ABSTRACT
Essentially, wine is a simple beverage; it can literally make itself. Today, wine makers are able to make acceptable wines with relative ease, though the best wines require far more than that statement suggests. Modern American wine making ranks among the best in the world; American enological innovations have diffused widely throughout the wine-growing regions of Europe and are making their way into the Southern Hemisphere as well, from South Africa and Australia to Chile and Argentina. In ancient times, wine makers depended entirely on the wild yeasts present on the skins of the grapes to initiate fermentation. White table wine is produced by fermenting only the juice of the grape, without much extraction of solids and without the skins of the grapes. Grapes for red table wines are generally harvested at 21 to 23 degrees Brix. Occasionally, Zinfandels have been made from riper grapes, sometimes creating alcoholic "monsters," though such wines are currently out of favor with most consumers.
