TABLE WINE

  • SUB-TOPICS Of TABLE WINE
    1. What is Table Wine?
    2. What is Sweet Wine?
    3. Types of Sweet Wine

1) WHAT Is TABLE WINE?

  • “Wikipedia Definition”A Wine Style of Moderate Quality Considered Suitable For Drinking With a Meal.
  • “Dthev.com Definition” A Wine That’s Anonymous, Which Lacks Classification.
  • Table Wine is Still Wine and is Not Sparkling or Fortified.  Table Wine is Also Referred to as House Wine.  Generally Table Wine Are Those Which Don’t Meet the Criteria Mandated by the Governing Bodies of the Wine World.  This May Be Because the Grapes Were Grown Outside the Demarcated Growing Area or the Grapes Were Produced Using Methods Not In Line With the Rule Set by the AOC., DOC, AVA., Ect.

USA

  • Ordinary Wine Which is Neither Sparkling or Fortified, or Wines Labeled California is Table Wine. Grapes Which Come From Non Classified, Low Quality, Over Watered, Over Yielded Vineyards and Mass Produced In 70 Foot Tall Steel Tanks From Bulk Production Facilities. This Table Wine is Put In Bottles or Boxes and Stuck With Label From Wineries That Don’t Exist. The Only Criteria For This Wine is That it Hits a Certain Price Point and is Passable to the Low End Consumer.

“Is Wine Labeled California Actually “Table Wine” and is the “Table Wine” You Drank In a Florence Trattoria Actually “Italy” Wine?”

EUROPE

  • Europe Has a Official Diffinition or Used to Have a Diffintion For Table Wine.  The Lowest Wine Classification, Wine Which is Not or Can’t Be Classified In an Appellation or a “DOC.” or “AOP.” Designated Vineyard or by Non-Traditional Grapes or Unconditional Wine Making Process.
  • History– In 1935 France Came Up With Appellation System of Classify Wine.  This 4 Tier System Had Vin de Table or Table Wine as Its Lowest Category.  More Recently the Vin de Table Category Was Changed to Vin de France.
    • France- Vin da Table     |     Italy- Vino da Tavolo
    • Portugal- Vinho de Mesa     |     Germany- Tafelwein
    • Spain- Vino Mesa
  • WINE & PHILOSOPHY?–“CONTENTIOUS WINE ISSUE!” “There is No Such Thing as Table Wine?”
    • “While It’s a Style of Wine That People Refer to, I Don’t Accept “Table Wine”.  I Thinks It’s a Lazy/ Deceitful Concept and an Excuse For People to Sell Anonymous/ Low Quality Wine.  All Wine is From a Specific Varietal, Harvested From a Certain Location and Has a Back-Story to Determine Its Pedigree and General Quality. No Wine is Anonymous and No Wine is Table Wine.”

“I Have Become More Rigid and Have Developed a Tolerance For Drinking Unanimous “Table Wine”. Without Any Information or a Back-Story to Learn From or Give Insight to the Wine My Tasting Experience Can Be Void. Unless You Are Drinking to Get Drunk or as a Social Lubricate.”

2) WHAT Is A SWEET WINE?

SWEET WINE– A Wine That Still Contains Residual Sugar.

  • HISTORY- Before the 1600’s and the Import of Sugar, Sweet Things Other Than Honey, Dates and Fruits Were Nonexistent. So When People Started Learning to Producing Intensely Sweet Wines Annually it Was a Luxury and Something Not Commonly Found. In Cultures Across the Old World These Wines Became Coveted and Sought After by the Rich and the Poor.
  • VITICULTURE– “Sweet Wine” vs. “Desert Wine”, Typical Sweet Wines Are Make Sweet by Actions In the Winery (Stopping Fermentation), , A Desert Wine is More Produced. (Late Harvest, Passito, Fortified)
  • GRAPES THAT ACCUMULATE SUGAR
    • White= Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Moscato, Viognier
    • Red= Garnacha, Zinfandel
  • VITICULTURAL DISCLAIMER~ ~Making Wine Sweet~
    • “Making Sweet Wine is a Wine Style and/ or a Wine Making Decision.  Any Grape Can Be Made Into a Sweet Wine or a Completely Dry Wine.  It’s Up to the Wine Maker How Much Residual Sugar He Wants to Leave In His Finished Wine.”
  • VITICULTURAL DISCLAIMER~ ~Late Harvest~  ~Dehydrating  Grapes~
    • “Many Wines Are Produced to Be Sweet. As a Result the Grapes Used to Make These Wines Are Late Harvest, Meaning They Are Left On the Vine a Period Longer Than Normal to Accumulate Extra Sugar or Potential Alcohol.  Also Some of These Wines Are Produced From Dehydrated Grape, A Process Where the Grapes Are Left In the Sun the Concentrate the Sugar Levels Prior to Fermentation.”

WAYS TO MAKE SWEET WINE

  • VARIETAL SELECTION
    • **Refer to “VITICULTURE/ Choices & Decisions” For Detailed Information.
  • CHOOSING A CLIMATE (Warm/ Hot)
    • **Refer to “VITICULTURE/ Choices & Decisions” For Detailed Information.
  • BOTRYIS-CINERIA
    • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Botrytis Wine” For Detailed Information.
  • LATE HARVEST
    • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Dehydrated Wine” For Detailed Information.
  • ICE WINE
    • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Ice Wine” For Detailed Information.
  • GRAPE DEHYDRATION
    • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Dehydrated Wine” For Detailed Information.
  • ARRESTED FERMENTATION
    • **Refer to “VITICULTURE/ Fermentation” For Detailed Information.
  • FORTIFIED
    • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Making Wine Sweet” For Detailed Information.

3) TYPES Of SWEET WINE

TABLE WINE

  • Making Sweet Wine is a Wine Style and/ or a Wine Making Decision.  Any Grape Can Be Made Into a Sweet Wine or a Completely Dry Wine.  It’s Up to the Wine Maker How Much Sugar He Wants to Leave In His Finished Wine.
  • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Table Wine” For Detailed Information.

LATE HARVEST

  • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Late Harvest” For Detailed Information.

BOTRYTIS WINE

  • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Botrytis” For Detailed Information.

DEHYDRATED WINE

  • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Dehydrated” For Detailed Information.

FORTIFIED WINE

  • **Refer to “WINE STYLES/ Fortified” For Detailed Information.

**Refer to “BIBLIOGRAPHY/ Sources” For Details On Scholarly Works Referenced.