Boost your wine trivia know-how
10 wine facts to show off with
A surefire way to show off to your fellow wine-loving friends is to reel off some impressive wine knowledge. Here are 10 eyebrow-raising facts that will at least give people the impression that you know what you're talking about.
Wine is over 8,000 years old.
Winemaking is well-known as an ancient art. The Romans, ancient Greeks, ancient Egyptians, and Mesopotamians are all known to have produced wine, but the oldest known evidence of winemaking was found in the country of Georgia. Archaeologists found pottery fragments with traces of wine compounds that indicated winemaking took place here as long ago as 6,000 BC!
The ancient Egyptians buried wine with the pharaohs.
Speaking of ancient winemaking countries, the ancient Egyptians appear to have been particularly fond of their wine. Wine jars have been discovered in the tombs of pharaohs, who were typically buried with goods thought to be useful to them in the afterlife. Considered a luxury item, wine was one of many food and drink items that would be buried with those of high status to offer them sustenance in the next life.
The word 'wine' comes from the Latin word 'vinum'.
Latin permeates European languages, and wine is a notable example of this. The word 'wine' comes from the old English 'win', which in turn came from the Latin word 'vinum'. That's not the end of the matter, though. The Latin word 'vinum' is thought to possibly come from the ancient Greek word for wine, 'oinos' - a distinct possibility as both languages developed from the even more ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Ultimately, the etymology of the word 'wine' is unclear, so these words are the closest we're likely to come to discovering the true origins of the word for wine.
A single bottle of wine contains about 600–800 grapes.
Have you ever seen how much juice a single grape produces? The answer is not a lot. A single grape produces approximately 4.5-7.5 ml/0.15-0.25oz of fresh juice. While this is only a small amount, a quick calculation would suggest that you'd therefore need around 150 grapes for a 750ml bottle of wine. However, juice from the grapes is lost during pressing and again during the fermentation stage. As a result, 600-800 grapes are typically required for a bottle, depending on factors such as the grape variety, wine style, and pressing method.
Red wine gets its color from grape skins, not juice.
More experienced wine lovers will probably know this one, but it's quite the eye-opener when you first find out. Yes, red wine is made from red grapes, but if you ever squeeze a red grape, you'll see that its juice is clear.
Red wine actually gets its darker color from the skin of the grape, which is left in contact with the juice during fermentation—a process known as maceration. The final color of the wine depends on several factors, including the color of the grape used to make it, the length of time the skin is left in contact with the juice, and the temperature at which the wine is fermented.
You can make white wine from red grapes.
Following on from our last fact, since red wine is made by macerating grape skin in juice during fermentation, you can actually make white wine from red grapes if you separate the grape's skin from the juice. Doing this means the red grape's naturally clearer juice never has the chance to take on the color from the skin, allowing you to make white wine from it. Some popular examples of white wine made from red grapes are Blanc de Noirs Champagne (meaning 'white from blacks'), and white pinot noir.
Making white wine from red grapes allows winemakers to explore new flavor profiles from familiar red grapes, taking much of the tannins out of the wine (a feature widely associated with many red wines), and creating a white wine offering that often has more body and complexity than most white wines made from white grapes.
Screw caps don't mean low quality.
You might have the impression that the best wines always use corks rather than screw tops. There's good reason to have this impression, as it has historically been true, but things are starting to change. Many top-tier wines, especially from Australia and New Zealand, are now using screw caps on high-quality wines, and they have some distinct reasons for doing so.
Many winemakers consider screw caps to be more reliable and consistent than corks as they don't have 'cork taint' risk that comes with using corks. Screw caps are also superior when it comes to preserving and aging wine effectively, thanks to having a more consistent seal. Finally, screw caps also get the thumbs up when it comes to sustainability. Corks require harvesting from cork oak trees, while screw tops are recyclable.
The red grape came before the white grape.
Have you ever wondered why we have two distinct and contrasting categories of grape colors? It is thought that all grapes were once dark-skinned, and the yellow and green-colored grapes we know today, which produce white wines, originated from a DNA mutation that prevents the production of anthocyanins—the pigments responsible for the red and purple color in grape skins. Who'd have thought?
Three countries produce half of the world's wine.
Wine is undoubtedly a global phenomenon, with vineyards existing all over the world. Despite this, it's the old school wine-producing nations that dominate overall production. Together, France, Italy, and Spain—in that order — make around 50% of the world's wine. That said, the USA is hot on the heels of Spain, so watch this space.
Oenophobia is the fear of wine.
Yes, this is a real, though admittedly rare, phobia. If you're unfortunate enough to suffer from this affliction, don't worry; we have beautiful cocktail and beer glasses for you to enjoy instead.
There you have it: 10 wine facts that will turn you into your friends' designated sommelier. Just cross your fingers and hope people don't ask any follow-up questions.
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