How many grape varieties are permitted in the blending of the French Rhone wine Chateauneuf du Pape?
As of 2020, the lucky number is 18. They include red grapes Cinsault, Counoise, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Piquepoul Noir, Syrah, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse (Brun Argenté). White and pink varieties include Bourboulenc, Clairette Blanche, Clairette Rose, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Picardan, Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Gris, and Roussanne. In 1923, French regulators declared that 10 different varietals could be used in the making of Chatauneuf du Pape. That...
What do wine and marriage have in common?
In ancient Babylon, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the Mead, a honey fermented wine, he could drink for a month after the wedding ceremony. Because of the lunar or moon based calendar, this period of free mead was known as “honey month”, or more commonly...
What is Saperavi?
It is a dark skinned red grape that is the specialty varietal from the Republic of Georgia. Grown in the Alazani Valley on the edge of the Caucasus Mountains, archaeologists have found proof that wine has been produced in this region for over 7 millennia. Wine from this grape...
What is Oenophobia?
It is the actual fear of wine, that in some people, triggers multiple symptoms. There is also clinical treatment available for patients seeking help from this phobia. Lucky for us non suffering wine lovers, the only thing we fear is bad wine....
Did You Know…………. Wine Fact #13
That at actor Tom Cruise’s 2006 wedding, 300 bottles of Barbaresco and Champagne were served. Paltry compared to the wedding of Alexander III of Scotland, where in 1251, over 135,000 liters of wine were popped for the occasion. Maybe not the same quality but I don’t think there were...
Did You Know ……………. Wine Fact #12
In the Grimm’s fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, it states that Little Red took a bottle of wine to her grandmother. Sadly, with this reference to alcohol, over 400 copies of this book sit in a locked storage room at a public school in Empire, CA, banned in...
How Much Does a Wine Barrel Weigh?
A typical French oak barrel weighs roughly 90 pounds when empty, while the more dense American oak would weigh about 110 pounds. Full of juice, they weigh approximately 600 pounds. Each holds 225 liters or 60 US gallons, enough to make 25 cases or 300 bottles of wine....
Did You Know……………… Fact #11
Mexico has the oldest wine producing industry in the America’s. Vine cuttings from Spain were sent to conquistador Cortez in the early 1500’s and by 1524, vineyards were a major crop planting for Spanish settlers. The Village of Valle de Gaudalupe in Baja California has over 100 wineries that...
Did You Know………. Fact #10
In jolly ole England, pub drinks are served in pints and quarts. English bartenders would respectfully ask unruly customers to mind their manners but also their pints and quarts. This is said to be where the origin of the phrase “mind your P’s and Q’s came from....
Where is the worlds largest wine cellar?
In the Republic of Moldova, there is an extensive underground wine city in the village of Milestii Mici. In it’s limestone tunnels, that stretch over 250 kilometers, there is over 2 million bottles consisting of 70% red, 20% white, and 10% dessert wines....