Have you ever wondered why the grape is the only fruit that gives us elixirs so heavenly they are called divine? Why not kiwi or pineapple, apple or date wines?
What is so unique about the grape that it has had a cult like following since ancient times?
The grape and wine share a history with civilization that may seem coincidental, but is it? Wine has had a place in our history almost as long as humans. As we began to cultivate the grapevine, economies developed and wine quality improved. Now wines are given numerical scores as to their greatness. Yet is it a numerical score that tells us the true greatness of the wine experience?
Why the Grape? Molecular Legacies
What is so unique about the grape that it is the only fruit used to craft vintage wines called ‘bottled poetry?’
One of the answers relates to its chemistry, another to its elemental nature and spiritual purpose.
First a grape’s uniqueness depends on its tangible chemical properties:
- Only the grape contains tartaric acid.
- Unlike all other fruit, grapes do not contain starch.
Grapes’ molecular repertoire is ideal for becoming wine. It has lots of sugar and water to make a potent alcoholic libation. When the skins marinate in this libation, layers of luscious pigment and tingly tannins leak out. Skins and seeds supply molecules that provide for greater structure, complexity, color and the ability to age. The spirit of the land, people, winds and sun, its ease or struggle to grow shapes the grape’s chemistry, as do its inherited tendencies for flavor, intensity and personality. It is not simply molecules that make wine divine.
Grapes have a spiritual purpose to fulfill.
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