The production of wine from start to finish is known by most as simply wine making. The scientific name however is referred to as vinification. The process of course begins with the selection of the grapes, and ending with bottling the same wine that adorns our dinner table’s. The actual science of wine making is called enology, and encompasses all aspects of wine making. However, enology is usually not considered to include the study of vine growing and grape harvesting, which in itself is called viticulture.

Wine makers around the world still pride themselves on what the majority of their ancestors have passed on throughout history and through the generations. Of all thing’s to consider during the creation process, the first step has always been the most important. And that is the selection of the proper grapes, out of over five thousand varieties, that will be used to fill that ever popular bottle. These various type’s can also have an impact, depending on location, as to the time of harvest, as well as the amount of time needed for fermentation.

With thousand’s of varieties of wine alone, wine maker’s have quite a challenge keeping up with demand. Worldwide, there are tens of millions of acres dedicated to wine vineyards and that number grows every single year. Knowing what type of grape to grow, how long it should be worked,when it should be picked, as well as weather conditions are all variable’s that are taken into account by the wine makers. Once the grape is actually picked is where the fun really begins.

From separation of the juices from the skin and allowing them to ferment over weeks at a time, to transferring them to another fermenting pot, the process at time’s can take close to a month. All of this occurs before bottling is ever considered. After the wine maker’s have achieved the right taste, the wine is bottled and then racked, and allowed to age. Aging of the wine in some instances can take upward of twenty year’s for some of the more finer varieties.

For something to last six millenia, is an accomplishment in and of itself. Continent’s move thousand’s of miles, rivers are formed and dry up, canyon’s even erode away. This natural effect of time however did not have a negative impact on wine making as we see it today. Today, even though we are much more advanced as a society, wine making still retains some if not the majority of it’s original creation methods.