With a few wine facts in your quiver, you will improve the vibe at any gathering with your merry band of friends. Wine is such a social beverage that knowing a fun wine fact or two will also increase your appreciation for all the hard work that goes into making a delicious bottle. The next time you are sitting around drinking wine with friends, break out your wine geek by sharing some of these interesting and amusing wine facts. By the time you finish sharing information and talking, you just may have to open another bottle. Bonus Points!
How many of these 5 Fun Wine Facts do you know?
- The world’s largest cork tree produces enough cork for how many bottles of wine?
- Whistler Tree is the world’s largest cork tree. This “LeBron James” of the forest produces enough cork to bottle 100,000 wine bottles. The average tree looks like a junior varsity bench warmer in comparison, producing enough cork for a mere 4,000 bottles. (6 points)
- What is the difference between a wine with aroma and one with a bouquet?
- People commonly interchange these two wine term descriptors when tasting. Aroma should be used when discussing the smell of young wines and bouquet should be used to describe older wines. (2 pts each)
- How did Petite Sirah grape get its name?
- Generally, Petite Sirah is a wine variety consumed only in America. The rest of the wine world refer to it by its given name, Durif, which is the name of the man who is credited with discovering the grape variety. Don’t let the name fool you. There is nothing “little” about this wine. It has pronounced, bold flavors of black pepper, licorice and blueberry. The name “Petite” refers to the size of the grape berries. (5 pts.)
- Generally, Petite Sirah is a wine variety consumed only in America. The rest of the wine world refer to it by its given name, Durif, which is the name of the man who is credited with discovering the grape variety. Don’t let the name fool you. There is nothing “little” about this wine. It has pronounced, bold flavors of black pepper, licorice and blueberry. The name “Petite” refers to the size of the grape berries. (5 pts.)
- What present-day countries are considered the “ancestral home” of the first grape growers and winemakers?
- Many people falsely assume that wine was first grown and made in Italy. Carbon dating of petrified grape pips (seeds) suggests Transcaucasia, located between the Black and Caspian Seas cultivated the first grapes. Today, this area is home to the countries of Georgian Republic of Armenia, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. This is ironic since many of these countries do not allow or encourage drinking of alcoholic beverages. (12 pts. for Transcaucasia or 2 pts each)
- Why would your teenage son or daughter try to convince you to move the family to Germany? (1 pt for each)
- The drinking age is 14 years with parental supervision; 16 years for drinking beer or wine without parental supervision, and at age 18 it is on! You can legally drink your beverage of choice.
How’d you do? Look up your score on the Wine Geek Meter. If you scored:
30-27 pts. = Serious Wine Geek
26-24 pts. = Wine Know-it-All
23-20 pts. = Wine Pro
19 pts .or less = You need to drink more!
5 Bonus Pts. for opening an additional bottle.
Cheers!
These compilation of wine facts were taken from various sources believed to be reliable but we did not conduct any verification to any claims or guarantee the complete accuracy.
