In January I visited the Herradura factory near Guadalahara, Mexico. It is a beautiful facility and they give an outstanding, informative tour.The Aztecs were the first to use Blue Agave to extract a mildly alcoholic beverage. With the invasion of the Spainiards came “modern” distilation methods, and Tequila was born.
The agave is harvested when it is 8-12 years old. The leaves are sheared off and the center, or pina, 
which can weigh up to 150 pounds, is roasted.
I never knew that the agave was cooked. The pina is shredded and put into large ovens. The odor is not unlike the cooking of molasses and, when golden, it tastes a little like roasted plaintains.
The cooked pina is milled with water and fermented, like wine.
And casked, like wine.
Therein lie the only similarities:
For, as Thomas Beacon most famously said, “when the wine is in, the wit is out.”
Tequila, as everyone knows, is a mind clarifying liquid.
When the tequila is in, the tongue is out.