ABSTRACT
The grapevine is the world’s most important agricultural fruit crop with 7,861,000 hectares of vineyards worldwide in 2008 and about 270 million hL of wine produced annually (OIV, 2009). Wine, an alcoholic beverage that dates back thousands of years, predating the Greek and Roman empires, is currently believed to have originated in the Middle East. Vitis vinifera, the cultivated grapevine, is a native species of the Caucasus, a mountainous region in Eurasia, and has become the primary fruit crop used for winemaking worldwide. Winemaking has traditionally been considered an art and wine itself conjures up romantic images of farmers laboring in trellised vineyards and winemakers working in rustic cellars. The art of winemaking goes hand-in-hand with the art of cooking and of ne cuisine.
