Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of grape juice.The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients.Although other fruits such as apples and berries can also be fermented, the resultant "wines" are normally named after the fruit from which they are produced (for example, apple wine or elderberry wine) and are generically known as fruit or country wine. Others, such as barley wine and rice wine (e.g. sake), are made from starch-based materials and resemble beer more than wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy. In these cases, the use of the term "wine" is a reference to the higher alcohol content, rather than production process. The commercial use of the English word "wine" (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions.Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast which consume the sugars found in the grapes and convert them into alcohol. Various varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the types of wine produced.

Wine stems from an extended and rich history dating back about 8,000 years and is thought to have originated in present day Georgia or Iran. Wine is thought to have appeared in Europe about 6,500 years ago in present-day Bulgaria and Greece and was very common in classical Greece and Rome. Wine has also played an important role in religion since ancient times. The Thracian God Dionysos and the Roman God Liber represented wine. Wine has also played an important role in ceremonies in the Catholic and Jewish religions such as Mass and Kiddush.

The word "wine" derives from the Proto-Germanic *winam, an early borrowing from the Latin vinum, "wine" or "(grape) vine", itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European stem *win-o- (cf. Ancient Greek ????? oinos).

Health effects

The health effects of wine (and alcohol in general) are the subject of considerable ongoing study. In the USA, a boom in red wine consumption was initiated in the 1990s by '60 Minutes', and other news reports on the French paradox. The French paradox refers to the lower incidence of coronary heart disease in France than in the USA despite high levels of saturated fat in the traditional French diet. Epidemiologists suspect that this difference is attributed to the high consumption of wines by the French, however this suspicion is based on limited scientific evidence.

Population studies have observed a J curve association between wine consumption and the risk of heart disease. This means that abstainers and heavy drinkers have an elevated risk, whilst moderate drinkers have a lower risk. Population studies have also found that moderate consumption of other alcoholic beverages may be cardioprotective, though the association is considerably stronger for wine. These studies have found a protective effect from both red wine as well as white wine, though evidence from laboratory studies suggests that red wine may possess superior health benefits including prevention of cancer due to the fact red wine contains more polyphenols than white wine due to the production process.

A chemical called resveratrol is thought to be at least partly responsible for red wines' health benefits, as it has been shown to exert a range of both cardioprotective as well as chemoprotective mechanisms in animal studies.Resveratrol is produced naturally by grape skins in response to fungal infection, which includes exposure to yeast during fermentation. As white wine has minimal contact with grape skins during this process, it generally contains lower levels of resveratrol. Other beneficial compounds in wine include other polyphenols, antioxidants, and flavonoids.

Red wines from South of France (Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone and Bourgogne) and Sardinia Italy have been found to have the highest levels of procyanidins — the compounds in grape seeds responsible for making red wine good for the heart. Wines from France and Sardinia have between two and four times as much procyanidins as other red wines. Procyanidins suppress the synthesis of a peptide called endothelin-1 that constricts blood vessels.

A 2007 study found that both red and white wines are effective anti-bacterial agents against strains of Streptococcus. Interestingly, wine has traditionally been used to treat wounds in some parts of the world.

Whilst evidence from both laboratory studies as well as epidemiology (observational studies) suggests wines' cardioprotective effect, no evidence from controlled experiments — of which long-term studies are still ongoing — currently exists to determine the specific effect of wine or other alcohol on the risk of developing heart disease or stroke. Moreover, excessive consumption of alcohol including wine can cause some diseases including cirrhosis of the liver and alcoholism. Also the American Heart Association cautions people "not to start drinking … if they do not already drink alcohol. Consult your doctor on the benefits and risks of consuming alcohol in moderation".

Based on the UK unit system for measuring alcoholic content, the average bottle of wine contains 9.4 units.

Sulphites are present in all wines and are formed as a natural product of the fermentation process. Additionally, many wine producers add sulphur dioxide in order to help preserve the wine. The level of added sulphit