1.
Andalusia
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Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is recognised as historical nationality. The territory is divided into eight provinces, Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and its capital is the city of Seville. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, the small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, in the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spains Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, the name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. Including an intense relationship with Naples, Italy, Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the community especially in the sectors of industry and services was above average in Spain, the region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin and these include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles. Andalusias hinterland is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba, Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C until close to midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average temperature in mainland Spain and mainland Europe. Its present form is derived from the Arabic name for Muslim Iberia. However, the etymology of the name Al-Andalus is disputed, the Spanish place name Andalucía was introduced into the Spanish languages in the 13th century under the form el Andalucía. This was a Castilianization of Al-Andalusiya, the form of the Arabic language al-Andalus. The etymology of al-Andalus is itself somewhat debated, but in fact it entered the Arabic language before this came under Muslim rule. Like the Arabic term al-Andalus, in historical contexts the Spanish term Andalucía or the English term Andalusia do not necessarily refer to the territory designated by these terms today. To designate the territories the Christians had regained by that time in the Guadalquivir valley and in the Kingdoms of Granada, in a document from 1253, Alfonso X styled himself Rey de Castilla, León y de toda Andalucía
2.
Amontillado
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Amontillado is a variety of sherry wine characterized by being darker than fino but lighter than oloroso. An amontillado sherry begins as a fino, fortified to approximately 13. 5% alcohol with a cap of flor yeast limiting its exposure to the air. Without the layer of flor, amontillado must be fortified to approximately 17. 5% alcohol so that it does not oxidise too quickly. After the additional fortification, amontillado oxidises slowly, exposed to oxygen through the slightly porous American or Canadian oak casks, Amontillado is characterized by nutty aromas, tobacco, aromatic herbs and often ethereal, polished notes of oak. The fusion of two different aging processes makes Amontillado wines extraordinarily complex and intriguing, Amontillado can be produced in several different manners. A fino amontillado is a wine that has begun the transformation from a fino to an amontillado, Amontillado del puerto is an amontillado made in El Puerto de Santa María. Naturally dry, they are sometimes sold lightly to medium sweetened, on 12 April 2012, the rules applicable to the sweet and fortified denominations of origin Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry were changed to prohibit sweet amontillado. They have to be labelled as Medium Sherry, blend of Amontillado or suchlike, the classification by sweetness is, Amontillado is usually served slightly chilled and may be served either as an apéritif or as an accompaniment to food such as chicken or rabbit. Classically it was served with a fine, or thin, soup, due to its oxidative ageing and preparation, amontillado is more stable than fino and may be stored for a few years before opening. After opening, it can be kept for up to two weeks, if corked and refrigerated, Amontillado features prominently in the well-known short story by Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado
3.
Olive
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Olea europeana sylvestris is a subspecies that corresponds to a smaller tree bearing noticeably smaller fruits. The olives fruit, also called the olive, is of agricultural importance in the Mediterranean region as the source of olive oil. The tree and its fruit give their name to the plant family, which includes species such as lilacs, jasmine, Forsythia. The word derives from Latin ŏlīva a borrowing from the Greek ἐλαία, the oldest attested forms of the Greek words are the Mycenaean
4.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
5.
Fortified wine
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Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, is added. Many different styles of fortified wine have been developed, including Port, Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, one reason for fortifying wine was to preserve it, since ethanol is a natural antiseptic. However, since the fortified wine-style started in about 1650, it is unlikely that this was the original reason for it. It is not until about 1850 that antiseptic action and even the function of yeasts were discovered and it is much more likely that the start of fortification was a fortunate accident. Even though other methods now exist, fortification continues to be used because the process can add distinct flavors to the finished product. Although grape brandy is most commonly added to produce fortified wines, regional appellation laws may dictate the types of spirit that are permitted for fortification. For example, in the U. S. only spirits from grapes may be used, the source of the additional alcohol and the method of its distillation can affect the flavour of the fortified wine. If neutral spirit is used, it usually have been produced with a continuous still. When added to wine before the process is complete, the alcohol in the distilled beverage kills the yeast. The end result is a wine that is sweeter and stronger, normally containing about 20% alcohol by volume. During the fermentation process, yeast cells in the must continue to convert sugar into alcohol until the must reaches a level of 16%–18%. At this level, the alcohol becomes toxic to the yeast, if fermentation is allowed to run to completion, the resulting wine will be low in sugar and will be considered a dry wine. The earlier in the process that alcohol is added, the sweeter the resulting wine will be. For drier fortified wine styles, such as sherry, the alcohol is added shortly before or after the end of the fermentation, in the case of some fortified wine styles, a naturally high level of sugar will inhibit the yeast. This causes fermentation to stop before the wine can become dry, Commandaria is made in Cyprus unique AOC region north of Limassol from high altitude vines of Mavro and Xynisteri, sun dried and aged in oak barrels. Recent developments have produced different styles of Commandaria, some of which are not fortified, Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif, Madeira is deliberately heated and oxidised as part of its maturation process, resulting in distinctive flavours and an unusually long lifespan once a bottle is opened. Marsala wine is a wine from Sicily that is available in both fortified and unfortified versions and it was first produced in 1772 by an English merchant, John Woodhouse, as an inexpensive substitute for sherry and port, and gets its name from the islands port, Marsala
6.
Grape
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A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus Vitis. Grapes can be fresh as table grapes or they can be used for making wine, jam, juice, jelly, grape seed extract, raisins, vinegar. Grapes are a type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of the grape began 6, 000–8,000 years ago in the Near East. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, the earliest archeological evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia. The oldest known winery was found in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC, by the 9th century AD the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians. The growing of grapes would later spread to regions in Europe, as well as North Africa. Vitis vinifera cultivars were imported for that purpose, Grapes are a type of fruit that grow in clusters of 15 to 300, and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. White grapes are actually green in color, and are derived from the purple grape. Mutations in two genes of white grapes turn off production of anthocyanins, which are responsible for the color of purple grapes. Anthocyanins and other pigment chemicals of the family of polyphenols in purple grapes are responsible for the varying shades of purple in red wines. Grapes are typically an ellipsoid shape resembling a prolate spheroid, most grapes come from cultivars of Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia. Vitis riparia, a vine of North America, is sometimes used for winemaking. It is native to the entire Eastern U. S. Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, used for jams and wine, are native to the Southeastern United States from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico. Vitis amurensis is the most important Asian species, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization,75,866 square kilometers of the world are dedicated to grapes. Approximately 71% of world production is used for wine, 27% as fresh fruit
7.
Jerez de la Frontera
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As of 2015, the city, the largest in the province, had 212,876 inhabitants, it is the fifth largest in Andalusia. It has become the transportation and communications hub of the province, surpassing even Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera is also, in terms of land area, the largest municipality in the province, and its sprawling outlying areas are a fertile zone for agriculture. There are also many cattle ranches and horse-breeding operations, as well as a wine industry. Currently, Jerez, with 212,876 inhabitants, is the 25th largest city in Spain and it belongs to the Municipal Association of the Bay of Cádiz, the 3rd largest Andalusian metropolitan area and the 12th in Spain, with over 650,000 inhabitants. Its municipality covers an area of 1,188.14 km2 and includes the Los Alcornocales Natural Park, the city is located 12 km from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Campiña de Jerez, region appropriate to cultivate the vineyards that produce the famous sherry. Some famous places in to the city are Alcazar of Jerez, Church of San Miguel, Charterhouse of Jerez, since 1987 the Grand Prix motorcycle racing has been held at the Circuito de Jerez in early May. On this weekend, the city welcomes tens of thousands of bikers from around the world, the same circuit has hosted several Formula 1 Grands Prix, including the 1997 final race of the season, which was marred with controversy for a notable high-profile championship-deciding incident. Other popular festivals in the city are Feria de Jerez or the Holy Week in Jerez, Jerez is known as the city of flamenco, sherry, horses and motorcycles. In 2013, Jerez was the European Capital of Wine and 2014, the name Jerez goes back to the Phoenician Xera, Sèrès, later Romanized under the name of Ceret, the location of this settlement, however, remains unknown. The classical Latin name of Asta Regia, unrelated to the present name, referred to an ancient city now found within Mesas de Asta, the current Castilian name came by way of the Arabic name شريش Sherish. In former times, during the Muslim occupation of Iberia, it was called Xerez or Xerés, the name of the famous fortified wine, sherry, which originated here, represents an adaptation of the citys Arabic name, Sherish. Over two centuries later, after the Castilian conquest of Granada in 1492, Xerez definitively lost its status as a frontier city, in the 16th century, the consonant /ʃ/ changed into the consonant /x/, with the corresponding spelling of Jerez. The citys main football team continues to use the old spelling, the first major protohistoric settlement in the area is attributed to the Tartessians. Jerez later became a Roman city under the name of Asta Regia, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Vandals and the Visigoths ruled it until the Arabs conquered the area in 711. In the 11th century it became the seat of an independent taifa. Some years later Abdun ibn Muhammad united it with Arcos and ruled both, in 1053 it was annexed to Seville. From 1145 to 1147 the region of Arcos and Jerez briefly operated as an emirate under dependency of Granada, later the Almohads conquered the city. In the 12th and 13th centuries Jerez underwent a period of development, building its defense system
8.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
9.
