Science and Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. The history of science had an important impact on the quality of our health and the convenience of our lives. Today, we are looking at changes in science and how, over time, it has been responsible for changes in the wine we drink. There is no denying the industrial and scientific revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have affected our lives and, believe it or not, the quality and styles of wine we drink today. The invention of rapid transportation created markets for wines previously consumed only by those in the immediate vicinity of the wine's production. We certainly would not enjoy Champaign and sparkling wine as we currently know it, had it not been for significant progress in the development of glass and closures able to contain the explosive wine under such extreme pressure. Yet perhaps the most important contributions came from the work of Louis Pasteur. He was commissioned by the French government to investigate wine spoilage. True to form Pasteur, discovered the varying bacteria causing spoilage and provided methods of preventing the spoilage. It is probably the most important contribution to elevating the art of winemaking to a true science, insuring the reliable creation of the wine we drink. Wine fascinates and seduces us for many reasons and it continues to do so quite possibly due to scientific advances continuing even today. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.