Your questions answered   

A. Very briefly. Grapes are the primary ingredient in wine, and they are harvested once they reach optimal ripeness. The timing depends on the type of wine being obtained - white wines generally require early harvested grapes because of the acidity required to make them, while red wines are made from fully ripened grapes. Harvesting can be done by hand (grapes are selected, only the best grapes are harvested, best wines) or mechanically (anything gets harvested, lower quality wines). Grapes are crushed to release the sugar in their juice. The juice naturally ferments when yeast comes in contact with the sugar in the grape juice. The result is alcohol and carbon dioxide. Red wine is made with dark-skinned grapes and fermented with the grape skins. White wines are made with grapes, or if made with some dark-skinned grapes the grape skins are removed prior to fermentation. Rose’ wines have contact with the skins of dark-skinned grapes just long enough to impart a rose' color. The fermented wine is then separated from the grape solids and transferred into a vat or casks for ageing, then it clarified and finally, the wine is bottled and can either continue the ageing process or consumed.

A. The vintage is the year on the wine label and refers to the year the grapes were harvested. The characteristics of a particular year are determined by the weather conditions and resulting grapes and affect the quality of the wine. For sparkling wines, such as Champagne or Franciacorta, vintage is only indicated in great years. A vintage wine also means a great wine, a wine made in a great year.
According to the Italian wine legislation, vintage is a requirement on all DOC and DOCG wines, for IGT and Table wine is not, however, it is common practice to have the vintage also on IGT.
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A. If a wine is corked, it will give off a distinct aroma. Many people say this aroma smells like wet newspaper, a dank basement or a wet dog.

A. The colour of wine is given by its skins. Red grapes can produce red, rosé and, in some cases, even white wines when fermented without the skins, with very few exceptions. Rosé wines obtain their varying shades of pink from shorter contact between the juice and the grape skins during fermentation, usually at lower temperatures. The final colour of the rosé also depends on the natural colour intensity of the grape skins themselves.

The shorter the skin contact and the cooler the fermentation, the lighter, fresher and more delicate the rosé wine will be. Longer skin contact generally produces rosé wines with deeper colour, more body and greater structure.

Rosé wines can range from pale salmon pink to deeper vibrant shades depending on grape variety, winemaking style and fermentation time.

A. A glass of dry red or white wine has approximately 110 calories. Sweeter wine with residual sugar as well as alcohol has more calories. The higher the alcohol content, the higher the number of calories.

A. There is growing scientific evidence that regular moderate consumption of wine is good for you. Red wine in particular is said to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The cholesterol that blocks arteries is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LPD). This is cleared from the blood by high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HPD). Both are carried in the blood. Moderate alcohol consumption produces a better balance of the two. In addition, alcohol has an anticoagulant effect which makes blood less likely to clot. There is also evidence that wine can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or having a stroke.

A. Today many conscientious wine producers are making every effort to minimise the use of chemicals in their vineyards. In France they call this "lutte raisonée" broadly translated as a rational fight against the problems of insects, weeds and fungus. This involves monitoring pest levels and only spraying when necessary. Organic viticulture is different. The regulations are strict and limit producers to using only naturally occurring products for pest control.
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A. As a general "rule of thumb":

Red wine, 18 degrees Celsius.
White & rosé wine, 7/8 degrees Celsius
Sparkling wines, 6/7 degrees Celsius.

These temperatures are for normal, every day wines. For aged white wines, serving temperature should be 2/3 degrees higher. Same for aged, complex red wines. Old vintage of classic method sparkling wine, a couple of degrees higher.

The correct serving temperature can be the difference between "I really enjoyed the wine" and "I didn't enjoy the wine at all"