Wine is made from grape must, which undergoes a natural fermentation process through the action of yeasts that transform the sugar present in the grape into alcohol and carbon dioxide. When there's no more sugar in the liquid, the yeasts die and the fermentation ends. So the grape came into this world to either be eaten or to be turned into wine. If it's eaten, well, its mission on earth is over. But if it's turned into wine, its life will be prolonged for many, many years, and in the best cases, for centuries. This transformation is a very tough process for a grape. And you'll soon understand what I'm trying to say here. The process of turning grapes into wine involves harvesting the grapes, or "vindima," (as we say in Portuguese) at the right time. It cannot be too early or too late. Then, the way they are transported is crucial to prevent them from being bruised or crushed. Otherwise, the next stage, fermentation, might start prematurely. But before fermentation, the grapes are crushed. After that, they move on to the fermentation stage. Alcoholic fermentation occurs when microorganisms called yeasts transform sugars into ethanol (alcohol), energy (heat), and gas, along with secondary products. This process happens differently for red and white wines. Once fermentation is complete, the filtration process begins. The goal of this phase is to separate the solid phase in suspension from the liquid phase by passing through a porous surface that constitutes the filtering layer, intended to retain solid particles. Finally, there is the aging and bottling of the wine. Here is the wine. If we translate this to my life, let's say I am in the final stage of fermentation. In other words, I am transforming my sugars (ghosts) into alcohol (my second life). The same processes the grape undergoes happened to our heroine today. Her name is Cristina, a widow, with three children, who turned the loss of her husband 30 years ago into something wonderful. Just like wine. But like the grape before turning into wine, Cristina went through hell and back. Today, the hero’s cape will be worn by a woman: Cristina, sweet like the Portuguese wine Casa Ermelinda Freitas Trincadeira Reserva Tinto. Absolutely fantastic!
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