Love Has Many Names: The Intangible Charm of Wine

Drinking wine has always been linked with social status, which once made this beverage a ‘premium product,’ to use the parlance of our times. Nowadays, fermented grape juice is more common and its status has become a little different. Although wine is still viewed as a top shelf commodity, the old liking has evolved into love. Isn’t that another human exaggeration? A look at the reasons why wine is so cherished may provide a clue.

Why We Drink Wine

People like wine for the diversity of tastes offered by grape varieties. The differences stem from scrupulously followed production methods in vineyards. No deviations are allowed because any disturbance of an established winemaking process may spoil the entire batch—and many perceive spoiling wine as a real crime.

Like no other beverage, wine requires natural production processes. Its final taste depends not only on the grape variety used, but also on the soil type and even the weather in the region where the vineyard is located. Consequently, every bottle is a little different, and there lies the true beauty of wine.

The connoisseurs and enthusiasts of wine unanimously agree that its production, maturing and decanting is an art. To many, this is what makes wine a premium commodity, and such an attitude comes as no surprise—few other alcoholic beverages so thoroughly tickle our taste buds. Wine perfectly enhances the taste of refined dishes; rarely does one spot a diner who washes down an exquisite meal with a shot of vodka, a bottle of beer or a glass of whisky.

The love for wine stems also from its beneficial effect on health. The major medicinal advantages include stimulating the function of pancreas and increasing the secretion of digestive enzymes. Moreover, wine supports the digestion of fatty meals and provides relief to people suffering from hyperacidity owing to its content of tannins. Those substances protect the mucous membrane and prevent the excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid.

The Roman Love for Wine

Researchers believe that grapevine comes from the Caucasus and was first used by mankind in the Paleolithic. Still, nobody knows for certain how winemaking was born. It probably happened by accident, when people inadvertently ate spoiled grapes or drank fermented juice. Afterwards, wine became common in the Middle East, ancient Egypt and Greece. The Greek love for wine was taken over by the ancient Romans, whose conquests spread the beverage almost all over the entire world known at the time. The word ‘wine’ actually comes from the Latin term vinum, which means that the Italian love for fermented grape juice is rooted in antiquity. No wonder that other nations also continue to drink wine and love it so much.

To an Italian, wine means more than it does to Poles, Germans, the French or even Spaniards. The inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula treat this beverage with decidedly greater finesse.

“Wine plays a really important role in the lives of Italians, but it means so much more than just the finished product. To us, wine is a complete reality which encompasses grapevine buds, care of the plants including proper pruning, bunches of grapes and their harvest, and finally production. A bottle of wine encapsulates all things Italian: tradition, culture, brotherhood, and elegance. Each bottle holds the unique nature of the region together with its history and production effort. That’s why wine never runs out on Italian tables,” says Greta Roci, a wine specialist at the Pensieri di Cavatina vineyard and restaurant in Tuscany.

Greta’s workplace, the vineyard of Pensieri di Cavatina, cultivates the Italian tradition of winemaking. The woman is learning to become a sommelier and has chosen wine as her career path.

“I am passionate about wine because I love its bouquets, the diversity of its color shades depending on the type, the differences in taste caused by grapevine varieties, and—last but not least—its history which makes a glass of wine so elegant, mysterious, and nurturing. I reckon that a bottle of wine encapsulates the world’s most successful teamwork and that’s what makes it truly beautiful,” Greta concludes. 

The future sommelier’s words are the best proof of the Italian love for wine which has spread all over the world. Nowadays we tend to relish the taste of Argentinian, Australian, German, and Hungarian wines, and recently even wines from the Czech Republic are attracting attention. Nonetheless, it is Italy and its vineyards such as Pensieri di Cavatina that will always be associated with the refined taste of the world’s most exquisite wines. Therefore, our sweet task is to cherish the love we have and delight in the taste coming straight from a recently opened bottle of long-aged wine.

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