Wild Wine Facts

As we continue Heart month, we can’t forget the health benefits of vino. My heart loves wine and thank God wine loves my heart. I’ve tried multiple times to forgo the delicate Pinot Noir with friends or crisp Chardonnay on a hot summer day, but I just can’t. It’s pure, decanted bliss and I guess that just like everything else in life–moderation is key.

I came across some Wild Wine Facts I wanted to share. These are from an Australian blog, Tallis. They may just make for some interesting sip conversation at your next dinner party.

How many bubbles in a bottle of sparkling wine?
Scientist Bill Lembeck states there are around 49 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne.

What is the origin of the champagne glass?
The champagne coupe or champagne saucer is the saucer-shaped stem glass once used for serving champagne, but now more commonly used for cocktails. Legend has it the shape of the glass was modeled on the breast of Marie Antoinette. Some say this is false though. The glass was designed especially for champagne in England in 1663, preceding those aristocrats by almost a century. Champagne is now served in a flute style glass, which better retains the bubbles and temperature of the wine.

Where is the world’s oldest wine cellar?
The Titanic, resting on the sea bottom, still holds the world’s oldest wine cellar. The bottles are still intact even through the wreck and the ocean’s depth.

What is the highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine?
The highest price paid for a bottle of wine was an insurance claim of $225,000 to settle a 1787 Chateau Margaux dropped by a waiter in 1989. (I FEEL SO BAD FOR THIS WAITER).

How many different grape varieties exist worldwide?
There are 10,000 wine grape varieties worldwide.

Where was the oldest bottle of wine found?
The bottle dates from approximately 325 A.D. and was found in 1867 during excavation for building a house in a vineyard near the town of Speyer, Germany. It was inside one of two Roman stone sarcophaguses that were dug up. The greenish-yellow glass amphora has handles formed in the shape of dolphins. One of several bottles discovered, it is the only one with the contents still preserved. The ancient liquid has much silty sediment. About two-thirds of the contents are a thicker, hazy mixture. This is most probably olive oil, which the Romans commonly used to “float” atop wine to preserve it from oxidation. Cork closures, although known to exist at the time, were quite uncommon. Their oil method of preservation was apparently effective enough to keep the wine from evaporation up to modern day.
The bottle is on permanent display, along with other wine antiquities, at the Historisches Museum der Pfalz (History Museum of the Pfalz), worth a visit if traveling near the area of Speyer, Germany.

How big is the world’s largest wine bottle?
It holds 480 Litres of dessert wine, stands 2.4 metres tall and weighs as much as a cow.

How did the phrase “rule of thumb” originate?
Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the liquid to determine the ideal temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, for adding yeast.

***My own little wine fact:
One of the best presents I ever received was a yearly membership to the California Wine Club. I highly, highly recommend this for the PERFECT GIFT. You can personalize the monthly package by choosing 2 reds, 2 whites or one of each. Most of the wines are gold and silver medal winners and you also get a plethora of background information about each wine when it comes to your door. I can’t even tell you how many of my friends and relatives received this present from the Gossett’s. Or, better yet, how many of our friends have called us up saying they were having a difficult day, but were cheered up when they saw the CWC box at their front door.