A classic, just had to do it again…ENJOY!

As always, I like to keep wine fun and unpretentious. So when I share with you

10 interesting things about wine I am forever hoping the content is a little unique and a little bit off the wall but nonetheless a little bit fun. Hey that’s just me. ENJOY (and don’t forget to read #10…I couldn’t resist).

Here we go…

#1. Soy sauce contains 10 times more anti-oxidants than wine. However, when was the last time you sat down by the fire with your feet up with your special other and opened up a bottle of SOY SAUCE? I’ll stick with wine thank you.

#2. A “Dumb wine” refers to lack of odour. And that refers to no smell. Keep in mind your tongue tastes 3 things but your nose picks up over 4000 odours. (Notice I spelled that in Canadian eh!). And odour is not a bad word in the world of wine. It just means smell. We just like to say pretty words like ‘bouguet’ and ‘aroma’. Aroma is the young smell of the wine. Bouguet is the older or aged smell of the wine.

#3. Smelling a cork is overall pretty useless!

You are better off looking for dates, mold or just the name of the winery on the cork. Smelling a cork can actually tell you that there is no ‘off’ odour. Or you can simply stick your nose in the glass and smell the small portion that they pour for you to try. Which is far more effective by the way. Very few people can detect an off wine, and if they do…it has to be really off like moldy cardboard or a wet dog. It’s rather rare! How many restaurants of the higher end do you think actually want to serve a bad wine? Quite frankly it is really our egos that kick in because we have, for decades, seen this ritual performed. Be brutally honest with yourself. When was the last time you actually sent back a bottle of wine?

#4. Grapes rank as the #1 fruit in terms of acreage planted. There are more grape vines planted worldwide than any other fruit. I guess that means our daily intake of fruit is mostly wine.

#5. The Germans invented ice wine (Eiswein). It is wine made from grapes left on the vine to freeze producing a very sweet dessert wine. Believe it or not, that was over 200 years ago in Franconia, Germany. Bet you thought it was Canada eh?

#6. Prince Charles uses wine to power his vintage Aston Martin. It actually passes as a bio-fuel when mixed with other biofuels. And I thought gas was expensive.

(source Ecosalon)

#7. California is the 4th largest wine producer in the world. Ahead of them is France, Italy then Spain.

#8. Did you know wine is almost “guilt free”. There contains in wine NO FAT and NO CHOLESTEROL. I feel better already.

#9. Contrary to popular belief, the French did not invent wine. In fact, the oldest known winemaking was in Iran circa 5400 BC.

#10. A “Cork-Tease” is someone who always promises to open an absolutely great bottle of wine, BUT, never does. Forgive me, I couldn’t resist.

Cheers!