How is a wine drink different from a traditional wine? This question interests many people. That is why we decided to answer it in the submitted article. We will also tell you about what wine and other drinks are made of.
What is wine?
Before telling you what a wine drink is, it is worth telling what wine is.
Wine is an alcoholic beverage whose strength can vary between 9-22%. Get it by full or partial fermentation of grape juice. Sometimes alcohol and other substances are additionally added to such a drink. As a result of this, fortified wine is obtained .
What are they made of?
Traditionally, wine products are made from fermented grape juice. As for alcoholic beverages from foods such as berries, herbs, vegetables and crops, they are not wines. They are called liquors, tinctures, whiskey, brandy, vermouth, etc.
By appointment, all classic wines are divided into:
- dessert (that is, served with dessert);
- dining rooms (that is, they are used as a flavoring addition to the table).
What is a wine drink?
In most cases, wine drinks are made from the same wine material that is used in the production of natural classic wines. However, very often it happens that wine material for one reason or another cannot become a full-fledged wine. This is due to errors. For example, fermented fruit or grape juice, acquired an unpleasant smell and taste.
If a similar situation happened at a large enterprise, then the manufacturer simply dilutes the spoiled raw materials with ordinary drinking water or alcohol. Also, berry or fruit flavors and various dyes are often added to such material. It should be especially noted that for the preparation of natural classic wine such additives are strictly prohibited. Otherwise, it will not be a good wine, but just a wine drink.
Production Features
According to the rules, a wine drink (carbonated or non-carbonated) must contain at least 50% of the wine material. Although so many entrepreneurs neglect the laws and use less raw materials than expected. Quite often, this affects not only the taste and smell of the final product, but also its quality. Such drinks are less aromatic, have an unpleasant alcohol smell, pale color and so on.
Other cooking methods
What else can a wine drink be made of? Experts say that such a product is often made from powdered wine material. It also affects the quality of the drink. By the way, identifying such a product is quite easy. As a rule, an unpleasant powder residue forms at the bottom of a bottle of wine.
Perfect drink
How much do wine drinks cost? The price of such a product is noticeably lower than the cost of a classic table or dessert wine (about 130-170 Russian rubles). That is why the drink in question is particularly popular among those who can not afford to buy expensive and good wine.
But, despite the low cost, the mentioned product can still be of high quality, fragrant and tasty. But this is only if the wine drink was made honestly, that is, the manufacturer did not try by all means to mask unsuccessful or damaged raw materials.
Thus, those who buy such a drink should be prepared for the fact that such a product will be somewhat simpler, as well as with a less rich bouquet of aroma than table or dessert wine. But, according to experts, it costs much less.
Carbonated drink
Not so long ago, a carbonated wine drink appeared on store shelves. The strength of such a product is 6, 9 or 12%. Carbonated low-degree wine drinks differ from non-carbonated drinks in that they are saturated with carbon dioxide. This allows you to make sparkling wine. Very often such a product is called champagne. But this is not true, because the technology for the production of champagne is completely different.
In terms of taste, a carbonated wine drink is practically no different from a non-carbonated one. Although some consumers say that such a product is sour and less palatable. However, this depends on the manufacturer and the raw materials used.
Wine drink "Massandra"
The most common wine drink in our country has recently become the drink of the manufacturer "Massandra". This is a Crimean company that bottles about 10 million bottles of wine per year. It should be noted that in Ukraine this enterprise also occupied the first place.
According to the CEO of Massandra, the Ukrainian and Russian laws that regulate the alcohol market have diverged significantly in different directions. Today it is clear that “Massandra” with its products does not fit into the laws of the Russian Federation. According to them, fortified drinks, which are made on the basis of bread or beet alcohol, are not wine. Now on the labels of “Muscat” there should be an inscription “wine drink”, although the product is manufactured according to classical technologies.
It should also be noted that the Russian Federation is not interested in the presence of such products in the market of wine drinks. In this regard, the excise tax on them is much higher than on wine.
The general director of the company, as well as its entire administration, outlined the situation in letters to the Ministry of Agriculture. Now they know about it at the highest level and try to resolve all the problems that have arisen.
Which is better: wine or wine drink?
As mentioned above, wine and wine drinks have completely different bouquets of aromas and tastes. The first is more saturated and bright. The second can not boast of such properties. However, all this is relative. After all, it often happens that a carbonated or non-carbonated wine drink is distinguished by better taste than table or dessert wine. Often this is due to production technologies. If an entrepreneur complies with all the requirements for the production of real wine or a drink, then he will definitely get competitive products.
As for consumers, it is rather difficult to deceive them. If various dyes and other substances have been added to the wine, this is always opened with the cork of the bottle. Therefore, most manufacturers do not take risks and use only high-quality raw materials for the manufacture of both wine and a wine drink. By the way, these names must be present on product labels. If you see the word "wine", then in the bottle you should expect the presence of this particular drink. Otherwise, the manufacturer deceived you.