The production of fermented beverages is nowadays a technically sophisticated business. Many people outside it, however, even if they are familiar with the food industry overall, fail to appreciate just what advances have been made in the last twenty or thirty years. In part this is due to the blandishments of advertising, which tend to emphasise the traditional image for mass market promotion at the expense of the technological skills, and in part due to a lack of readily available information on the production pro­ cesses themselves. This book attempts to remedy the balance and to show that, far from being a quaint and rustic activity, the production of fermented beverages is a skilled and sophisticated blend of tradition and technology. We have chosen to organise the book principally by individual beverages or groups of beverages, with the addition of a number of general chapters to cover items of common concern such as fermentation biochemistry, adulteration, filtration and flavour aspects. While we have tried to eliminate excessive duplication of information, we make no apologies for the fact that certain important aspects (e. g. the role of sulphur dioxide in wine and cidermaking) are discussed on more than one occasion. This only serves to underline their importance and to ensure that each chapter is moderately self-contained.