11 Ingredients in Your Red Wine + One Magic Ingredient

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Ingredients in Red Wine

11 Ingredients in Your Red Wine + One Magic Ingredient

 

You might sit down and sip at your wine with your loved ones around you; but do you ever wonder what is inside your red wine that makes it so tasty? What is inside this magic palate-friendly drink that makes it so pleasing? This article will tell you about 11 ingredients found in most red wines today. At the end of the article, you will also find the sole magic ingredient that creates red wine.

In this article, you will read about the following topics:

 

  1. Alcohol
  1. Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulfite
  2. Calcium Carbonate
  3. Sulfur Dioxide
  4. Sugar
  5. Grape juice concentrate
  6. Flavors
  7. Powdered tannins
  8. Water

 

  • The motivating wine

“It was enough and enough is enough!” he thought. He had been despised for long enough now and it was time he confronted him. If he didn’t, he would grow bolder. “It doesn’t matter he’s my boss, he has no right to treat me like that in front of others” he was now speaking loud to himself. He walked around the room in circles for a while and then he made his decision. There was no way; he had to do it, this couldn’t go on. He went to the phone and picked it up, looked at it for a few moments, and then put it down again. He had to think about the words he had to say; otherwise, he would fall into his usual stutter again. He thought for a minute but nothing came to his mind; only a few broken words, but they weren’t enough; he had to sound professional and angry at the same time. He kept walking around the room again talking to himself, “hello sir. I don’t like this at all” but no, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, so he rephrased it. “Hello, sir. I don’t like what’s happening at the office.” But still no, this was too rude. But why did it matter? He was angry and he had to face up to this embarrassment. Nothing came to his mind. He needed to ease his nerves. Yes, wine. Wine would definitely help. He went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle; it was red wine. He was still thinking. He poured a glass for himself and chugged it all at once. He felt the heat move up his body; and yes, that was it. His nerves were letting go and he was beginning to think clearly. He poured another glass and chugged that too. He was now getting tipsy. The words were getting aligned on his mind. He could now make correct sentences. Alcohol always had that effect on him; he became more himself. Another glass and he was now ready. He left the table and went to the phone, picked it up, and dialed the number immediately.

“Hello, sir. This is Nik. Yes… yes… I have prepared it… yes. But there is something I’d like to discuss…” sweat formed on his forehead but he kept on. “Well… you know… there is something. And it’s about you. I really do not like the way you treat me at work. It is so embarrassing, you know? Like today; you really put me down in front of others. You know, I work for you, yes, that’s right, I am your employee, but I think this is not right at all. And if it goes on like this, I mean, well, I can’t put up with it… and…erm… I guess I deserve better” phew he had finally said it.

“Yes… well… no-no… you don’t need to apologize… yeah… I understand. Yes sir. You are right… oh, that’s kind of you sir… thanks. Yes sir… yes… see you tomorrow” and he hung up; phew, He did it. He was covered in sweat all over. He sighed in relief. He felt like he needed another shot of wine so he walked over to the table again. He stood over the table and picked up the bottle; oh no, this wasn’t the bottle. The wine bottle was another one, the one with the cork. Yes, he looked closely at the label; oh this was the grape juice bottle he’d picked up from the supermarket the other day, but grape juice doesn’t come in bottles; “oh yeah” he remembered; this was the new brand with a weird packaging; the saleswoman had recommended it and he had bought it. So he had really gotten drunk by grape juice or was it something else? He sipped from the bottle, and yes, it was grape juice. He smiled and put the bottle down. Then he walked over to the refrigerator to get the wine bottle; he wouldn’t get drunk by the juice now that he knew it!

 

  • What is inside your red wine?

So you have sat down with your red wine in front of you and you want to drink the afternoon away. You sip at the wine and enjoy the taste thinking about how your day went by. There might be some friends around you too, or there could be family. You taste your wine and drink it; you might feel different tastes on your tongue and you might sometimes detect a couple of undertones in the drink as well. Even if you are a wine master, there are tastes and undertones that your tongue can’t detect; you might be a wine-drinker and still not able to detect some subtle notes and flavors inherent in your red wine. The intertwined tones in the wine are not always detectable by the well-trained taste buds, let alone if you are new to wine.

By the look of it, wine is basically fermented grape juice or fermented grape. The grapes are fermented in an enclosed space and produce a drink that contains alcohol. The barrel they are fermented in also gives them some tones as well. Yes, that’s right; but this is the good old traditional wine that has been produced for centuries or even millennia. However, today’s wine is a long way from that. The wine industry has come a long way and has evolved over time and modern wine is a sophisticated drink flavored with several notes; there are also chemicals helping the process of the grapes’ fermentation. This is actually why there are so many brands in the market these days. Besides, winemakers have also developed their ways of producing the drink; they even tamper with the terroir of the grapes in order to get a different result. There is of course still traditionally-made wine around the globe, which has local use though.