Palomino (grape)
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Palomino is a white grape widely grown in Spain and South Africa, and best known for its use in the manufacture of sherry. In France, it is referred to as Listán, and in South Africa as Fransdruif or White French and it is also found in Australia and California where it is also used mainly to produce fortified wines. The grape was thought to be the Golden Chasselas, a grape grown in California. The wine-must has tendency to quickly, a characteristic that can be ignored when used for sherry production. List of Portuguese grape varieties Palomino and other sherry grapes on SherryNotes
10.
Manzanilla (wine)
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Manzanilla is a variety of fino sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. In Spanish, chamomile tea is called manzanilla, and thus this wine gets the name because the flavour is said to be reminiscent of such tea. The sherry is manufactured using the methods as a fino and results in a very pale. In addition, the sherry is often described as having a salty flavour, Sanlúcar de Barramedas cool temperatures and high humidity contribute to a higher yield of flor yeast than in Jerez or El Puerto de Santa María. The thicker cap of flor better protects the wine from contact with the air, resulting in a fresher and it is typically aged for five years in a solera, but some types may be aged longer. Manzanilla Pasada is a Manzanilla aged longer than usual, so that its veil of flor begins to fade, Manzanilla Amontillada is similar to a Manzanilla pasada but in some cases aged as long as 12 years, taking on more of the qualities of an Amontillado. Manzanilla Olorosa is a form of Manzanilla that takes on the quality of Oloroso through extended aging. Jerez Cortado is a Palo Cortado made from Manzanilla, on 12 April 2012, the rules applicable to the sweet and fortified Denominations of Origen Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry were changed. The classification by sweetness is, Manzanilla is best served chilled at 7-10°C, with olives, almonds and it is also popular in the cocktail Rebujito. Like fino, manzanilla is a form of sherry and should be drunk within a year of bottling. Once opened it will begin to deteriorate and should be drunk in one sitting for the best results. If necessary it can be stored, corked and refrigerated, for up to one week after opening
11.
Redox
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Redox is a chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of atoms are changed. Any such reaction involves both a process and a complementary oxidation process, two key concepts involved with electron transfer processes. Redox reactions include all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation state changed, in general, the chemical species from which the electron is stripped is said to have been oxidized, while the chemical species to which the electron is added is said to have been reduced. It can be explained in terms, Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state by a molecule, atom. Reduction is the gain of electrons or a decrease in state by a molecule, atom. As an example, during the combustion of wood, oxygen from the air is reduced, the reaction can occur relatively slowly, as in the case of rust, or more quickly, as in the case of fire. Redox is a portmanteau of reduction and oxidation, the word oxidation originally implied reaction with oxygen to form an oxide, since dioxygen was historically the first recognized oxidizing agent. Later, the term was expanded to encompass oxygen-like substances that accomplished parallel chemical reactions, ultimately, the meaning was generalized to include all processes involving loss of electrons. The word reduction originally referred to the loss in weight upon heating a metallic ore such as an oxide to extract the metal. In other words, ore was reduced to metal, antoine Lavoisier showed that this loss of weight was due to the loss of oxygen as a gas. Later, scientists realized that the atom gains electrons in this process. The meaning of reduction then became generalized to all processes involving gain of electrons. Even though reduction seems counter-intuitive when speaking of the gain of electrons, it help to think of reduction as the loss of oxygen. Since electrons are charged, it is also helpful to think of this as reduction in electrical charge. The electrochemist John Bockris has used the words electronation and deelectronation to describe reduction and oxidation processes respectively when they occur at electrodes and these words are analogous to protonation and deprotonation, but they have not been widely adopted by chemists. The term hydrogenation could be used instead of reduction, since hydrogen is the agent in a large number of reactions. But, unlike oxidation, which has been generalized beyond its root element, the word redox was first used in 1928. The processes of oxidation and reduction occur simultaneously and cannot happen independently of one another, the oxidation alone and the reduction alone are each called a half-reaction, because two half-reactions always occur together to form a whole reaction
12.
Oloroso
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Oloroso is a variety of fortified wine made in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles and produced by oxidative aging. It is normally darker than Amontillado, Oloroso is usually dark and nutty. Unlike the Fino and Amontillado sherries, in Oloroso the flor yeast is suppressed by fortification at an earlier stage and this causes the finished wine to lack the fresh yeasty taste of the fino sherries. Without the layer of flor, the sherry is exposed to air through the porous walls of the American or Canadian oak casks. As the wine ages, it becomes darker and stronger and is left for many decades. Oloroso del Puerto is an oloroso from El Puerto de Santa María, manzanilla Olorosa is a manzanilla aged to the point that it takes on the quality of an Oloroso. Wines labelled as Rich Oloroso, Sweet Oloroso or Oloroso Dulce were formally banned by the Andalusian regional government on 12 April 2012 and they will have to re-labelled as Cream Sherry, Blend of Oloroso. The rules applicable to the sweet and fortified Denominaciones de Origen Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry are, Oloroso should be served at 12-14°C, and can be served as an apéritif with nuts, olives or figs, with game and red meats, or after a meal with rich cheeses. Sweetened Oloroso can also be taken as a drink with ice. Cream Sherries which are sweetened Oloroso, should also be served at 12-14°C and are served after a meal as a dessert wine. They can also be served with certain dishes, such as foie gras, because Oloroso Sherries have already been through years of oxidative aging, they can be safely stored for years before opening. Once opened, Oloroso will begin to lose some of its aroma and flavor but can be kept, corked and refrigerated. The older the Oloroso, the longer it will stay perfect for consumption, when the casks used to age Oloroso Sherry are retired, they are often sent to Scotland and Ireland, where they are used to age fine whisky. Single malt whisky aged in sherry casks is regarded by some as a category with its own aficionados. The Oloroso wine infused in the wood of the casks imparts some of the flavor, Oloroso casks are also used to age brandy for the same reasons. Whisky that was only matured in Oloroso casks is often considered to more of liqueur than whisky
13.
