The wine alcoholic drink occupies almost all the shelves in the departments with wine and vodka goods. It costs less than natural wine. Although the taste is sometimes in no way inferior to it. It is made according to the same principle as wine. True, this product may contain beet sugar, ethyl alcohol, flavorings and food coloring. No GOSTs allow it to be made from powder. Powdered alcohol is always counterfeit.
What is a wine drink
This is a product manufactured according to the technology established by law, from raw materials specified by GOST.In taste and price, it is slightly inferior to classic wines made exclusively from grapes and their processed products.
Concept
This is a wine product with the addition (without addition) of rectified ethyl or grape alcohol. During production, sugar, natural flavors, plant extracts, food coloring additives, and water may be added. Can be saturated with carbon dioxide and be carbonated or non-carbonated.
Classification by sugar content:
- dry;
- semi-dry;
- semi-sweet;
- sweet.
In appearance, the liquid should not be cloudy, but transparent, homogeneous, without sediment or impurities. A product saturated with carbon dioxide must form foam and release gas bubbles.
Composition and raw materials
The composition must include at least 50 percent wine materials (bulk wine). The following raw materials are used for production: table wine materials, liqueur materials, incomplete alcoholic fermentation, which have undergone secondary fermentation, as well as grape must, mistelle, sugar, honey, wine or cognac distiller, grape, ethyl or wine alcohol.
It is allowed to add water, plant extracts, flavors, citric or tartaric acid, and natural plant dyes.
Fortress
The strength of the product can be no more than 22 percent. For drinks saturated with carbon dioxide, this figure is 10 percent.
Price
The price depends on the type of drink, manufacturing technology, brand and composition. This wine product is slightly inferior in price to natural wine. Costs from 200 rubles and above.
How is it different from wine?
Wine is the product that is obtained during the fermentation of fresh grapes or grape must.Its strength is 9-22 percent. According to technology, fermentation is stopped with sulfites, cold or the addition of natural grape alcohol.
If, in addition to grape processing products, the composition includes grain alcohol or some other additives (sugar, plant extracts, flavorings, dyes), then the result is not wine, but a drink.
In terms of taste and consumer characteristics, it is sometimes no worse than classic wine.
The main difference between these two drinks lies in the composition. Wine cannot contain anything other than products of fermentation or distillation of grapes. Any additives deprive it of its name. If the fermentation of grapes is stopped with grain rather than grape alcohol, you automatically get not a fortified wine, but a drink.
Water, sugar, coloring, and flavoring can be added to the latter. During production, they always remember that the product must contain at least 50 percent wine material.
Industrial production technology
Wine drinks are made from wine materials obtained as a result of grape fermentation. At the end of fermentation, the liquid is clarified and young wine is obtained. The alcoholic drink is then sent for aging or processing.
For the production of wine products, wine material is used that does not meet the selection criteria established for wines. Grain alcohol, sugar, water, and food additives may be added to this product to improve the taste. The drink is made in accordance with GOSTs, from high-quality raw materials, and not from those rejected during the winemaking process. If low-quality raw materials are used in preparation, it means that the product is made in violation of legal norms.
Popular brands
The highest quality and most popular are:
- Bosca Anniversari (420 rub.);
- Bosca Chardonnay (580 rub.);
- Sangria Esta (340 rub.);
- Adzi White Plum (210 rub.);
- Plum (Germany) (450 rub.).
In Russia, many companies are engaged in the production of wine drinks. This product constitutes the main range of alcoholic products. The Crimean company Massandra is considered a major beverage producer. It is worth buying products of those brands that are manufactured at enterprises located in the area where large vineyards are located. Transporting wine materials over long distances rarely pays off.
If companies remote from the location of the vineyards are engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages from grapes, then most often they make counterfeits.
