There are few things as satisfying as a glass of wine in some good company. And what largest way to engage with your friends than with a few interesting facts well-nigh wine?
Wine has been many people’s instillation of nomination for centuries, and if you’re a wine-lover, you’ll understand why. Below are 37 interesting facts well-nigh wine that’ll wrack-up you away. Be sure to skim up on your interesting facts well-nigh grapes surpassing you jump in.
1. The Oldest Known Winery Dates Back to 4100 BCE
The over 6,000-year-old wine-production facility was discovered in 2007 in Armenia. Archaeologists found fermentation jars and a wine printing in a grotto near the village of Areni.
2. The Phoenicians Were Responsible for the Spread of Wine Throughout the Mediterranean
The Phoenicians were an warmed-over civilization based in what is today known as Lebanon. They’re said to have played a major role in the spread of knowledge well-nigh winemaking and cultivation to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
These skilled winemakers thus played a significant role in the growth of the wine-producing regions in Europe.
3. The Warmed-over Greeks & Romans Loved Wine So Much; They Thanked the Gods For It
The Greeks thanked the god of wine and ecstasy, Dionysus, for this tasty juice. While Romans thanked the wine deity, Bacchus, for this perfect beverage.
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4. Wine Used to Be Healthier to Drink Than Water
Water was much increasingly susceptible to going off or garnering bacteria, which was expressly worrying for sailors going on long trips wideness the ocean. In contrast, the fermentation process and swig content in wine reduce the chances of yes-man insemination in the beverage.
This meant that wine was safer to take onboard than water, making one rethink the “drunken sailor” trope.
5. Women Were Banned From Drinking Wine in Warmed-over Times
Several written sources suggest that women were transiently forbidden to drink wine in Warmed-over Roman times. On a darker note, the husband was plane said to be unliable to murder his wife if he found her consuming this drink. This may have had roots in paternalistic ideals.
6. The World’s Longest-Running Winery Can Be Found in Germany
The Staffelter Hof winery was established over 1,150 years ago in a small town named Kröv in the country of Germany. This makes it one of the longest-running wineries in the world — that we know of.
7. The Oldest Unopened Snifter of Wine Dates Back to ~325 C.E.
The 50.07-ounce snifter was found in a nobleman’s tomb near the German municipality of Speyer. The Römerwein aus Speyer (as it’s known in German) is housed at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Germany. The contents sit in a well-spoken glass snifter and squint quite unsightly, but some scientists say it may still be unscratched to drink.
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8. People Used to Carry Wine in Animal Hide or Bladders
Some of the primeval known vessels for delivering and storing wine was in wineskins — made from things like goatskin or bladders. The Egyptians invented amphorae (wax-lined ceramic containers) for this purpose, which the Romans and Greeks moreover came to use. The invention of the glass wine snifter shape you know today is credited to Sir Kenelm Digby.
9. There Are 11 Variegated Sizes of Wine Bottles
The largest wine snifter is tabbed the ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ and holds a whopping 4 gallons of wine. The smallest wine snifter is tabbed a Piccolo or Split and contains a single serving of wine at 6.03 ounces.
10. There’s a Reason Why Wine Glasses Are Shaped Like That
Wine glasses don’t simply have a stem so they can squint fancy. You’re meant to hold a wine glass at the stem as the heat of your hand may warm up the temperature of the wine and influence its flavor.
The wine glass moreover has a unshared ‘tulip’ or tapered shape to trap the aromas (fragrance) in the glass — so you can fathom the zephyr withal with the flavor.
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11. Wine Connoisseurs Never Fill the Glass Increasingly Than a Third of the Way
It may be tempting to top up your glass to the brim, but wine experts recommend never filling your glass increasingly than a third of the way. This is to indulge the wine aromas unbearable space to collect in the glass. This moreover gives you zaftig space to safely swirl the wine virtually and release the aromas.