Dessert wine
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Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines drunk before the meal. In the United States, by contrast, a wine is legally defined as any wine over 14% alcohol by volume. Examples include Sauternes and Tokaji Aszú, makers of dessert wines want to produce a wine containing high levels of both sugar and alcohol, yet the alcohol is made from sugar. There are many ways to increase sugar levels in the final wine, add sugar, either, before fermentation as sugar or honey after fermentation as unfermented must. Add alcohol before all the sugar is fermented, this is called fortification, some grape varieties, such as Muscat, Ortega and Huxelrebe, naturally produce a lot more sugar than others. Green harvesting reduces the number of bunches on an early in the summer. Unfortunately the vigneron cannot control the sun, but a year can help sugar levels a lot. But most of the Muscats of ancient times were made this way. Honey was added to wine in Roman times, for sweetness, today sugar is usually added in order to boost the alcohol levels of flabby, unripe wines rather than for sweetness, although a degree of chaptalization is permitted in the wines of many countries. German wines must declare whether they are natural or not, in any case, the reserve of sweetness is a German technique in which unfermented must is added to the wine after fermentation. This increases the sweetness of the wine, and dilutes the alcohol somewhat—in Germany the final wine can contain no more than 15% Süssreserve by volume. Süssreserve allows winemakers to fully ferment the wine without having to worry about stopping fermentation before all the sugar has gone, since sulphites are used to stop fermentation, this technique reduces the usage of sulphites. Süssreserve is used by makers of German-style wines, particularly in New Zealand. The main fortified wines drunk with dessert are sweet sherry, particularly Pedro Ximénez, the Pedro Ximenez dessert wine is unique because it is a raisin wine that is then fortified and aged in a solera system like other sherries. Other sweet sherries such as Bristol Cream may also be drunk as dessert wine, regardless of the grape, fermentation is stopped with up to 10% of 95% grape spirit. The Muscats are made in a somewhat oxidised style, the Grenaches less so, such wines were described by the Romans, and northern Italy is home to a number of passito wines, where the grapes are dried on straw, on racks, or hung from the rafters
14.
Muscat (grape)
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Their colors ranges from white, to yellow, to pink to near black. Muscat grapes and wines almost always have a sweet floral aroma. It is also used in the production of many of the French fortified wines known as vin doux naturels, in Australia, this is also the main grape used in the production of Liqueur Muscat, from the Victorian wine region of Rutherglen. Young, unaged and unfortified examples of Muscat blanc tend to exhibit the characteristic Muscat grapey aroma as well as citrus, rose, fortified and aged examples tend to be very dark in color due to oxidation with aroma notes of coffee, fruit cake, raisins and toffee. Elsewhere it is used to make off-dry to sweet wines, often labeled as Moscato in Australia, California. In Alsace and parts of Central Europe, Muscat Ottonel is used to produce usually dry, Anglicus Latin work was translated into French in 1372 with the wine being described by Anglicus as vin extrait de raisins muscats. Because the exact origins of the Muscat family cannot be pinpointed, the most commonly cited belief is the name is derived from the Persian word muchk. Similar etymology follows the Greek moskos, Latin muscus and French musc, in Italy, the Italian word mosca for fly could also be one possibility with the sweet aroma and high sugar levels of Muscat grapes being a common attractant for insects such as fruit flies. Other theories suggest that the family originated in the Arabian country of Oman and was named after the city of Muscat located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. Of the more than 200 grape varieties sharing Muscat in their name, the exception are the members of the Muscat blanc à Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria families. Rarely seen outside of Greece, Axina de Tres Bias is also grown in Malta and these include the Italian wine grapes Aleatico, Moscato Giallo, Moscato rosa del Trentino and Moscato di Scanzo. DNA analysis was able to identify the Tuscan wine grape Mammolo as the parent variety that crossed with Muscat blanc à Petits Grains to produce Muscat rouge de Madère. More than 40 different monoterpenes have been discovered in Muscat grapes and these include the German wine grape Morio Muskat which, despite its name, is not related to the Muscat family and is, instead, a crossing of Silvaner x Pinot blanc. Additionally, the Bordeaux wine grape Muscadelle that is used for sweet and dry wines is often mistaken for a Muscat variety due to its aromatic qualities. While made from a more aromatically neutral grape, Melon de Bourgogne grape, lastly, the Muscat grape can be confused in name only with Vitis rotundifolia, which is commonly known as a muscadine grape. The Muscat family is highly populous, with more than 200 distinct members, however, among these many different grapes only a handful of Muscat varieties are widely used in wine production. These include Muscat blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat of Scanzorosciate, Muscat of Hamburg, in some vineyards, vines of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains are known to produce clusters of berries of different colors that change every vintage. The precise origins of Muscat blanc à Petits Grains are not known, though Greece, nearly all the most notable sweet Muscats of Greece, particularly those from the island of Samos and the city of Patras on the Peloponnese are made from Muscat blanc à Petits Grains
15.
Sack (wine)
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Sack is an antiquated wine term referring to white fortified wine imported from mainland Spain or the Canary Islands. Since sherry is practically the only one of these wines still widely exported and consumed, sack is commonly, most sack was probably sweet, and matured in wooden barrels for a limited time. In modern terms, typical sack may have resembled cheaper versions of medium Oloroso sherry, today, sack is sometimes seen included in the name of some sherries, perhaps most commonly as the Williams & Humbert brand Dry Sack. The Collins English Dictionary, the Chambers Dictionary, and the Oxford English Dictionary all derive the word sack from the French sec, the word sack is not attested before 1530. Julian Jeffs writes The word sack probably originated at the end of the fifteenth century, in the minutes of the Jerez town council for 1435 exports of wine were referred to as sacas. The Duke of Medina Sidonia abolished taxes on export of wine from Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1491, English merchants were given preferential treatment in 1517, and distinction was upheld between second-rate wines, so-called Bastards, and first-rate wines which were known as Rumneys and Sacks. This period in time coincides with the planting of vines in the Canaries, after the Spanish all, málaga, formerly in the Kingdom of Granada, also took to using the name sack for its wines, which were previously sold as “Garnacha”. This wine was similar to another known as malmsey, made from Malvasia grapes. William Shakespeares character Sir John Falstaff, introduced in 1597, was fond of sack, william Shakespeares minor character Sly, a drunkard and an object of a jest, declares that he has neer drunk sack in his life. Robert Herrick wrote two poems in praise of sack, His Farewell to Sack and The Welcome to Sack. Ben Jonsons Inviting a Friend to Supper refers to A pure cup of rich Canary wine, / Which is the Mermaids now, but shall be mine. The early Poets Laureate of England and the U. K. such as Jonson and Dryden, received their salary, in part or in whole, later Laureates, including Pye and Tennyson, took cash in lieu of sack. Samuel Pepys thought Malago Sack. was excellent wine, like a rather than wine
16.
Solera
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The purpose of this labor-intensive process is the maintenance of a reliable style and quality of the beverage over time. Since the origin of this process is undoubtedly out of the Iberian peninsula, most of the terminology was in Spanish, Portuguese. In the solera process, a succession of containers are filled with the product over a series of equal aging intervals, a group of one or more containers, called scales, criaderas, or clases are filled for each interval. At the end of the interval after the last scale is filled, the oldest scale in the solera is tapped for part of its content, which is bottled. Then that scale is refilled from the next oldest scale, and that one in succession from the second-oldest, down to the youngest scale and this procedure is repeated at the end of each aging interval. The transferred product mixes with the product in the next barrel. No container is ever drained, so some of the earlier product always remains in each container and this remnant diminishes to a tiny level, but there can be significant traces of product much older than the average, depending on the transfer fraction. The upper quality levels implied by the system requires the bottled wine to be greater in age than the regulatory requirements. The age of product from the first bottling is the number of times the aging interval. As the solera matures, the age of product asymptotically approaches one plus the number of scales divided by the fraction of a scale transferred or bottled. For instance, suppose the solera consists of three barrels of wine, and half of each barrel is transferred once a year, at the end of the third year, half the third barrel is bottled. This first bottling is aged three years, the third barrel is then refilled with by transferring half of the wine from the second barrel. The wine transferred from the barrel has an average age of 2.5 years. The second bottling will then be half 3.5 years old and half four years old, the third bottling will be an average age of 4.25 years. After 20 years, the output of the solera would be a mix of wine from 3 to 20 years old, the average age asymptotically converges on five years as the solera continues. The output of the solera is the fraction of the last scale taken off for bottling each cycle, the amount of product tied up in the solera is usually many times larger than the production. This means that a solera is a large capital investment for a winemaker. If done with actual barrels, the producer may have several soleras running in parallel, for a small producer, a solera may be the largest capital investment, and a valuable asset to be passed down to descendants
17.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
18.
