I love drinking wine on a Saturday’s night out. Recently, my friends and I joined a Hong Kong Wine Course (called WSET Hong Kong) and have learnt many interesting things about wine. Let me share them with you.
Most wines are made with grapes, but they’re not like the ones you find in the grocery store. Wine grapes (Latin name: Vitis vinifera) are smaller, sweeter, have thick skins, and contain seeds. There are over 1,300 wine grape varieties used in commercial production but only about 100 of these varieties make up 75% of the world’s vineyards.
Wine grapes are grown mostly in cool-climate regions, such as California, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, and parts of France and Germany. In warmer regions, such as the U.S. Southeast, most wine grapes are grown as rootstock on a variety of other plants, such as peach or crabapple trees, to produce a high-quality fruit that doesn’t require chilling.
Finally, the grapes contain seeds that give wine its color and flavor. Most wine grapes have a hard outer skin that protects the fruit. The grapes are picked when the fruit is firm, allowing the seeds to remain in the fruit.
If you too love wine and are looking for a Hong Kong Wine Course, try WSET Hong Kong!