintage and batch.
Bacchus was the incarnation of Dionysus in the Roman pantheon. It is unclear when his cult gained popularity, but in 186BCE the Roman Senate forbade rites in his honor in the decree Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus. He features on many Roman sarcophagi, appearing to represent "an agent of deliverance from earthly concerns", in a similar way to how the Greeks viewed him.
Wine forms an integral part of halakha. The Derekh Eretz Rabbah and the Tosefta detail strict rules on the drinking of wine, such as "a man shall not drink from a cup and hand it to his neighbour" and "a man shall not drink all of the his cup at once". Excess drinking of wine is condemned by scripture, which shows it leading to improper sexual relationships in the cases of Lot and Noah, and drunkenness as a metaphor for divine judgment. Nevertheless, wine is approved as a medicine in the Talmud.
Wine is used in Jewish culture. The Kiddush is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat, and during the Passover Seder, it is a Rabbinic Judaism obligation of adults to drink four cups of wine. In the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem, the libation of wine was part of the sacrificial service.
Alcohol prohibition frequently followed the establishment of Islamic regimes, such as the Almoravid dynasty in the 11th century and the Almohad Caliphate in the 13th. In many modern Muslim countries, alcohol is strictly forbidden. Iran had previously had a thriving wine industry that disappeared after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
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