Protected designation of origin
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This regulation ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed to be identified as such in commerce. The legislation first came into force in 1992 and these laws protect the names of wines, cheeses, hams, sausages, seafood, olives, olive oils, beers, Balsamic vinegar and even regional breads, fruits, raw meats and vegetables. In countries where Protected Geographical Status laws are enforced, only products which meet the various geographical, Protected indications are treated as intellectual property rights by the Customs Regulation 1383/2003, and infringing goods may be seized by customs on import. Within the European Union, enforcement measures vary, infringement may be treated as counterfeit, on 15 November 2011, the European Court of Auditors presented its report Do the design and management of the Geographical Indications Scheme allow it to be effective. The general regime governs the use of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications for food, there are separate regimes for spirits and for aromatised drinks as well as for wines. The origin of the product is one of the criteria for use of the protected terms. The label Traditional Specialities Guaranteed is a protected term which does not impose any restrictions on the geographical origin of the product. The protection of geographical indications was extended to foodstuffs and other products in 1992. Given the widely different national provisions, this general regime gives much more power to the European Commission to ensure a harmonised protection across the European Union and it is currently governed by the Regulation on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs. Otherwise the protection afforded by the two terms is equivalent, an application for a PDO or a PGI is first made to the authorities of the relevant Member State. It is judged by the Member State against the criteria in the Regulation and, if found to be acceptable, applications are published at both the national and Community stages of examination, and third parties can object to proposed PDOs or PGIs which they feel would harm their business. Hence Cheddar cheese was deemed to be a name. Feta was deemed not to have become generic, and was registered as a PDO to the disappointment of cheesemakers outside of Greece. In other words, to receive the PGI status, the product must be traditionally and at least partially manufactured within the specific region. The TSG quality scheme aims to provide a protection regime for food products of specific character. Differing from PDO and PGI, this quality scheme does not certify that the food product has a link to specific geographical area. To qualify for a TSG a food must be of “specific character” and either its raw materials,3 of Regulation 1151/12 “specific character” is defined as “the characteristic production attributes which distinguish a product clearly from other similar products of the same category”. 3 of Regulation 1151/12 “traditional” is defined as “proven usage on the market for a period that allows transmission between generations, this period is to be at least 30 years”
19.
Fermentation in winemaking
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The process of fermentation in winemaking turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeasts transform sugars present in the juice into ethanol, in winemaking, the temperature and speed of fermentation are important considerations as well as the levels of oxygen present in the must at the start of the fermentation. The natural occurrence of fermentation means it was probably first observed long ago by humans, the Latin fervere means, literally, to boil. The most common genera of yeasts found in winemaking include Candida, Klöckera/Hanseniaspora, Metschnikowiaceae, Pichia. Wild yeasts can produce high-quality, unique-flavored wines, however, they are unpredictable and may introduce less desirable traits to the wine. The cultured yeasts most commonly used in winemaking belong to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species, the use of different strains of yeasts is a major contributor to the diversity of wine, even among the same grape variety. Alternative, non-Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeasts are being used more prevalently in the industry to add complexity to wine. After a winery has been in operation for a number of years, the use of active dry yeasts reduces the variety of strains that appear in spontaneous fermentation by outcompeting those strains that are naturally present. The addition of cultured yeast normally occurs with the yeast first in a dried or inactive state and is reactivated in warm water or diluted grape juice prior to being added to the must. To thrive and be active in fermentation, the yeast needs access to a supply of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus as well as access to various vitamins. These components are present in the grape must but their amount may be corrected by adding nutrients to the wine. Newly formulated time-release nutrients, specifically manufactured for wine fermentations, offer the most advantageous conditions for yeast. Oxygen is needed as well, but in making, the risk of oxidation. During this process, the carbon atom is released in the form of carbon dioxide with the remaining components becoming acetaldehyde. The absence of oxygen in this process allows the acetaldehyde to be eventually converted, by reduction. During the conversion of acetaldehyde, an amount is converted, by oxidation, to acetic acid which, in excess. After the yeast has exhausted its life cycle, they fall to the bottom of the tank as sediment known as lees. The metabolism of amino acids and breakdown of sugars by yeasts has the effect of creating other biochemical compounds that can contribute to the flavor and aroma of wine
20.
Distilled beverage
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This process purifies it and removes diluting components like water, for the purpose of increasing its proportion of alcohol content. As distilled beverages contain more alcohol, they are considered harder – in North America, as examples, this term does not include beverages such as beer, wine, sake, and cider, as they are fermented but not distilled. These all have relatively low alcohol content, typically less than 15%, brandy is a spirit produced by the distillation of wine, and has an ABV of over 35%. Other examples of distilled beverages include bourbon, vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, whisky, scotch, the term spirit refers to a distilled beverage that contains no added sugar and has at least 20% alcohol by volume. Distilled beverages bottled with added sugar and added flavorings, such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Distilled beverages generally have an alcohol concentration higher than 30%. The origin of liquor and its close relative liquid was the Latin verb liquere, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early use of the word in the English language, meaning simply a liquid, can be dated to 1225. The first use the OED mentions of its meaning a liquid for drinking occurred in the 14th century and its use as a term for an intoxicating alcoholic drink appeared in the 16th century. The term spirit in reference to alcohol stems from Middle Eastern alchemy and these alchemists were more concerned with medical elixirs than with transmuting lead into gold. The vapor given off and collected during a process was called a spirit of the original material. Distilled water was described in the 2nd century AD by Alexander of Aphrodisias, the Alexandrians were using a distillation alembic or still device in the 3rd century AD. The medieval Arabs learned the process from the Alexandrians and used it extensively. Freeze distillation involves freezing the alcoholic beverage and then removing the ice, the freezing technique had limitations in geography and implementation limiting how widely this method was put to use. The earliest evidence of distillation of alcohol comes from the School of Salerno in southern Italy during the 12th century. Again, the Chinese may not have been far behind, with evidence indicating the practice of distillation began during the 12th century Jin or Southern Song dynasties. A still has been found at a site in Qinglong, Hebei. Fractional distillation was developed by Taddeo Alderotti in the 13th century, the production method was written in code, suggesting that it was being kept secret. In 1437, burned water was mentioned in the records of the County of Katzenelnbogen in Germany and it was served in a tall, narrow glass called a Goderulffe. Claims upon the origin of specific beverages are controversial, often invoking national pride, but they are plausible after the 12th century AD and these spirits would have had a much lower alcohol content than the alchemists pure distillations, and they were likely first thought of as medicinal elixirs
21.
Alcohol by volume
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Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the number of millilitres of pure ethanol present in 100 millilitres of solution at 20 °C, the number of millilitres of pure ethanol is the mass of the ethanol divided by its density at 20 °C, which is 0.78924 g/ml. The ABV standard is used worldwide, the International Organization of Legal Metrology has tables of density of water–ethanol mixtures at different concentrations and temperatures. In some countries, such as the U. K and France, alcohol by volume is referred to as degrees Gay-Lussac and this results in the slight difference in marked % noted later in this article. Mixing two solutions of alcohol of different strengths usually causes a change in volume, mixing pure water with a solution less than 24% by mass causes a slight increase in total volume, whereas the mixing of two solutions above 24% causes a decrease in volume. The phenomenon of volume due to mixing dissimilar solutions is called partial molar volume. Details about typical amounts of alcohol contained in various beverages can be found in the articles about them. Another way of specifying the amount of alcohol is alcohol proof, for example, 40% abv is 80 proof in the US and 70 proof in the UK. However, since 1980, alcohol proof in the UK has been replaced by abv as a measure of alcohol content, in the United States, a few states regulate and tax alcoholic beverages according to alcohol by weight, expressed as a percentage of total mass. Some brewers print the ABW on beer containers, particularly on low-point versions of domestic beer brands. However, because of the miscibility of alcohol and water, the factor is not constant. 100% ABW, of course, is equivalent to 100% ABV, during the production of wine and beer, yeast is added to a sugary solution. During fermentation, the yeasts consume the sugars and produce alcohol, the density of sugar in water is greater than the density of alcohol in water. A hydrometer is used to measure the change in gravity of the solution before. The volume of alcohol in the solution can then be estimated, there are a number of empirical formulae which brewers and winemakers use to estimate the alcohol content of the liquor made. The simplest method for wine has been described by English author C. J. J, the number 0.7936 is the specific gravity of a 100% ethanol solution. The difference between the starting SG and the final SG measures the specific gravity lost to CO2 release
22.
