Port wine

Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌviɲuduˈpoɾtu], Porto, and usually simply port) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, though it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal, most notably in Australia, France, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, and the United States. Under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto. In the United States, wines labelled "port" may come from anywhere in the world, while the names "Dão", "Oporto", "Porto", and "Vinho do Porto" have been recognised as foreign, non-generic names for wines originating in Portugal.

Region and production

Port is produced from grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro region. The wine produced is then fortified by the addition of a neutral grape spirit known as aguardente in order to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content. The fortification spirit is sometimes referred to as brandy but it bears little resemblance to commercial brandies. The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a cave (pronounced kahv and meaning "cellar" in Portuguese) as is the case in Vila Nova de Gaia, before being bottled. The wine received its name, "port", in the later half of the 17th century from the seaport city of Porto at the mouth of the Douro River, where much of the product was brought to market or for export to other countries in Europe. The Douro valley where port wine is produced was defined and established as a protected region, or appellation in 1756, making it the third oldest, after Chianti (1716) and Tokaj (1730).

Wine

Wine (from Latin vinum) is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes or other fruits. Due to a natural chemical balance, grapes ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients.Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine. These variations result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the terroir (the special characteristics imparted by geography, geology, climate and plant genetics) and subsequent appellation (the legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown), along with human intervention in the overall process.

Wine has been produced for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of wine to date was found in the country of Georgia, where 8000-year old wine jars were uncovered. Traces of wine have also been found in Iran with 7,000-year-old wine jars and in Armenia with the 6100-year old Areni-1 winery, which is considered to be the earliest known winery by far. The earliest form of grape-based fermented drink however, was found in northern China, where archaeologists discovered 9000-year old pottery jars. Wine had reached the Balkans by c. 4500 BC and was consumed and celebrated in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Throughout history, wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects, which are evident at normal serving sizes.

Wine (bishop)

Wine (or Wini; died before 672) was a medieval Bishop of London and the first Bishop of Winchester.

Wine was consecrated the first bishop of Winchester in 660 and possibly translated to Dorchester around 663. In 666, he was translated from Dorchester to London.

Bede tells us that Wine was ordained bishop in the Frankish kingdom and that King Cenwalh of Wessex installed him after disagreements with the previous Frankish bishop, Agilbert. Wine too was forced to leave after a few years and took refuge with Wulfhere, king of Mercia, who installed him in London, after a payment to Wulfhere.

In 665, while in Wessex, Wine took part with two Welsh or British bishops in the ordination of Chad as bishop of the Northumbrians, an act that was uncanonical because the other two bishops' ordination was not recognised by Rome. This would have resulted in his being disciplined, along with Chad, by Theodore of Tarsus, the new archbishop of Canterbury, who arrived in 669. Since Bede does not list him among the miscreants at this point, it is possible he had died by this date.

Wine (1924 film)

Wine was a 1924 American silent melodrama directed by Louis J. Gasnier, produced and released by Universal Pictures under their 'Jewel' banner. The film featured Clara Bow in her first starring role. The film is now presumed lost.

Synopsis

Set during the Prohibition Era, Wine exposes the widespread liquor traffic in the upper-classes. Bow portrays an innocent girl who develops into a "wild redhot mama".

Cast

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