Did you know…

1. Red wine becomes a little lighter with age, whereas, white wines become darker. Think of cutting an apple in half. In time, it will start to brown or oxidize. With red wines, the deep reds can slightly turn to a brick-like colour. So if you’re wondering why that old white you’ve been saving is really dark, it’s oxidized and will probably taste like bad Sherry.
2. Wine is food’s greatest partner because they have Synergy, the interaction of two or more substances to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

   Simply put, synergy happens when an additional flavour becomes evident when combining a certain wine with a particular food that would not be evident if each was tasted on its own.

3. 55% of all wine ordered in restaurants is red. I guess red is still king.
4. Women are better wine tasters!

   The gentler sex has a slightly keener sense of smell which is important to tasting and identifying wines. The nose (which can detect over 4000 odours) sets up the taste which identifies only sweet, sour and bitter. I guess that’s why women smell things that men don’t.

5. According to a three-year, $7 million joint study between Moet & Chandon and Heineken, there are on average 250 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne! Way too much time on your hands gentlemen.
6. Confirmed bachelors beware. In some cultures the single male at the wedding who pours the last of the wine and empties the bottle is the next one to get married. I guess that’s like catching the bouquet but way more fun.
7. Over 17,000 bottles of Champagne are served each year at Wimbledon tennis Championship. Lanson Champagne from Reims, France is the official Champagne.
8. According to her biographer, Marilyn Monroe enjoyed a Champagne bath. Apparently it took 350 bottles to fill the tub. Nice bucket list, but out of my price range.
9. In Hakone, Japan, there is a spa that has a dedicated pool entirely filled with wine. It is regularly topped up with a 12 foot bottle. Quite the novelty, but I don’t think I’d want a mouthful of that pool or wear a white bathing suit.
10. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed wine in many of his remedies. The line-up to get a prescription at his ancient office must have been horrendous. My kind of doctor indeed.