Flor
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Flor is a winemaking term referring to a film of yeast on the surface of wine and which is important in the manufacture of some styles of sherry. The flor is formed naturally under certain winemaking conditions, from indigenous yeasts found in the region of Andalucía in southern Spain. Normally in winemaking, it is essential to keep young wines away from exposure to air by sealing them in barrels, to avoid contamination by bacteria. The yeast gives the resulting sherry its distinctive taste, with residual flavors of fresh bread. During the fermentation phase of production the flor yeast work anaerobically. When all the sugar has been consumed, the physiology of the yeast change to where they begin a process of breaking down. A waxy coating appears on the exterior, causing the yeast to float to the surface. This process drastically lowers the acidity of the wine and makes Sherries one of the most aldehydic wines in the world, studies have shown that for the flor to survive and thrive the wine must stay between the narrow alcohol range of 14.5 to 16% ABV. Below 14. 5%, the yeast do not form their protective waxy cap, above 16% and the flor can not survive, the wine essentially becoming an oloroso. A film of yeast similar to flor is used in the production of vin jaune in the Jura wine region in eastern France. The French term used for this yeast film is voile, meaning veil, a similar yeast to flor is used in the production of Szamorodni szaraz in the Tokaj wine region in northeastern Hungary. The Hungarian name for this yeast is hártya which means film, natural yeast film was traditionally used in Gose beer to seal bottles, instead of caps or corks. Yeast in winemaking Flor, the mystery of sherry
23.
Yeast
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Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The yeast lineage originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and 1,500 species are currently identified and they are estimated to constitute 1% of all described fungal species. Yeast sizes vary greatly, depending on species and environment, typically measuring 3–4 µm in diameter, most yeasts reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by the asymmetric division process known as budding. Yeasts, with their growth habit, can be contrasted with molds. Fungal species that can take both forms are called dimorphic fungi and it is also a centrally important model organism in modern cell biology research, and is one of the most thoroughly researched eukaryotic microorganisms. Researchers have used it to information about the biology of the eukaryotic cell. Other species of yeasts, such as Candida albicans, are opportunistic pathogens, yeasts have recently been used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells, and produce ethanol for the biofuel industry. Yeasts do not form a taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping. The budding yeasts are classified in the order Saccharomycetales, within the phylum Ascomycota, the word yeast comes from Old English gist, gyst, and from the Indo-European root yes-, meaning boil, foam, or bubble. Yeast microbes are probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms, archaeologists digging in Egyptian ruins found early grinding stones and baking chambers for yeast-raised bread, as well as drawings of 4, 000-year-old bakeries and breweries. In 1680, Dutch naturalist Anton van Leeuwenhoek first microscopically observed yeast, but at the time did not consider them to be living organisms, researchers were doubtful whether yeasts were algae or fungi, but in 1837 Theodor Schwann recognized them as fungi. In 1857, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved in the paper Mémoire sur la fermentation alcoolique that alcoholic fermentation was conducted by living yeasts and not by a chemical catalyst. Pasteur showed that by bubbling oxygen into the yeast broth, cell growth could be increased, by the late 18th century, two yeast strains used in brewing had been identified, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. carlsbergensis. S. cerevisiae has been sold commercially by the Dutch for bread-making since 1780, while, around 1800, in 1825, a method was developed to remove the liquid so the yeast could be prepared as solid blocks. The industrial production of yeast blocks was enhanced by the introduction of the press in 1867. In 1872, Baron Max de Springer developed a process to create granulated yeast. Yeasts are chemoorganotrophs, as they use organic compounds as a source of energy, carbon is obtained mostly from hexose sugars, such as glucose and fructose, or disaccharides such as sucrose and maltose. Some species can metabolize pentose sugars such as ribose, alcohols, Yeast species either require oxygen for aerobic cellular respiration or are anaerobic, but also have aerobic methods of energy production
24.
Port wine
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Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a wine, though it also comes in dry, semi-dry. Fortified wines in the style of port are also produced outside Portugal, most notably in Australia, France, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina, under European Union Protected Designation of Origin guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labelled as port or Porto. Port is produced from grapes grown and processed in the demarcated Douro region, the fortification spirit is sometimes referred to as brandy but it bears little resemblance to commercial brandies. The wine is stored and aged, often in barrels stored in a Lodge as is the case in Vila Nova de Gaia. The Douro valley where port wine is produced was defined and established as a region, or appellation in 1756, making it the third oldest, after Chianti. The reaches of the valley of the Douro River in northern Portugal have a microclimate that is optimal for cultivation of olives, almonds, the demarcation of the Douro River Valley includes a broad swath of land of pre-Cambrian schist and granite. Beginning around the village of Barqueiros, the valley extends eastward nearly to the Spanish border, the region is protected from the influences of the Atlantic Ocean by the Serra do Marão mountains. The area is sub-divided into 3 official zones-the Baixo Corgo, the Cima Corgo, Baixo Corgo – The westernmost zone located downstream from the river Corgo, centred on the municipality of Peso da Régua. This region is the wettest port production zone, receiving an average of 900 mm, the grapes grown here are used mainly for the production of inexpensive ruby and tawny ports. Cima Corgo – Located further upstream from the Baixo Corgo, this region is centred on the town of Pinhão, the summertime average temperature of the regions are a few degrees higher and rainfall is about 200 mm less. The grapes grown in this zone are considered of higher quality, being used in bottlings of Vintage, Reserve, aged Tawny, Douro Superior – The easternmost zone extending nearly to the Spanish border. This is the least cultivated region of Douro, due in part to the difficulties of navigating the river past the rapids of Cachão da Valeira and this is the most arid and warmest region of the Douro. The overall terrain is flat with the potential for mechanization. Over a hundred varieties of grapes are sanctioned for port production, Touriga Nacional is widely considered the most desirable port grape but the difficulty in growing it and the small yields cause Touriga Francesa to be the most widely planted grape. White ports are produced the way as red ports, except that they use white grapes—Donzelinho Branco, Esgana-Cão, Folgasão, Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Rabigato. While a few shippers have experimented with Ports produced from a variety of grapes. Grapes grown for port are generally characterised by their small, dense fruit which produce concentrated and long-lasting flavours, in 2013, there were 8.7 million cases of port sold,3. 6% less than the previous year, at a value of $499 million
25.
History of Sherry
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The triangular region between the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda still marks the limits of the modern denominación. Today, while Sherry does not enjoy the level of popularity it once did, the city of Cádiz was first founded sometime between 1104 BC and the 9th century BC as a trading post by the Canaanite tribe of the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians shared in the traditions of the Ancient Middle East. The Greeks soon followed and brought them the tradition of making arrope. The area was thoroughly entrenched in winemaking by the time the Romans conquered the area in 206 BC after more than three centuries of rule by Carthage, under the Carthaginians, the work of the early viticulturist Mago was widely followed in the area. The early Roman agriculturalist Columella was a native of Cádiz and was influenced by the areas winemaking tradition. Soon wine from the region was being spread throughout the Roman Empire where it came to be known as Ceretanum or wine from Ceret which was a name for the Sherry namesake of Jerez. The Roman poet Martial was one of the earliest writers to describe this primitive Sherry, during the Roman times, the practice of boiling grape must in order to concentrate the sugar as another means of sweetening the wine was starting to become widely used in the area. Under the Islamic rule of the Moors, the consumption of alcohol was forbidden but some winemaking continued to exist in the region as part of trade and commerce with the non-Muslim neighbors. The Moors also introduced the process of distillation known as alembic to the region created a crude form of grape liqueur. On many of these voyages, stocking up on supplies of the areas wine was considered a necessity. Christopher Columbus almost certainly had Sherry with him when he made some of his voyages to America which makes Sherry, in all likelihood, for Magellans voyage 594,790 maravedis were spent on wine compared to 566,684 maravedis on all the shipss armaments and mens weapons. At the turn of the 15th century, several factors came into play that had a impact on the global wine market. The Venetian traders were losing their supply of wine from the lands of Cyprus, Greece, Romania. War with France had lost the English their access to the wines of Bordeaux, seeing an opportunity to capitalize on this, the Spanish Duke of Medina Sidonia made several moves to put Sherry into the forefront of the worlds wine market. In 1491, the tax on wine was abolished for both Spanish and foreign vessels coming into Sanlúcar. In 1517, English merchants were given preferential merchant status-including the right to arms in the region. In addition to triggering the English Reformation and the break from the Roman Catholic Church, many merchants closed up shop and fled while others were jailed for failing to repent or denounce their King
26.