12. Corked Bottles Are Always Stored Laying Down
In order to prevent the cork from drying out, letting air in, and falling into the wine bottle, corked bottles are never stored upright. The contact between the wine and the cork keeps the cork swollen and secure, which prevents air from entering.
13. Some People Have a Fear of Wine
As phobias go, they may seem odd to the stereotype person. But some people have a genuine wine phobia and are tabbed Oenophobes. This fear may have its roots in genetics or previous bad experiences with the beverage.
14. Wine Lovers or Connoisseurs Are Tabbed Oenophiles
In unrelatedness to Oenophobes, if you love wine, you can proudly undeniability yourself an Oenophile. ‘Oinos’ is the Greek word for wine. While ‘phile’ has French and Medieval Latin roots and ways “one that loves.”
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15. The Top 3 Most Significant Wine Producers Are All in Europe
The three biggest global producers of wine are Italy, France, and Spain. Other prominent wine-producing locations include the United States — with much of the wine stuff produced in sunny California — and stunning Argentina.
Some popular wine regions wideness the world include Stellenbosch in South Africa, Mclaren Vale in South Australia, Montepulciano in Italy, Santorini in Greece and Portugal. North America moreover has a strong wine industry including lesser known areas such as Livermore, Charlottesville and Wolfville in Nova Scotia, Canada.
16. Romans May Have Drank Themselves to Their Own Downfall
There are many warnings versus overconsumption of this instillation in early texts like the Bible. But it wasn’t merely the overconsumption of wine that was dangerous. Romans were said to mix lead into their grape-derived drinks for a uplift of sweetness. Some historians speculate that lead poisoning may have played a role in the eventual fall of the Roman Empire.
17. Good Hosts Drink First
In ancient Greece, it was worldwide practice for the host to take the first sip of a snifter of wine. This was to ensure that the wine was not poisonous and thus unscratched to drink. So, next time you host a party, be sure to show your guests that you have no intention of poisoning them by taking the first sip.
18. Red Grapes Are Increasingly Versatile For Wine
Red wine can’t be made from untried grapes. But some white wines can be made from the darker undecorous and purple-skinned grapes, as the skin is separated from the grape.
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19. Each Wine Has an Ideal Serving Temperature
As a unstipulated rule of thumb, white wines should be served between 40-54°F. Red wines should be served at temperatures ranging between 50-65°F. Lower temperatures tend to help emphasize elements like bitterness and acidity. Higher temperatures minimize this, which is why it’s preferred for increasingly robust flavored wines.
Sparkling wines are moreover weightier served at lower temperatures, as it slows the soapy process and prevents the drink from stuff too frothy.
20. Wine Has Great Health Benefits
When consumed without additions like lead, wine can, in fact, have a positive impact on your health. Studies suggest that moderate consumption of wine — expressly the red kind — can help reduce the risk of heart disease and increase your life expectancy. So, if you’re in the habit of ending your day with a glass of red, you can confidently say you’re doing your heart a favor.
21. Wine Is Increasingly Ramified Than Thoroughbred Serums
There are so many organic chemical compounds in wine that it’s said to be increasingly ramified than thoroughbred serum.
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22. Red Wine Contains Increasingly Antioxidants Than White Wine
White wines are fermented without the skins, stems, and seeds, while red wine is fermented with all these elements. This ways red wines are richer in plant compounds like tannins and resveratrol, which are said to have many positive health benefits.
White wine simply has fewer of these compounds. So you won’t entirely be missing out on the health benefits if you prefer white wine.
23. Wine Has Increasingly Antioxidants than Fruit
In fact, you’d have to slosh well-nigh 20 glasses of apple juice or seven glasses of orange juice to proceeds as many antioxidants as you’d get in wine.
24. Grapes Are One of the Most Planted Fruit Crops in the World
There are well-nigh 150 trillion pounds of grapes produced on over 29,000 square miles of land every year. This makes it one of the most cultivated fruits globally, ranking among other fruits like tomatoes, bananas, and watermelons.
