Wine trivia: 90 interesting facts about the drink that everyone loves!

Wine is an alcoholic drink that everyone loves. It is better served with cheese and you savor every minute of it!

1. Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes
2. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol, carbon dioxide, and heat
3. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts produce different styles of wine
4. These variations result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape
5. The reactions involved in fermentation
6. The terroir
7. And the production process
8. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine
9. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production
10. Wines not made from grapes include rice wine and fruit wines
11. Such as plum, cherry, pomegranate, currant and elderberry
12. Wine has been produced for thousands of years
13. The earliest known traces of wine are from Georgia (c. 6000 BC), Iran (c. 5000 BC) and Sicily (c. 4000 BC)
14. Although there is evidence of a similar alcoholic drink being consumed earlier in China (c. 7000 BC)
15. The earliest known winery is the 6,100- year- old Areni- 1 winery in Armenia
16. Wine reached the Balkans by 4500 BC
17. It was consumed and celebrated in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome
18. Throughout history, wine has been consumed for its intoxicating effects
19. Wine has long played an important role in religion
20. Red wine was associated with blood by the ancient Egyptians
21. It was used by both the Greek cult of Dionysus and the Romans in their Bacchanalia
22. Judaism also incorporates it in the Kiddush
23. Christianity in the Eucharist
24. The English word “wine” comes from the Proto- Germanic *winam
25. It is an early borrowing from the Latin vinum, “wine” or “(grape) vine”
26. Itself derived from the Proto- Indo- European stem *win-o-
27. The earliest attested terms referring to wine are the Mycenaean Greek me-tu-wo ne-wo
28. This means “in (the month)” or “(festival) of the new wine”
29. And wo-no-wa-ti-si, which means “wine garden”, written in Linear B inscriptions
30. Linear B also includes, inter alia, an ideogram for wine
31. Ultimate Indo- European origin of the word is the subject of continued debate
32. Some scholars have noted the similarities between the words for wine in Indo- European languages, pointing to the possibility of a common origin of the word denoting “wine” in these language families
33. The Georgian word goes back to Proto- Kartvelian *ɣwino-
34. Which is either a borrowing from Proto- Indo- European or the lexeme was specifically borrowed from Proto- Armenian *ɣʷeinyo-, whence Armenian gini
35. An alternate hypothesis by Fähnrich supposes *ɣwino- a native Kartvelian word derived from the verbal root *ɣun- (‘to bend’)
36. All these theories place the origin of the word in the same geographical location, Trans- Caucasia
37. It has been established based on archeological and biomolecular studies as the origin of viticulture
38. The red- wine production process involves extraction of color and flavor components from the grape skin
39. Red wine is made from dark- colored grape varieties
40. The actual color of the wine can range from violet, typical of young wines, through red for mature wines, to brown for older red wines
41. The juice from most purple grapes is actually greenish- white
42. Τhe red color comes from anthocyan pigments (also called anthocyanins) present in the skin of the grape
43. Εxceptions are the relatively uncommon teinturier varieties
44. hich actually have red flesh and produce red juice
45. Fermentation of the non- colored grape pulp produces white wine
46. The grapes from which white wine is produced are typically green or yellow
47. Some varieties are well- known, such as the Chardonnay, Sauvignon, and Riesling
48. Other white wines are blended from multiple varieties
49. Tokay, Sherry, and Sauternes are examples of these
50. Dark- skinned grapes may be used to produce white wine if the wine-maker is careful not to let the skin stain the wort during the separation of the pulp- juice
51. Pinot noir, for example, is commonly used to produce champagne
52. Dry (non- sweet) white wine is the most common, derived from the complete fermentation of the wort
53. Sweet wines are produced when the fermentation is interrupted before all the grape sugars are converted into alcohol
54. Sparkling wines, which are mostly white wines, are produced by not allowing carbon dioxide from the fermentation to escape during fermentatio
55. It takes place in the bottle rather than in the barrel
56. A rosé wine incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine
57. It may be the oldest known type of wine
58. It is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method
59. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near- purple
60. This depends on the varietals used and wine- making techniques
61. There are three primary ways to produce rosé wine
62. Skin contact (allowing dark grape skins to stain the wort)
63. Saignée (removing juice from the must early in fermentation and continuing fermentation of the juice separately)
64. And blending (uncommon and discouraged in most wine growing regions)
65. Rosé wines can be made still, semi-s parkling, or sparkling
66. With a wide range of sweetness levels from dry Provençal rosé to sweet White Zinfandels and blushes
67. Rosé wines are made from a wide variety of grapes all over the world
68. Wines from other fruits, such as apples and berries, are usually named after the fruit from which they are produced combined with the word “wine”
69. For example, apple wine and elderberry wine
70. They are generically called fruit wine or country wine
71. Other than the grape varieties traditionally used for wine- making
72. Most fruits naturally lack either sufficient fermentable sugars, relatively low acidity, yeast nutrients needed to promote or maintain fermentation
73. Or a combination of these three characteristics
74. This is probably one of the main reasons why wine derived from grapes has historically been more prevalent by far than other types
75. Specific types of fruit wine have generally been confined to regions in which the fruits were native or introduced for other reasons
76. Mead, also called honey wine, is created by fermenting honey with water
77. Sometimes with various fruits, spices, grains, or hops
78. As long as the primary substance fermented is honey
79. The drink is considered mead
80. Mead was produced in ancient history throughout Europe, Africa and Asia
81. It was known in Europe before grape wine
82. Other drinks called “wine”, such as barley wine and rice wine
83. They are made from starch- based materials and resemble beer more than traditional wine, while ginger wine is fortified with brandy
84. In these latter cases, the term “wine” refers to the similarity in alcohol content rather than to the production process
85. The commercial use of the English word “wine” (and its equivalent in other languages) is protected by law in many jurisdictions
86. Some UK supermarkets have been criticised for selling “wine based” drinks, which only contain 75% wine, but which are still marketed as wine
87. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine requires that a “wine based drink” must contain a minimum of 75% wine
88. Βut producers do not have to divulge the nature of the remaining 25%
89. Outstanding vintages from the best vineyards may sell for thousands of dollars per bottle
90. Τhough the broader term “fine wine” covers those typically retailing in excess of US$30- 50