Viticulture
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Viticulture is the science, production, and study of grapes. It deals with the series of events occur in the vineyard. It is a branch of the science of horticulture, for this reason, viticulture can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Viticulturists are often involved with winemakers, because vineyard management. A great number of varieties are now approved in the European Union as true grapes for wine-growing and viticulture, the earliest evidence of grape vine cultivation and winemaking dates back 7,000 years. The history of viticulture is closely related to the history of wine, evidence suggests that some of the earliest domestication of Vitis vinifera occurred in the area of the modern countries Georgia and Armenia. The oldest-known winery was discovered in the Areni-1 cave in Vayots Dzor, dated to c. 4100 BC, the site contained a wine press, fermentation vats, jars, and cups. Archaeologists also found V. vinifera seeds and vines, commenting on the importance of the find, McGovern said, The fact that winemaking was already so well developed in 4000 BC suggests that the technology probably goes back much earlier. There is also evidence of domestication in the Near East in the early Bronze Age. Evidence of ancient viticulture is provided by sources, plant remains, historical geography. The remnants of ancient wine jars have been used to determine the culture of wine consumption, in addition to winemaking, grapes have been grown for the production of raisins. With the ability to pollinate itself, over time the hermaphroditic vines were able to sire offspring that were consistently hermaphroditic, during this period, grape cultivation developed from an aspect of local consumption to an important component of international economies and trade. From 1200 BC to 900 BC, the Phoenicians developed viticulture practices that were used in Carthage. Around 500 BC, the Carthaginian writer Mago recorded such practices in a work that was one of the few artifacts to survive the Roman destruction of Carthage during the Third Punic War. The Roman statesman Cato the Elder was influenced by texts, and around 160 BC he wrote De Agricultura. Around 65 AD, the Roman writer Columella produced the most detailed work on Roman viticulture in his twelve-volume text De Re Rustica, columellas work is one of the earliest to detail trellis systems for raising vines off the ground. Columella advocated the use of stakes versus the previously accepted practice of training vines to grow up along tree trunks. Roman viticulturists were among the first to identify steep hillsides as one of the locations to plant vines, because cool air runs downhill
27.
Phoenicia
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The enterprising, sea-based Phoenician civilization spread across the Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of Ancient Greece, perhaps the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Berytus and Carthage. Each city-state was an independent unit, and it is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. In terms of archaeology, language, lifestyle, and religion there was little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic Canaanites. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make use of alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, the name Phoenicians, like Latin Poenī, comes from Greek Φοίνικες. The word φοῖνιξ phoînix meant variably Phoenician person, Tyrian purple, the word may be derived from φοινός phoinós blood red, itself possibly related to φόνος phónos murder. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the ethnonym, the oldest attested form of the word in Greek may be the Mycenaean po-ni-ki-jo, po-ni-ki, possibly borrowed from Ancient Egyptian fnḫw Asiatics, Semites, although this derivation is disputed. The folk-etymological association of Φοινίκη with φοῖνιξ mirrors that in Akkadian which tied kinaḫni, the land was natively known as knʿn and its people as the knʿny. In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani, the ethnonym survived in North Africa until the 4th century AD. Herodotus account refers to the myths of Io and Europa, according to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. The Greek historian Strabo believed that the Phoenicians originated from Bahrain, Herodotus also believed that the homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain. The people of Tyre in South Lebanon in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, however, there is little evidence of occupation at all in Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. Canaanite culture apparently developed in situ from the earlier Ghassulian chalcolithic culture, Byblos is attested as an archaeological site from the Early Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, fernand Braudel remarked in The Perspective of the World that Phoenicia was an early example of a world-economy surrounded by empires. The high point of Phoenician culture and sea power is usually placed c, archaeological evidence consistent with this understanding has been difficult to identify. A unique concentration in Phoenicia of silver hoards dated between 1200 and 800 BC, however, contains hacksilver with lead isotope ratios matching ores in Sardinia and Spain. This metallic evidence agrees with the memory of a western Mediterranean Tarshish that supplied Solomon with silver via Phoenicia
28.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
29.
Moors
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Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that The term Moors has no real ethnological value. Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, Berber North Africans and Muslim Europeans. The term has also used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names Ceylon Moors and Indian Moors in Sri Lanka, in 711, troops mostly formed by Moors from North Africa led the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. The Iberian peninsula then came to be known in classical Arabic as Al-Andalus, in 827, the Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily, developing it as a port. They eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy, in 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300. The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, the Berber tribes of the region were noted in Classical literature as Mauri, which was subsequently rendered as Moors in English and in related variations in other European languages. Mauri is recorded as the name by Strabo in the early 1st century. This appellation was also adopted into Latin, whereas the Greek name for the tribe was Maurusii, in medieval Romance languages, variations of the Latin word for the Moors developed different applications and connotations. During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the suggestion of infidels. Apart from these associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, in Niger and Mali, these peoples are also known as the Azawagh Arabs, after the Azawagh region of the Sahara. Some authors have pointed out that in modern colloquial Spanish use of the term moro is derogatory for Moroccans in particular, however, this designation has gained more acceptance in the south. In the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, many modern Filipinos call the large, local Muslim minority concentrated in Mindanao, the word is a catch-all term, as Moro may come from several distinct ethno-linguistic groups such as the Maranao people. The term was introduced by Spanish colonisers, and has since been appropriated by Filipino Muslims as an endonym, moreno can mean dark-skinned in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and the Philippines. Also in Spanish, morapio is a name for wine, especially that which has not been baptized or mixed with water. Among Spanish speakers, moro came to have a broader meaning, Moro refers to all things dark, as in Moor, moreno, etc. It was also used as a nickname, for instance, the Milanese Duke Ludovico Sforza was called Il Moro because of his dark complexion, in Portugal, mouro may refer to supernatural beings known as enchanted moura, where moor implies alien and non-Christian
30.
Distillation
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Distillation is a process of separating the component or substances from a liquid mixture by selective evaporation and condensation. Distillation may result in complete separation, or it may be a partial separation that increases the concentration of selected components of the mixture. In either case the process exploits differences in the volatility of the mixtures components, in industrial chemistry, distillation is a unit operation of practically universal importance, but it is a physical separation process and not a chemical reaction. For example, In the fossil fuel industry distillation is a class of operation in obtaining materials from crude oil for fuels. Distillation permits separation of air into its components — notably oxygen, nitrogen, Distillation of fermented products produces distilled beverages with a high alcohol content, or separates out other fermentation products of commercial value. An installation for distillation, especially of alcohol, is a distillery, the distillation equipment is a still. Distillation is an old method of artificial desalination. Aristotle wrote about the process in his Meteorologica and even that ordinary wine possesses a kind of exhalation, later evidence of distillation comes from Greek alchemists working in Alexandria in the 1st century AD. Distilled water has been known since at least c,200, when Alexander of Aphrodisias described the process. Work on distilling other liquids continued in early Byzantine Egypt under the Greek-Egyptian Zosimus of Panopolis, Distillation in China could have begun during the Eastern Han Dynasty, but archaeological evidence indicates that actual distillation of beverages began in the Jin and Southern Song dynasties. A still was found in a site in Qinglong, Hebei province dating to the 12th century. Distilled beverages were more common during the Yuan dynasty, arabs learned the process from the Alexandrians and used it extensively in their chemical experiments. Clear evidence of the distillation of alcohol comes from the School of Salerno in the 12th century, fractional distillation was developed by Tadeo Alderotti in the 13th century. In 1500, German alchemist Hieronymus Braunschweig published Liber de arte destillandi the first book dedicated to the subject of distillation. In 1651, John French published The Art of Distillation the first major English compendium of practice and this includes diagrams with people in them showing the industrial rather than bench scale of the operation. As alchemy evolved into the science of chemistry, vessels called retorts became used for distillations, riveted joints were often kept tight by using various mixtures, for instance a dough made of rye flour. These alembics often featured a system around the beak, using cold water for instance. Today, the retorts and pot stills have largely supplanted by more efficient distillation methods in most industrial processes
31.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
32.