25. Sweet or ‘Dessert’ Wine is Made From Rotten Grapes
Dessert and sweet wines are made from grapes that have higher sugar content. One way of achieving this higher content is by giving the vines a fungal infection named ‘botrytis.’ This infection produces “Noble Rot” grapes, which are sweeter and used to make wines like German Riesling and Sauternes from Bordeaux.
Another way to create sweeter grapes is to let them freeze over, in colder climates, surpassing picking them. This creates ‘ice wine,’ which is syrupy sweet.
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26. The Climate Affects the Wine’s Taste
Grapes that grow in warmer climates usually have increasingly endangerment to ripen, giving it increasingly opportunity to produce sugars. This type of grapes makes for stronger, sweeter wines. In contrast, grapes grown in potation climates tend to produce increasingly acidic wines as they don’t get as much opportunity to ripen.
There are four tasting elements to squint for when sampling wine: acidity, sweetness, tannins, and swig content.
27. All Champagne Is Sparkling Wine, yet Not All Sparkling Wine Can Be Tabbed Champagne
You may have heard this fact already. But, for the wine newbies, this is an important thing to alimony in mind. You can only undeniability sparkling wine Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region in France.
28. Sparkling Wine Only Becomes Sparkling After It’s Bottled
Surprisingly, sparkling wine isn’t bottled with bubbles. A liqueur de tirage (combination of wine, yeast, and sugar) is widow to every snifter of wine during the bottling stage. This mixture causes a secondary drunkard fermentation, at which stage the frothing form over a 12 to 15-month period.
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29. The Pressure in a Champagne Snifter Is Larger Than the Pressure in a Car’s Tires
A snifter of champagne can hold up to three times the pressure of a car tire, which is why the cork tends to fly off at such a rapid speed. The warmer the champagne, the increasingly pressure there is in the bottle, and the faster the cork will fly. Corks can fly up to 50 miles/ hour.
30. There Are Over 10,000 Varieties of Wine Grapes
But only virtually 1,300 of those varieties are wontedly used to produce commercial wine. Some of the most popular varieties are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Cabernet Franc.
31. You Won’t Find Wine Grapes in the Grocery Store
While there are plenty of varieties of wine grapes, they’re rarely sold at the unstipulated grocery store. So, if you wanted to make your own homemade wine with proper winemaking grapes, you’d likely have to get them from a wine farm.
32. People in Portugal Slosh the Most Wine Per Capita
According to Statista, Portugal is the leading country in terms of wine consumption per person. Portugal’s citizens are said to have drunk an stereotype of 13.7 gallons of wine per person in 2020.
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33. ‘Vintage’ Wine Isn’t As Fancy As It Sounds
You may think vintage wines are wines that have been weather-beaten for years or decades. But, vintage wine is unquestionably just wine that is produced with grapes harvested in the same year. ‘Non-vintage’ wines are produced from grapes harvested in several variegated years. Some of the biggest wine producers produce ‘non-vintage’ wines.
34. Most Wines Aren’t Meant to Be Aged
There is a worldwide perception that wine improves with age, but well-nigh 90% of wines are weightier consumed within five years of bottling. Most wines taste their weightier when they’re sold, as they’ve likely once been weather-beaten for a unrepealable period to enhance the flavors.
35. You Get ‘Old World’ and ‘New World’ Wine
This probably sounds a bit odd, but these phrases are simply used to refer to the continental origin of the wine. Wines that come from Europe and the Middle East are referred to as ‘Old World’ wines. ‘New World’ wines come from Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.
36. Many Wines Aren’t Vegetarian or Vegan
Although wine is made from fruit, many wines are produced with fining teachers derived from animals. These include casein (from milk), egg albumen, gelatine, and isinglass (made from fish).
37. Unrepealable Wines Go Largest With Unrepealable Foods
In general, heavier, increasingly flavorful wines go with richer meals, while lighter wines go with lighter meals. Red wines moreover work weightier with red meats, while white wines work well with chicken or fish. And, you may have guessed it, dessert wines go weightier with dessert.
