Wine, it’s the cornerstone of a multi-billion dollar industry, it’s sold for two dollars at a gas station and several grand at a Michelin star restaurant. It separates farms from vineyards and turned a little known valley just north of San Francisco into a juggernaut. It’s a story of rigid traditions and rebellious newcomers. All of this to define grape juice that was left out ferment.

The technical definition of wine is an alcoholic beverage made with a fermented fruit juice. So why is it that vitis vinifera, the wine grape, immediately comes to mind instead of an apple or tomato? Its small size lends to a more concentrated flavor and a high sugar content for higher alcohol content. These attributes make it ideal, but it was likely coincidence that played the biggest hand with both myth and historical evidence suggesting that, be it in a king’s cellar or a humble pot.

Despite its seeming simplicity it’s still a mystery, seen as the realm of sommeliers and wine makers. There’s an almost mythic quality to the terrior, the very ground which hold the ancient vines. A magic of how a winemaker can turn a merely good grape into an exceptional wine. Watching a master taste a wine and guess what it is down to the very year of its creation is something to behold. Add to that thousands of years of history and tradition mixed with at least 7,500 varieties it starts to make sense why grape juice can be so complex.   

What is wine then? It’s passion, history, culture. It’s the story of triumph and sorrow, greed and bravery. It’s fun, familiar, exotic. Or is it really just an alcoholic grape juice? Either way we’ll have a hell of time figuring it out! Come and join me on this journey of discovery.