Winemaking has been picking up steam all around the globe. In recent years, wineries have been proving to be a lucrative business. From 1934 until 2018, the average wine consumption per person increased from 0.26 to 2.95 gallons!
In fact, there was a recorded number of almost 10,000 wineries in the United States alone last year. It sounds like any wine connoisseur out there won’t be having trouble with stocking wine bottles anytime soon!
Anyhow, let’s get straight to it. Read these 35 fantastic wine facts that you never even knew before. And grab a glass of wine while you’re at it!
The tannins from wine make it a healthy drink
Tannins are prevalent in wine and are great as an antioxidant. They are the reason why wine offers health benefits.
Swirling wine glass improves the aroma
When people swirl a wine glass, it activates chemicals called esters. Due to this, the aroma is improved and allows wine drinkers to smell the aroma thoroughly. Tulip-shaped wine glasses are preferable.
Drinking five glasses of wine per week is advisable
Women and men have different recommended weekly wine consumption that’s considered as a healthy habit. Men should drink less than 28 units, and women should drink less than 21 units. Five glasses per week is equal to 12.5 units. That’s equivalent to five 175-milliliter wine glasses.
Not all wines are good for you
The tannin consumption in wine varies. For instance, the Pinot Noir has lesser tannins than Cabernet Sauvignon. All in all, choose dry red wines for more health benefits!
Grape skins are responsible for the red wine color
During pigmentation, the grapes’ skins should be intact to give off that beautiful red color. These grapes usually have a blue or red tint.
Fruit wines are another type of wine that is fermented with other fruits
Wines aren’t only made from grapes. There are also fruit wines which are made from other kinds of fruits like berries and apple. However, these fruit wines lack flavor, sugars, acidity, and other nutritional benefits compared to grape wines.
Honey wine came first before grape wine
Do you know that there’s another type of wine called honey wine? They use honey as the base for this alcoholic drink then they mix it with water and other ingredients like grains, spices, or fruits. It’s also called “mead.”
Sake is a type of wine that is made from rice
Barley and rice can also produce wine. These are more of the starchy wines and have similar sugary components in beer.
Chardonnay is made from white grape
Chardonnay is either still or sparkling and is made from white grapes. In the 1990s, it’s also the most well-known white grape wine.
Syrah and Shiraz are the same
Syrah and Shiraz are different wine terms but are actually the same! While other winemakers interchangeably use the two, Europeans in the viticulture only prefer syrah.
The most versatile wine for any food is Sauvignon Blanc
If you know you’re having salad, chicken, and seafood for dinner, go for Sauvignon Blanc wines as they’re the perfect match! New Zealand also makes a whole bunch of them with superb quality!
Merlot is perfect for beginners
If you’re a new wine enthusiast, start with merlot to appreciate its soft flavor, aroma, acidity, and more.
Wine color becomes translucent when they age
Wines, typically red wine, become pale as they age. But the flavor becomes more intense and heightened.
Winemakers use one grape species for usual wines
The Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot are made with one grape category. It’s called the “Vitis vinifera.”
White wines have more sulfites than red wines
Asthmatic people have about five to 10 percent chance of getting allergies from sulfite. Meaning, they’re more sensitive to white wines as they are higher in sulfite levels!
Tannins don’t only keep you healthy, but they also preserve the wine
Tannins don’t only provide a myriad of antioxidant benefits, but they’re also used in the aging process of the wine. That said, red wines have more tannins than white wines so they can be preserved longer.
Some white wines can be made from dark-colored grapes
If you think white wine is only from white grapes, think again. They can also be made out of dark-colored grapes. Winemakers tweak the process so during pigmentation, the grapes’ skins don’t contaminate the white wine process.
Wine became famous in the 10th century BC
The Phoenicians were responsible for spreading wine and introduced them to the Greeks. Then the Greeks spread this alcoholic beverage to the Romans.
The oldest winery goes back to 4100 BCE
The oldest winery was found in an underground cave in Armenia. The area is named Areni-1 and experts discovered evidence like cups, fermentation jars, drinking bowls and more.
China mixed grapes with rice in 7000 BC
A team of archeologists said that the Chinese during 7000 BC mixed grapes and rice to create various drinks.
Wine is considered sacred in ancient times
During ancient times, wines were touted as an excellent offering for kings and gods. So traders see gold in wine bottles back then.
Sulfur candles kept wines fresh and aromatic
In the past, the Romans discovered that when you place sulfur candles and burn them inside the enormous empty wine jars, they remove the vinegar-like smell from fermented wine. Plus, the burning sulfur candles also make the jars fresh.
The most prominent wineries to date are because of the Romans
The most popular and biggest vineyards that we know now are because of the Romans. They grew the vineyards in these areas so they can produce the wines locally instead of getting them from other sources. This eliminated the need for shipping wines from far-flung places.
Wine drinking has been a Catholic tradition since the past
During medieval times in Europe, wines are supported by Roman Catholic churches. This is why our modern-day religious ceremonies involve wine drinking.
Monks also drank wines
In France, monks also drank wines. But the most notable and interesting thing is that they let the wines age inside caves.
The derivation of the word “wine” is from Germanic languages
The Proto-Germanic language is where the word “wine” was derived. It is considered as the mother of all Germanic languages. The word “wine” is from “winam,” which is also a borrowed word from the Latin vinum.
Carbonated drinks like champagne use thicker glasses
Carbonation can cause more pressure into the champagne bottles. That’s why most champagne bottles work with a thick type of glass to be able to withstand the pressure from carbonation. If you want to safely open a champagne bottle, chilling it is an excellent idea before opening.
Organic wines are free from pesticides and herbicides
Some of these wine processes involve pesticides and herbicides in viticulture. However, there are all-natural wines, just like fruits and vegetables, that are made organically without these chemicals. Some winemakers don’t use these chemicals so as not to disrupt the viticulture bionomics.
Vintage wines don’t only mean they’re aged for a more extended period than other types
Vintage wines are simply created out of the same grapes cultivated and harvested in one year. That doesn’t mean vintage wines are only fermented relatively longer than others. On the other hand, if you create wines using different types of grapes that are harvested in different years, these are called nonvintage wines.
Wines can be made from any of the 10,000 types of grapes
Although there are only a handful of wine types, the wine grapes where these wines come from vary tremendously! Overall, there are 10,000 various wine grapes. Some winemakers experiment and try to concoct the best flavors for every wine drinker palate.
Not all wines are vegan
Due to some fining agents used in fermenting the wines, these particular types of wines aren’t vegan at all. Some fining agents could be egg whites, animal milk protein, fish bladders, and boiled cow or pig body parts.
There are a handful of companies that sell vegan wine
If you’re vegan and you love wine, Barnivore swears by these companies that produce vegan wine. Some are Frey Winery, The Vegan Vine Wines, China Bend Winery, Copper’s Hawk Vineyards, Fitzpatrick Winery, and more.
Popular vegan wine brands are accessible at grocery stores
You can buy famous vegan wine brands from liquor or grocery stores. Some examples are Frey Vineyards, Lumos Wine, Charles Shaw, Red Truck Wines, and my personal favorite — Yellowtail red wine!
E. & J. Gallo is the biggest winery in the world
Started by siblings, Ernest and Julio, E. & J. Gallo is a 20,000-acre land of vineyards with over 80 various wine labels. They’re sitting pretty at $4.1 billion in yearly sales.
Micheal Jackson used Diet coke cans when drinking wine
Since he wanted to hide his wine-drinking sprees from children, Micheal Jackson drank red wine in soda tin cans. He called white wine “Jesus juice” and red wine “Jesus blood.”
