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The Drink Portal

A portal dedicated to all beverages

Introduction

Tea is the second‑most‑consumed drink in the world, after water.

A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.

In addition, alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer, and liquor, which contain the drug ethanol, have been part of human culture for more than 8,000 years. Non-alcoholic drinks often signify drinks that would normally contain alcohol, such as beer, wine and cocktails, but are made with a sufficiently low concentration of alcohol by volume. The category includes drinks that have undergone an alcohol removal process such as non-alcoholic beers and de-alcoholized wines. (Full article...)

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Carménère grapes
Carménère grapes
The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot.

A member of the Cabernet family of grapes, the name "Carménère" originates from the French word for crimson (carmin) which refers to the brilliant crimson colour of the autumn foliage before leaf-fall. The grape is also known as Grande Vidure, a historic Bordeaux synonym, although current European Union regulations prohibit imports under this name into the European Union. Along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, Carménère is considered one of the original six red grapes of Bordeaux.

Now rarely found in France, the world's largest area planted with this variety is in Chile, with more than 8,800 hectares (2009) cultivated in the Central Valley. As such, Chile produces the vast majority of Carménère wines available today and as the Chilean wine industry grows, more experimentation is being carried out on Carménère's potential as a blending grape, especially with Cabernet Sauvignon. It is considered the emblematic strain of Chilean wine.

Carménère is also grown in Italy's Eastern Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions, in Argentina, and in smaller quantities in California and Walla Walla (Washington and Oregon) in the United States. (Full article...)

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... there is a white variety of Tempranillo grapes?
Other "Did you know" facts... Read more...

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The following are images from various drink-related articles on Wikipedia.

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A "Colored" drinking fountain from mid-20th century with African-American drinking
A "Colored" drinking fountain from mid-20th century with African-American drinking
An illustration of racial segregation in the United States (Jim Crow laws) in a mid 20th century photograph showing a "Colored" drinking fountain in Oklahoma City with an African-American drinking.

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Ludwig Roselius by Nicola Perscheid c. 1905
Ludwig Roselius (2 June 1874 – 15 May 1943) was a German coffee merchant and founder of the company Kaffee HAG. He was born in Bremen and is credited with the development of commercial decaffeination of coffee. As a patron, he supported artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker and Bernard Hoetger and turned the Böttcherstrasse street in Bremen into an artwork. (Full article...)

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Mankind . . . possesses two supreme blessings. First of these is the goddess Demeter, or Earth whichever name you choose to call her by. It was she who gave to man his nourishment of grain. But after her there came the son of Semele, who matched her present by inventing liquid wine as his gift to man. For filled with that good gift, suffering mankind forgets its grief; from it comes sleep; with it oblivion of the troubles of the day. There is no other medicine for misery.
— Euripides (485 - 406 BCE)
The Bacchae [c. 407 BCE], l. 274

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Cinchona, the plant quinine was derived from
Cinchona, the plant quinine was derived from
Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg cramps, quinine is not recommended for this purpose due to the risk of serious side effects. It can be taken by mouth or intravenously. Malaria resistance to quinine occurs in certain areas of the world. Quinine is also used as an ingredient in tonic water and other beverages to impart a bitter taste.


Common side effects include headache, ringing in the ears, vision issues, and sweating. More severe side effects include deafness, low blood platelets, and an irregular heartbeat. Use can make one more prone to sunburn. While it is unclear if use during pregnancy carries potential for fetal harm, treating malaria during pregnancy with quinine when appropriate is still recommended. Quinine is an alkaloid, a naturally occurring chemical compound. How it works as a medicine is not entirely clear.


Quinine was first isolated in 1820 from the bark of a cinchona tree, which is native to Peru, and its molecular formula was determined by Adolph Strecker in 1854. The class of chemical compounds to which it belongs is thus called the cinchona alkaloids. Bark extracts had been used to treat malaria since at least 1632 and it was introduced to Spain as early as 1636 by Jesuit missionaries returning from the New World. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Treatment of malaria with quinine marks the first known use of a chemical compound to treat an infectious disease. (Full article...)

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Food & Drink is an association of Wikipedians with an interest in culinary-related subjects. They have come together to co-ordinate the development of food and drink articles here on Wikipedia as well as the many subjects related to food such as foodservice, catering and restaurants. If you wish to learn more about these subjects as well as get involved, please visit the project.

WikiProject Beer – covers Wikipedia's coverage of beer and breweries and microbreweries

WikiProject Wine – aims to compile thorough and accurate information on different vineyards, wineries and varieties of wines, including but not limited to their qualities, origins, and uses.


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