What is powdered wine and how to identify it?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Concentrated and reconstituted juices no longer surprise anyone today. Almost 100% of the drinks sold in stores today are diluted concentrate. That is, initially the juice was condensed to make its transportation the most convenient, and then diluted with water. With this, everything is more or less clear. Do you know what powdered wine is? This is the current model of modern winemaking, which allows you to get a lot of inexpensive raw materials.

Have you ever been surprised by the abundance of wines in stores? Surely each of you wondered if they are really natural. And what powdered wine is will surely interest lovers of this drink.

Technology for making grape wine

Let's first take a look at how the classic drink is made. Natural table, dry, semi-dry and semi-sweet wines are prepared only by fermentation of grape must. Moreover, ethyl alcohol and concentrates are not added in the process. Thus, if you are reading about natural powdered wine, then there is clearly something wrong.

It can be assumed thatwe are talking about the production of wine from concentrated, dried, and then diluted with water grape juice, but most often this is not the case. Wine material is fermented grape must, that is, juice that has been processed and stabilized. It is impossible to make a concentrate from this alcohol-containing raw material, due to the low boiling point and, as a result, the high volatility of alcohol.

Almost Natural

Above we described how natural grapes are prepared in the original. However, this drink is produced not only in the southern countries, where vineyards grow, but also in the northernmost regions, where the vine can only be grown in greenhouses. What is the raw material here? Of course, it is problematic to transport grape must, due to the need for large volumes, so it is evaporated and dried grape juice that is used. On the spot it is diluted with water and only then fermented.

Such production is a violation of the technological process, the output is a "natural" powder wine, which professional winemakers contemptuously call "sticky". However, it is practically impossible for a simple layman to distinguish it from the real one.

Wine without wine

However, there is another variety of drinks on the market that are sold under the brand name of wines. Let's make a reservation right away that it is difficult to determine by the bottle which wine is powdered. There are indirect signs, which we will talk about later, but these are just guidelines. Not alwaysyou can determine the fake and taste. The only exceptions are specialists, tasters and true connoisseurs who can appreciate the color and aroma of the drink.

It's basically a mixture of alcohol, flavors and water. There is no benefit to the body from it. On the other hand, if the manufacturer uses quality ingredients, there will be no harm either.

Product Benefits

Certainly, powdered wine is much more profitable to make. The process of transporting raw materials is greatly simplified, logistics becomes cheaper, which means that more final product can be produced in record time.

Evaporated grape juice with the addition of alcohol, yeast and flavors does not require special storage conditions. The final drink does not “get sick”, is not covered with a film, but does not ripen either. That is, years will pass, but it will not get better, as it happens with high-quality wine. It is clear that the lowest grade drink - a mixture of alcohol, dyes and flavors - is a cheap fake that should not be called wine.

Inspecting the bottle

There are a number of things to pay attention to. True, none of them directly says that you have a natural product in front of you, but indirectly still indicates this:

• The label must necessarily contain all information about the country of origin, the factory where the wine was produced, its composition, alcohol content.
• The date of manufacture must be present on the label, and it is stamped on the label separately,and do not print in the general field.
• The label must be made at a high level. Blurry drawing is not allowed.
• Refuse immediately from buying inexpensive wine in an overly frilly bottle. In this case, the manufacturer invests more in packaging and cares little about the quality of the product.

Now turn the bottle to the light and quickly turn it upside down. The presence of a large amount of sediment should be suspicious. A small amount of it can be in high-quality wine, but such a suspension will quickly settle.

Be sure to pay attention to the cork. It should not crumble and smell bad. These are the first signs that the drink has not been stored properly or has been spoiled.

Express diagnostics

If you are going to give a bottle as a gift, it is very important that the drink is really natural. So let's talk about how to distinguish powdered wine. Pay attention to the label. Powder surrogate cannot be aged or vintage. There are also no dry artificial wines. That is, it is among this category that it is better to choose a gift.

When in doubt, take one bottle to sample. Pour some drink into a wide glass. When it rotates, “tracks” should remain on the walls. They are called "wine legs". The longer they are kept, the better the wine is considered. Moreover, the thinner they are, the older the drink. This is the first way to distinguish powder wine from natural. There are many of them, although, again, none of them gives 100%result.

The most reliable way

Cap the bottle and shake it well. It is required to shake vigorously in order to form foam. Now fill the glass with wine. Again, we are talking about physics here. Depending on the density of the drink in the bottle, the foam will behave differently. Natural drink forms a beautiful cap in the center of the glass. At the edges, the foam does not collect at all, in addition, it falls off very quickly. If you observe such a picture, then you can be sure that you have natural wine in front of you.

If it was based on water with concentrates and flavors, then the foam will instantly disperse along the edges, stick to the walls and will last for quite a long time. In this case, there is no need to talk about naturalness.

Continue experimenting

The next step may be to analyze the taste of the drink. The first thing to consider is the aroma. In its natural appearance, it is full-bodied, thick and rich. Drinks made from reconstituted powder have a pungent odor due to the addition of chemical flavors. Although it will be difficult to distinguish this without preparation - the manufacturer is counting on this.

Sip some drink. Since it is very difficult to identify powdered wines of sweet varieties, try to avoid dessert drinks. All the shortcomings of taste in them are successfully masked by sweetness. But semi-sweet and semi-dry can be recognized by the aftertaste, which is absent in powdered wines.

Assessing the presence of dye

Real wine itself has a rich color and does not need to be enhanced. Do a little experiment. You will need a glass medicine bottle with a wide mouth. Be sure to choose a vial with clear glass walls. You will also need a clear glass of water.

The next thing is small. Fill the vial with wine and lower it into a glass, covering the neck with your finger. After that, the finger is removed and the result is observed. The density of natural wine is very different from that of water. In no case will they mix without effort on your part. The counterfeit is water with additives, so the liquid in the glass will instantly turn red, pink or orange.

If you're looking for an easy way to tell real wine from powdered wine, you've got it. If, after you remove your finger, the water remains clean and clear, then this is definitely a product made from grape juice.

Pharmacy glycerin

There is another proven way to distinguish homemade wine from powder. You will need a glass and ordinary glycerin, which is sold at any pharmacy. You will need to pour some wine into the glass, which needs to be checked for authenticity. Enough 50-70 ml, the rest can be used for its intended purpose. Carefully add about 10 ml of glycerin. Just a few seconds and testing is over.

If glycerin smoothly descends to the bottom of the glass without changingits appearance, then you have a natural wine. In powdered wine, glycerin instantly changes color, it turns yellow or red.

Plain soda

Another proven way. To do this, take a glass of wine and pour some soda into it. Now watch the reaction carefully. Natural wine contains grape starch. These two substances will react, as a result of which you will see how the drink changes. Usually it gets greenish, grayish or bluish hues. Powdered wine will not change.

Collecting information about manufacturers

The most reliable way to determine whether the wine is natural or powdered in front of you is to make inquiries about the manufacturer and its products in advance. Not a single serious company that has been producing vintage wines for many years will deal with fakes. Of course, such products are more expensive, but the quality is guaranteed.

Manufacturing plants that are growing like mushrooms recently do not have their own raw materials and production capacities. Consequently, they will use surrogate raw materials and saturate the market with powdered wine. Pay attention to the cost too. The low price indicates that this is definitely an artificial product.