Shiraz
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Shiraz is the sixth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province. At the 2011 census, the population of the city was 1,700,665, Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river. It has a climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. Shiraz is one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia, the earliest reference to the city, as Tiraziš, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC. In the 13th century, Shiraz became a center of the arts and letters, due to the encouragement of its ruler. It was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1800, two famous poets of Iran, Hafez and Saadi, are from Shiraz, whose tombs are on the north side of the current city boundaries. Shiraz is known as the city of poets, literature, wine and it is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city, for example Eram Garden. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities, the crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design, silver-ware, pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes. In Shiraz industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizers, textile products, wood products, metalwork, Shirāz also has a major oil refinery and is also a major center for Irans electronic industries, 53% of Irans electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz. Shiraz is home to Irans first solar power plant, recently the citys first wind turbine has been installed above Babakoohi mountain near the city. The earliest reference to the city is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BCE, found in June 1970, the tablets written in ancient Elamite name a city called Tiraziš. Phonetically, this is interpreted as /tiračis/ or /ćiračis/ and this name became Old Persian /širājiš/, through regular sound change comes the modern Persian name Shirāz. The name Shiraz also appears on clay sealings found at a 2nd-century CE Sassanid ruin, by some of the native writers, the name Shiraz has derived from a son of Tahmuras, the third Shāh of the world according to Ferdowsis Shāhnāma. Shiraz is most likely more than 4,000 years old, the name Shiraz is mentioned in cuneiform inscriptions from around 2000 BC found in southwestern corner of the city. According to some Iranian mythological traditions, it was erected by Tahmuras Diveband. The oldest sample of wine in the world, dating to approximately 7,000 years ago, was discovered on clay jars recovered outside of Shiraz, in the Achaemenian era, Shiraz was on the way from Susa to Persepolis and Pasargadae. In Ferdowsis Shāhnāma it has said that Artabanus V, the Parthian Emperor of Iran. Ghasre Abu-Nasr which is originally from Parthian era is situated in this area, during the Sassanid era, Shiraz was in between the way which was connecting Bishapur and Gur to Istakhr
33.
Al-Hakam II
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Al-Hakam II was the second Caliph of Córdoba, in Al-Andalus and son of Abd-ar-Rahman III and Murjan. He ruled from 961 to 976, Al-Hakam II succeeded to the Caliphate after the death of his father Abd-ar-Rahman III in 961. He secured peace with the Catholic kingdoms of northern Iberia, economic development was also encouraged through the widening of streets and the building of markets. Hakam himself was well versed in numerous sciences. He would have purchased from Damascus, Baghdad, Constantinople, Cairo, Mecca, Medina, Kufa. His status as a patron of knowledge brought him fame across the Muslim world to the point that even written in Persia. During his reign, a massive effort was undertaken, and many books were translated from Latin. He formed a joint committee of Muladi Muslims and Mozarab Catholics for this task and his personal library was of enormous proportions. Some accounts speak of him having more than 600,000 books, however, Hitchcock argues that any number in excess of 600 is inconceivable. The catalogue of library books itself was claimed to be 44 volumes long, according to Hitchcock, this may be because volume and page were confused. Of special importance to Al-Hakam was history, and he wrote a history of al-Andalus. Following his death, Hajib Almanzor had all ancient science books destroyed, the mathematician Lubna of Córdoba was employed as Al-Hakams private secretary. She was said to be versed in the exact sciences, her talents were equal to the solution of the most complex geometrical. The famous physician, scientist, and surgeon Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi was also active in Al-Hakams court during his reign. His building works included an expansion of the mosque of Córdoba, the Mezquita, and the completion of the royal residence Medina Azahara. Whilst the internal administration was left increasingly to the Berber vizir Al-Mushafi and he was chiefly preoccupied with repulsing the last Norman attacks, and with the struggle against the Zirids and the Fatimids in northern Morocco. The Fatimids were defeated in Morocco in 974, while Al-Hakam II was able to maintain the supremacy of the caliphate over the Catholic states of Navarre, Castile, Al-Hakam married Subh of Cordoba, a Christian concubine who gave him two sons. She also held sway and strong influence over the court and it is said that al-Hakam nicknamed her with the masculine name Jafar
34.
Alfonso X of Castile
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Alfonso X, called the Wise, was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death. During the Imperial election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be King of the Romans on 1 April and he renounced his imperial claim in 1275, and in creating an alliance with England in 1254, his claim on Gascony as well. Alfonso X fostered the development of a court that encouraged learning. Jews, Muslims, and Christians had prominent roles in his court, Alfonso was a prolific author of Galician poetry, such as the Cantigas de Santa Maria, which are equally notable for their musical notation as for their literary merit. Alfonsos scientific interests—he is sometimes nicknamed the Astrologer —led him to sponsor the creation of the Alfonsine tables, as a legislator he introduced the first vernacular law code in Spain, the Siete Partidas. He created the Mesta, an association of farmers in the central plain. He fought a war with Portugal, but a less successful one with Granada. The end of his reign was marred by a war with his eldest surviving son, the future Sancho IV. Born in Toledo, Kingdom of Castile, Alfonso was the eldest son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his mother was the paternal cousin of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, to whom Alfonso is often compared. His maternal grandparents were Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina, little is known about his upbringing, but he was most likely raised in Toledo. For the first nine years of his life Alfonso was only heir to Castile until his paternal grandfather king Alfonso IX of Leon died and his father united the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. He began his career as a soldier, under the command of his father, after the election of Theobald I as king of Navarre, his father tried to arrange a marriage for Alfonso with Theobalds daughter, Blanche of Navarre, but the move was unsuccessful. At the same time, he had a relationship with Mayor Guillén de Guzmán. In 1240, he married Mayor Guillén de Guzmán, but the marriage was later annulled, in the same period he conquered several Muslim strongholds in Al-Andalus alongside his father, such as Murcia, Alicante and Cadiz. In 1249, Alfonso married Violante of Aragon, the daughter of King James I of Aragon and Yolande of Hungary, Alfonso succeeded his father as King of Castile and León in 1252. The following year he invaded Portugal, capturing the region of the Algarve, King Afonso III of Portugal had to surrender, but he gained an agreement by which, after he consented to marry Alfonso Xs daughter Beatrice of Castile, the land would be returned to their heirs. In 1263 he returned Algarve to the King of Portugal and signed the Treaty of Badajoz, in 1254 Alfonso X signed a treaty of alliance with the King of England and Duke of Aquitaine, Henry III, supporting him in the war against Louis IX of France. In 1256, at the death of William II of Holland, Alfonsos descent from the Hohenstaufen through his mother, Alfonsos election as King of the Romans by the imperial prince-electors misled him into complicated schemes that involved excessive expense but never succeeded
35.
