18 Fun Facts about Wine
Wine has been around for centuries and everyone loves to relax with a nice glass of wine whether it’s a big body red or crisp white wine. There are so many fun and weird facts about wine dating back thousands of years.
So keep reading to find out some interesting facts about wine before you sip on your next glass of Cabernet Sauvignon —
After reading this article you will be impressing your friends and family with some mindless yet fascinating information about wine that will have you looking like the smartest women in the bunch.
Whether you’ve just started drinking wine, planning the trip of a lifetime to South Africa to experience South African wines or you are simply trying to gain a better understanding of wine or you know your way around a bottle or two, I am hoping that my series of wine facts will get you started on your journey.
6 Wine facts you need to know
1. The oldest winery that we know of is Armenian, dated to 4100 BCE.
2. The Phoenicians spread wine around the Mediterranean in the tenth century BCE, introducing the drink to the ancient Greeks, who in turn inspired the Romans to become wine fanatics and grow grapes across their empire.
3. The Greeks and Romans took their wine seriously, dedicating gods to their favorite fermented fruit juice. Dionysus was known as the god of the grape harvest to the Greeks, while Bacchus was the deity of choice for Roman oenophiles.
4. People have been drinking too much wine for centuries. Everything from the Odyssey to the Bible mentions the perils of overconsumption.
The links in this post may be affiliate links. That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission. It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.
5. Thomas Jefferson may be responsible for the California wine boom. After being sent to France, Jefferson brought vine cuttings back to the United States.
6. Oenophobia – (fear of wine) – I don’t understand having a fear of wine and I am pretty sure not one single person I know has a fear of wine. The word comes from the Greek language, where oeno means wine and phobia means fear.
Here are 12 additional fun facts about wine
1. The custom of bumping glasses with a “cheers” greeting came from old Rome where they used this method to make sure no one is trying to poison the other (bumping glasses makes the drink spill from one cup to the other). This tradition started even earlier in ancient Greece – where the host was to drink the first cup of wine to show his guests he does not intend to poison them.
2. In ancient Rome, it was forbidden for women to drink wine. If a husband found his wife drinking wine he would be allowed, by law, to kill her. Thank God things have changed cause clearly, I would be dead.
3. The old kings avoided wine from the belief that the red alcoholic beverage is actually the blood of men who tried to fight the gods and failed. This is why, according to the Egyptians, what makes people act irrationally while drinking alcohol and this still holds true.
4. By law, you are not allowed to swallow wine during a wine tasting in Utah.
5. During the prohibition period in the United States, grape juice concentrate manufacturers took advantage of the big drinking lust Americans had and put a great warning sticker on their product saying “After you mix the concentrate with water, please do not keep the mix in a barrel for 20 days – as it will turn into wine.”
6. The world champion of recognizing wine by smell. Richard Juhlin was able to recognize 43 wines out of 50 for comparison – second place was only able to recognize 4 of them.
7. Does wine taste better with age? If you have an expensive bottle of wine it will get better with age. In this case, expensive equals a better quality of the wine. A less expensive bottle of wine will be just that and it will never get better with age.
8. Can you tell if a wine is good by smelling the cork? No, you can’t, smelling the cork will tell you nothing. Smell the wine itself and taste it. Tasting is always the best way to know if a glass of wine or food is what you want.
9. Learn To Speak ‘Sommelier’ As a rule of thumb, sommeliers have a handful of phrases they use when describing wine. Knowing them – and even better understanding them – is always going to come in handy. A complex is a wine that unfolds many different flavors as you drink. Crisp describes a fresh and often acidic wine on the palette. Dense means it is concentrated in flavor and aroma. Elegant means light and well-balanced. Flamboyant means fruity. Opulent means rich and bold.
10. A survey that was being held in Australia said that women that drink 2 cups of wine a day tend to enjoy sex more than women who don’t drink at all.
11. France once had a wine made with cocaine – Back in 1863, Vin Mariani wasn’t your average French wine brand. The concoction was made by mixing six milligrams of coca leaves for each ounce of Bordeaux wine. The wine became illegal once drug laws changed.
12. Although the effects of wine on the heart are still being researched, studies show that the antioxidants in wine can help prevent coronary artery disease and increase high-density lipoproteins (the ‘good’ kind of cholesterol). It also may lower your risk of having a stroke.
Did you enjoy these 10 fun facts about wine?
Conclusion about fun wine facts you didn’t know you needed to know!
One thing y’all know about me is that I love wine and spirits so I decided to do a little research on the history of wine and one thing we know is that wine is very complex and has a rich, very interesting history.
I hope you enjoyed some of these fun facts about wine that can get you more associated with your favorite beverage.
Ready to plan your trip, grab my FREE Vacation Planner to help you plan your trip in the time it takes to watch your favorite TV show!
If you would like to donate to Passports and Grub click here!
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
Mulled Wine Recipes for the Holidays
15 Spring and Summer Sangria Recipes
Do you know any of the useless wine facts I discovered about wine? I would love to hear your thoughts so leave me a comment on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Are you also on Pinterest?
Why not save this post to your Pinterest board for later? I am also on Pinterest so feel free to follow Passports and Grub boards and get the latest pin directly.
I think I can speak for women everywhere when I say thank goodness cause we all would be dead!! I need wine to get through life
As usual thanks, I love wine.
Thanks for stopping by!! I really appreciate you
It’s interesting to know that our tradition of clinking wine glasses originated from a method that is used to ensure that the drinks don’t have poison in them. We are really fond of doing this at every family dinner and I think that my family members would also get amused by this trivia. Reading your article also made me crave for a good bottle, so I hope that I can find an open store now and have one delivered to my place.