But what is inside the red wine you drink at your table? What are the ingredients in it that make it so different from other drinks and from the wine produced for centuries?

 

  1. Alcohol

Well, that goes without saying. Alcohol is the basic ingredient that differentiates wine from a glass of fruit juice. Alcohol is the sole ingredient that balances all the other tones present in the drink. It is the ingredient in wine that is responsible for the intensity and heat you feel on your palate; and the element that you feel is burning the back of your throat once you swallow your red wine.

The alcohol level in a red wine, measured by ABV (Alcohol by Volume), depends on numerous factors. The maturity of the grapes the wine is produced from is one of the major factors. That’s why it is said that wine from warmer climates of the world produces a wine with a higher content of alcohol; the grapes in these areas fully ripen and the resulting wine contains more alcohol as a result. Needless to mention though, wine’s alcohol level ranges from 6 to 16% in general.

To expand more on alcohol, as a determining element inherent in wine, wines with higher alcohol levels usually enjoy a better balance.

  • Alcohol tips for wine lovers

In case you are looking for a red wine that contains an ABV of less than 12.5%, you might want to go for a German Riesling. All sparkling wines also hover around this figure on alcohol.

And in case you are a professional wine connoisseur and only very strong wines appeal to your palate, then go for California’s Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon; these are wines with an alcohol ABV of nearly 14%. In this case, Nik Pegasus red wines will also satisfy your well-trained palate.

 

  1. Potassium Sorbate and Potassium Metabisulfite

Don’t be scared. These chemicals are added during the fermentation process to protect the fermentation and to ward off bacteria that could pest the wine being produced.

 

  1. Calcium Carbonate

This chemical is added to the mixture to reduce the acidity of the wine. It is used before the start of the fermentation or early on in the process.

 

  1. Sulfur Dioxide

This is an antioxidant and an antibiotic and therefore preserves the grapes. It also protects them and prevents oxidation during the fermentation process.

 

  1. Sugar

You might be thinking “thank God. Finally a natural element” Yes, but don’t be tricked into believing that the sugar is added to sweeten the wine being produced. No! It is rarely used for sweetening purposes. With the process commonly known as chaptalization, incorporating sugar in the process of winemaking is in fact done to boost the fermentation process; that is, to help the grapes get fermented more efficiently. Sugar is especially used in colder climates where the grapes don’t fully ripen.

 

  1. Grape juice concentrate

This is added so as to give a better color to the red wine. The concentrate helps the color of the red wine to be more intense and therefore differs from plain grape juice.

 

  1. Flavors

Red wine without flavors is in fact not a red wine these days. For centuries, winemakers used the barrels to give their wine some flavors. The famous vanilla notes and the subtle spices actually came from the oak barrels. However, only some of the red wine these days come into contact with wood; therefore, winemakers use oak chips, powders, and staves to help the flavors be evenly distributed in the drink; common flavors in red wine could include leather, roasted marshmallow, cinnamon, cloves, and so on.

 

  1. Powdered tannins

Tannins are the chemicals existent in the skins of red grapes and they are the elements responsible for many feats of the wine including the texture and the strong feel in your mouth. They are also responsible for numerous health benefits of red wine. They are added to the drink to add bitterness or also to balance out the early vinification process.

 

  1. Water

No, don’t get it wrong! Water is not used to fill up the wine bottle. It is actually used to modify the alcohol levels of the drink and it is used during the production process. Water can also even out the balance of the red wine.

 

 

  • Non-vegan material

Some winemakers who are against using enzymes in the fermentation process might use some non-vegan materials in the process. These materials might include fish bladders, egg white, bentonite clay, mammal proteins, and plastics. But don’t worry; these materials are fortunately screened out before the final product is produced

 

  • Yeast

Well, we owe this wonderful drink to an ingredient called yeast. It is the yeast in the skin of grapes that turns the sugar into alcohol through a fermentation process. Therefore, winemakers add yeast during the vinification process in order to have a better fermentation.

 

  • The magic ingredient

Wine is a wonderful drink and it has come a long way to reach your table. Besides the art and craftsmanship that produces it, there are ingredients that have given it its magic taste. But let’s not forget that the main ingredient that has enchanted the red wine is LOVE; it is love and respect for human nature that is the essence of wine production; it is the respect for true human pleasure, reflected in its production, that makes wine the most popular drink in the world.

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