Christopher Columbus
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Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and those voyages and his efforts to establish permanent settlements on the island of Hispaniola initiated the European colonization of the New World. Western imperialism and economic competition were emerging among European kingdoms through the establishment of routes and colonies. During his first voyage in 1492, he reached the New World instead of arriving at Japan as he had intended, landing on an island in the Bahamas archipelago that he named San Salvador. Over the course of three voyages, he visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America. These voyages had, therefore, an impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. He spearheaded the transatlantic trade and has been accused by several historians of initiating the genocide of the Hispaniola natives. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of spreading the Christian religion, Columbus never admitted that he had reached a continent previously unknown to Europeans, rather than the East Indies for which he had set course. He called the inhabitants of the lands that he visited indios, the name Christopher Columbus is the Anglicisation of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. His name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo and, in Spanish and he was born before 31 October 1451 in the territory of the Republic of Genoa, though the exact location remains disputed. His father was Domenico Colombo, a wool weaver who worked both in Genoa and Savona and who also owned a cheese stand at which young Christopher worked as a helper. Bartolomeo, Giovanni Pellegrino, and Giacomo were his brothers, Bartolomeo worked in a cartography workshop in Lisbon for at least part of his adulthood. He also had a sister named Bianchinetta, Columbus never wrote in his native language, which is presumed to have been a Genoese variety of Ligurian. In one of his writings, he says he went to sea at the age of 10, in 1470, the Columbus family moved to Savona, where Domenico took over a tavern. In the same year, Christopher was on a Genoese ship hired in the service of René of Anjou to support his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Naples. Some modern historians have argued that he was not from Genoa but, instead and these competing hypotheses have generally been discounted by mainstream scholars. In 1473, Columbus began his apprenticeship as business agent for the important Centurione, Di Negro, later, he allegedly made a trip to Chios, an Aegean island then ruled by Genoa. In May 1476, he took part in a convoy sent by Genoa to carry valuable cargo to northern Europe
36.
Ferdinand Magellan
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Commanding a fleet of five vessels, he headed south through the Atlantic Ocean to Patagonia, passing through the Strait of Magellan into a body of water he named the peaceful sea. Despite a series of storms and mutinies, the reached the Spice Islands in 1521. Magellan did not complete the voyage, as he was killed during the Battle of Mactan in the Philippines in 1521. Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling east, by visiting this area again but now travelling west, Magellan achieved a nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history. The Magellanic penguin is named after him, as he was the first European to note it. Magellan was born in northern Portugal in around 1480, either at Vila Nova de Gaia, near Porto, in Douro Litoral Province, or at Sabrosa, near Vila Real, in Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province. He was the son of Rodrigo de Magalhães, Alcaide-Mor of Aveiro and wife Alda de Mesquita and brother of Leonor or Genebra de Magalhães, in March 1505 at the age of 25, Magellan enlisted in the fleet of 22 ships sent to host D. Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India, although his name does not appear in the chronicles, it is known that he remained there eight years, in Goa, Cochin and Quilon. He participated in battles, including the battle of Cannanore in 1506. In 1509 he fought in the battle of Diu and he later sailed under Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in the first Portuguese embassy to Malacca, with Francisco Serrão, his friend and possibly cousin. In September, after arriving at Malacca, the expedition fell victim to an ending in retreat. Magellan had a role, warning Sequeira and saving Francisco Serrão. In 1511, under the new governor Afonso de Albuquerque, Magellan, after the conquest their ways parted, Magellan was promoted, with a rich plunder and, in the company of a Malay he had indentured and baptized Enrique of Malacca, he returned to Portugal in 1512. Serrão departed in the first expedition sent to find the Spice Islands in the Moluccas and he married a woman from Amboina and became a military advisor to the Sultan of Ternate, Bayan Sirrullah. His letters to Magellan would prove decisive, giving information about the spice-producing territories, after taking a leave without permission, Magellan fell out of favour. Serving in Morocco, he was wounded, resulting in a permanent limp and he was accused of trading illegally with the Moors. The accusations were proved false, but he received no offers of employment after 15 May 1514. Later on in 1515, he got an employment offer as a member on a Portuguese ship
37.
Francis Drake
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Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. With his incursion into the Pacific he inaugurated an era of privateering, Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588 and he died of dysentery in January 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. His exploits made him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards, King Philip II was said to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4 million by modern standards, for his life. Francis Drake was born in Tavistock, Devon, England, although his birth is not formally recorded, it is known that he was born while the Six Articles were in force. Drake was two and twenty when he obtained the command of the Judith and this would date his birth to 1544. A date of c.1540 is suggested from two portraits, one a miniature painted by Nicholas Hilliard in 1581 when he was allegedly 42 and he was the eldest of the twelve sons of Edmund Drake, a Protestant farmer, and his wife Mary Mylwaye. The first son was alleged to have named after his godfather Francis Russell. Because of religious persecution during the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549, there the father obtained an appointment to minister the men in the Kings Navy. He was ordained deacon and was vicar of Upnor Church on the Medway. Drakes father apprenticed Francis to his neighbour, the master of a used for coastal trade transporting merchandise to France. The ship master was so satisfied with the young Drakes conduct that, being unmarried and childless at his death, Francis Drake married Mary Newman in 1569. She died 12 years later, in 1581, in 1585, Drake married Elizabeth Sydenham—born circa 1562, the only child of Sir George Sydenham, of Combe Sydenham, who was the High Sheriff of Somerset. After Drakes death, the widow Elizabeth eventually married Sir William Courtenay of Powderham. At age 23, Drake made his first voyage to the Americas, sailing with his cousin, Sir John Hawkins, on one of a fleet of ships owned by his relatives. In 1568 Drake was again with the Hawkins fleet when it was trapped by the Spaniards in the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulúa, following the defeat at San Juan de Ulúa, Drake vowed revenge. He made two voyages to the West Indies, in 1570 and 1571, of which little is known, in 1572, he embarked on his first major independent enterprise. He planned an attack on the Isthmus of Panama, known to the Spanish as Tierra Firme and the English as the Spanish Main
38.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
39.
Phylloxera
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These almost microscopic, pale yellow sap-sucking insects, related to aphids, feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines. On Vitis vinifera L. the resulting deformations on roots and secondary infections can girdle roots, gradually cutting off the flow of nutrients. American vine species have evolved to have natural defenses against phylloxera. The roots of the American vines exude a sap that repels the nymph form when it tries to feed from the vine by clogging its mouth. Currently there is no cure for phylloxera and unlike other grape diseases such as powdery or downy mildew, the only successful means of controlling phylloxera has been the grafting of phylloxera resistant American rootstock to more susceptible European vinifera vines. The phylloxera aphid has a complex life-cycle of up to 18 stages, that can be divided into four forms, sexual form, leaf form, root form. The sexual form begins with male and female eggs laid on the underside of young grape leaves, the male and female at this stage lack a digestive system, and once hatched, they mate and then die. Before the female dies, she lays one egg in the bark of the vines trunk. This egg develops into the leaf form and this nymph, the fundatrix, climbs onto a leaf and lays eggs parthenogenetically in a leaf gall that she creates by injecting saliva into the leaf. The nymphs that hatch from these eggs may move to other leaves, in this form they perforate the root to find nourishment, infecting the root with a poisonous secretion that stops it from healing. This poison eventually kills the vine and this nymph reproduces by laying eggs for up to seven more generations each summer. These offspring spread to other roots of the vine, or to the roots of other vines through cracks in the soil, the generation of nymphs that hatch in the autumn hibernate in the roots and emerge next spring when the sap begins to rise. In humid areas, the nymphs develop into the winged form and these nymphs start the cycle again by either staying on the vine to lay male and female eggs on the bottom side of young grape leaves, or flying to an uninfected vine to do the same. In the late 19th century the phylloxera epidemic destroyed most of the vineyards for wine grapes in Europe, phylloxera was introduced to Europe when avid botanists in Victorian England collected specimens of American vines in the 1850s. Because phylloxera is native to North America, the grape species are at least partially resistant. By contrast, the European wine grape Vitis vinifera is very susceptible to the insect, the epidemic devastated vineyards in Britain and then moved to the European mainland, destroying most of the European grape growing industry. In 1863, the first vines began to deteriorate inexplicably in the southern Rhône region of France, the problem spread rapidly across the continent. In France alone, total wine production fell from 84.5 million hectolitres in 1875 to only 23.4 million hectolitres in 1889, some estimates hold that between two-thirds and nine-tenths of all European vineyards were destroyed
