Surprising Wine Facts

Wine And Chocolate For Your Heart

Chocolate and wine have more in common then you think. Red wine and chocolate both happen to be rich in phenolics. These are chemicals that help lower the risk of heart disease and assist in the prevention of artery clogging. In comparison, the average amount of phenolic resins in a typical chocolate bar is the same as in a glass of red wine. So why not treat your heart to both this Mother's Day?

Bordeaux Has A Not So Boring History

Bordeaux, a region popularly known for their red wines, was once better known for their whites with over 80% of their land dedicated to its production. In the 1970s, political and social factors began to split the region, contributing to the transition of popularizing their reds.

People Will Come and Go, But Wine Stays Forever

When Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were engaged, he had the words 'Winona Forever' tattooed on his arm. After the two split, he had the tattoo adjusted to read 'Wino Forever.' Now there's something a person can commit to.

Not So State Of The Art

Since 1945, Chateau Mouton-Rothchild began a tradition of having celebrated artists design their labels, which have seen the likes of Picasso, Warhol, and Miro. However, in 1993 they were forced to release a blank space on the label in place of a stylized naked image by the French painter Balthus.

Let Them Drink Wine

In Brazil, the average glass of red wine is served very chilled and very sweet. Dry red and white wines are more commonly reserved for the upper class.

A Stitch In Time Saves Wine

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Church played a critical role in the revitalization, production, and promotion of wine. By the middle ages, the Church had developed and owned most of Europe's greatest vineyards.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars

Dom Perignon, the man who is commonly associated with the invention of champagne, was blind. When tasting his first sip of sparkling white wine, he is said to have exclaimed "Come quick, I am tasting stars!"

Let It Rain, Not Pour

In standard wine glasses, a wine pour should be only one quarter to one third of the glass to allow the wine to breathe appropriately. Besides, swirling wine is not only fun to do, but much easier with a glass a quarter of the way full.

More Than Meets The Eye

In 2002, an American journalist Calvin Trillin claimed that most wine experts couldn’t tell the difference between red and white wines. He was proved wrong when staff at the Wine Spectator correctly guessed the colour 40 out of 42 times.

She'll have the water.

You may be surprised to learn that in ancient Rome, women were not allowed to drink wine. In fact, husbands who learned of their wife's drinking had the liberty to kill them.

No monkeying around in these barrels

When wine is put into barrels it's doing more than just waiting to be slurped up. As wine rests in barrels it not only takes on the flavour of the wood, it goes through subtle changes that soften the harsh tannins and flavours present at the end of fermentation.

Rule of thumb

Long before thermometers, winemakers would dip their finger or thumb into vats of wine to determine if it was the correct temperature to add yeast.

Put that bottle on ice...water

Bottles of wine submerged in equal parts ice and water will actually chill twice as fast as those submerged in ice alone. So before you put that bottle on ice, consider throwing some water into the the mix.

Is that your wine list or a phone book?

Restaurant Chiggeri in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg holds the Guinness world record for largest wine list at 1,746 varieties commercially available.

Don't follow your nose

Contrary to popular belief, smelling a wine's cork doesn't reveal anything about the quality of the wine. Instead, if handed a cork by a sommelier or waiter, inspect it for mold or cracks; two tell tale signs that the wine may be off.

A Drink to Remember

An American study of nearly 12,500 nurses published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that women who enjoy a drink of beer or wine daily have sharper minds into old age than women who abstain.

Sometimes you have to steal a taste

A Wine Thief is a small device consisting of glass or metal pipette attached to a syringe used for taking wine samples often directly from the barrel during the fermentation process.

We all age differently.

White wine actually becomes darker as it ages. Red wine on the other hand becomes lighter in colour over time. Maybe they'll meet in the middle.

Some Juicy Real Estate

Thinking about getting into the business? Some of the vineyards in the Bordeaux region of France can sell for as much as €1.2 million ($1.6 million Canadian) per hectare. Or why not make your start in Italy? The Chianti region will only set you back a measly €250,000 ($340,000 Canadian) per hectare, which is a steal by comparison.

It takes a lot to be Canadian Icewine

As the name implies, grapes for icewine must be frozen. Although some producers artificially freeze their grapes, Canadian icewine must be made from grapes that are naturally frozen on the vine and picked at -8 degrees or colder, and immediately pressed while frozen, in order to earn the title.

A Sweet Celebration of Nuptials

Initially a honeymoon wasn’t a vacation at all. Instead it was a ritual for drinking wine. In northern Europe, wine made from mead and honey brought good luck to the newlyweds as long as it was consumed every day for one month. Back then, one month was known as one moon. Hence the name Honeymoon.

One Woman's Influence on Wine

During the late 1940s and 50s, wine had become very unpopular in the U.S. However, John F. Kennedy's election in 1961 sparked a change. Jackie Kennedy, with her immense popularity and love of all things French, helped to boost sales of wine and champagne in the States.

Removing wine from history

Prohibitionists in the early twentieth century fought to remove any mention of wine from school and college texts, including Greek and Roman literature. They also attempted to remove medicinal wines from the United States Pharmacopoeia and to prove that Biblical praises of wine were for unfermented grape juice.

Discovering Grapes in Canada

When Viking explorer Leaf Ericson landed in Newfoundland in 1001 CE, he named it Vinland after he found an abundance of grape vines growing there. Also, in 1535, Jacques Cartier found many grape vines growing on Ile d’Orleans, or as he called it, Ile de Baccus.

To Decant, or Not to Decant

Decanting is only beneficial for some wines. An aged red wine that has been sitting in a cellar for years can have its flavours drawn out by decanting, while a young bold red can be mellowed by it. However, white wine does not benefit from the process at all.