Grape Wine

Description

Grape Wine (commonly known simply as 'Wine') is an alcoholic beverage derived from the fermentation of the juice of grapes. The process of wine production is complex, with many different variables affecting the final colour, flavour, and consistency: in general terms, grapes of one or more varieties are grown in a vineyard, the quality of weather and soil and the specific grape forming the base of the wine's taste. The grapes are then harvested and mashed to obtain their juice, which forms the core of the wine. This is fermented and vinted, with the amount of grape skin and must included in the process determining the colour. Once completed, wine is aged: it may be consumed with little ageing as a 'young' wine, or left either in bottles or barrels to age indefinitely, with some varieties considered to deteriorate but most developing deeper and more complex flavours over time, with century-old wines highly prized and the rarest wines of even more advanced age considered treasures unto themselves, traded at the same values as works of artifice.

Bottles are considered a more permanent form of storage than barrels, which will break down over time, leading many to move wines from barrel to bottle once they have aged a certain number of years. The barrels used to age or transport wine often see further use once emptied, in the production of amber rum.

Politics

In the Realm, House V'neef holds an Imperial Monopoly on wine production, having been granted all the Isle's vineyards as a gift from the Scarlet Empress, but the finest wines are older than the House and still bear the mon of their vineyards’ original controller (most commonly House Cynis, House Mnemon, or House Tepet, each of whom had vineyard interest before the elevation of V'neef as head of a Great House).

Serving

Wine is a common accompaniment to Dynastic meals and social functions. They are sometimes served from the bottle, to show the labels marking their vintages, but this is not always the case... finer vintages might be a conversation point, but others consider displaying a bottle to be crass. Wine is typically served cool or chilled in the warmer months, and can be mulled with cloves and heated during colder times (on the Isle, this is more an aesthetic consideration than a temperature-related one).

It is also served from pitchers, in which case it may be mixed: mixing with water allows the drink to be more refreshing and less dulling, particularly useful during negotiations or early in the day, but it is also considered to reduce the quality of the wine's flavour and may be taken by some as a sign of unseemly thrift. For extra richness, wine is also sometimes served with Honey, either added to the decanter or in a dish for mixing into the wine goblets at the table.

Varieties

For particular vintages and varietals see: Wines of Creation.

Wine Vinegar

If wines are exposed to air (either through imperfect seals or intentionally), they produce Wine Vinegar. While Vinegared Wine is considered spoiled under most circumstances and discarded or sold to the taverns of the common folk (where it is served cut with water and beet sugar), the express crafting of wine into vinegar produces a product that is said to embody the depth and complexity of wine. This vinegar may be aged in turn.