Grapepedia

A. It depends on the wine. For young wine, it makes little to no difference, it allows the wine to get in touch with the oxygen and release its aroma. For aged wines, it allows a better drinking experience, it allows the wine to breath and soften. An alternative would be to put the wine in a decanter before drinking it. Swirling the wine, independently of the type and quality, allows the aromas to be released and appreciated.

A. A wine that has an aroma reminiscent of wood or oak is called oaky, the aroma could be the result of a wine aged in barrel or where wooden sticks or pieces are added during the fermentation process.

A. The grapes are harvested and then crushed to produce juice. The juice is then fermented in temperature controlled tanks with the addition of yeast. At the end of this process, the juice has become alcohol, most of the sugar has been fermented to become alcohol.
Red wine is made with red grapes and fermented with the grape skins and stalks. White wines can be made with white and red grapes and normally skins is removed, so only the juice is fermented. Rose' wines are again made with red grapes but the fermentation happens at lower temperature and for shorter time compared to when making red wine.

A. The vintage is the year on the wine label and refers to the year the grapes were harvested. The characteristics of a particular year are determined by the weather conditions and resulting grapes and affect the quality of the wine. For sparkling wines, such as Champagne or Franciacorta, vintage is only indicated in great years. A vintage wine also means a great wine, a wine made in a great year.
As per the indication of the vintage on the label, this varies between countries and it is part of the country wine legislation.

A. If a wine is corked, it will have a distinct aroma, the wine will smell like wet newspaper, a dank basement or a wet dog. A wine can be more or less corked, and it is not always easy to get the smell.

A. The color of the wine is given by its skins, red grapes can make red or rose wine with a very few exceptions and the wine gets its color from fermenting the juice together with the skins, shorter and lower temperature fermentation produces rose wines.

A. Today many conscientious wine producers are making every effort to minimise the use of chemicals in their vineyards and winery by growing their grapes following the principle of organic farming and reduce the use of added sulphite for the preservation of the wine.
The organic certification of wine varies between countries, and there are also wineries that produce organic wines but for several reasons decide against the certification, not least from a cost point of view.

A. Natural wine is a wine made without using chemicals and minimum intervention in the vineyards and cellar during the wine making process, more specifically using native yeasts in the fermentation process and minimal or no sulphur dioxide in the winemaking process.
Natural wines differ from organic and biodynamic wines but may use organic or biodynamically grown grapes. To find our more about Natural Wine we recommend to read this post from The Italian Abroad wine blog

A. It varies between vintages but it is a question between Italy and France with Spain third. As per number of wines intended as type of wines, Italy seems to be the country with the highest number

A. A wine is oxidized if it has been exposed to too much oxygen. This can happen during the winemaking process or after the wine has been bottled due to a faulty closure. How do I know if my wine is oxidized? If the wine has become darker, tending toward orange, for white wines or brown for red wines and has little aroma, it is likely to be oxidized and the wine is ruined, there is no way back.
There are certain wines and wine making processes that require some level of oxidation, examples are Sherry and Madeira.

A. Sparkling wines requires two fermentations, one to obtain still wine and the second to make it sparkling. Also, sparkling wines need grapes to be harvested early when acid level is still high and sugar levels are low.
Two are the main methods used, the Traditional Method (used for Champagne and Franciacorta ) and the Tank Method (used for Prosecco, etc).
The Traditional method, also called Méthode Champenoise or Metodo Classico, of which examples are Cava, Champagne, Crémant and Franciacorta, produces the best sparkling wines and is also the most costly in terms of labour and production costs. The second fermentation, from still to sparkling wine, takes place entirely inside the bottle and last between a few months to years, the longer the fermentation the better is the wine.
In the Tank Method, also known as Charmat Method, Metodo Martinotti or autoclave, used amongst the others, for the production of Prosecco, the second fermentation from still to sparkling wine takes place in the tank. It is less costly than the traditional method and produces sparkling wines of lower quality and it duration varies from a few days to a few months, the longer the fermentation the better the wine.

A. Traditional or Classic or Champagne method is the method in which the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, it is more labour intense and requires longer. The Charmat or Martinotti method is the one in which the second fermentation takes place in the tank. It is less labour intense and require shorter time, hence Charmat method sparkling wines tend to be cheaper than Traditional or Classic method wines.

A. Unless you can afford to buy a whole case and more for each wine you want to "age", and every year or so, open a bottle and taste it, it is very difficult to assess whether a wine is age worthy and when to drink it. I would say that four are the main elements to keep into consideration when purchasing a age worthy wine. The producer, the vintage even if good producer in bad vintages do not make the wine and vintage charts do not exist for all regions, the wine itself (eg Barolo is made to be aged) and the grape/wine making process.
The producer, looking at their history we immediately know whether their wines are made to be aged or not. The vintage, this is only applicable for the biggest wine, Bordeaux, Barolo but there are plenty of great, age worthy wine from other regions for which there is no vintage chart. The wine itself, by simply entering the wine on google we know whether the wine can sustain ageing or not, lastly the grape/wine making process. There are grapes that are most suited to ageing then others, merlot for example won’t age unless barrel aged, cabernet sauvignon or nebbiolo on the other side are suited to ageing and by knowing the grape and whether the wine maker has used barrels in the wine making process will tell us whether the wine is age worthy.

A. Sulphites are organic compounds that occur naturally in grapes and many other fruits and vegetables. But sulphur dioxide is also added to wine as an anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial agent to prevent the wine from going off. The levels are extremely low, but some winemakers are trying to avoid adding extra sulphur dioxide, though this does run the risk of wines spoiling more quickly.

A. Firstly, and after the grapes and/or must have been placed in vats, a first fermentation takes place that is common to all wines. In this fermentation, the sugars of the grape start to turn into ethanol in an oxygen and temperature-controlled environment.