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Some interesting facts and trivia about wine:
• The Bible mentions wine 247 times. Forty of those mentions are negative, usually warnings against abuse. There are 145 positive mentions, usually in the context of meals, blessings, and worship. There are 62 neutral mentions, mostly describing situations.
• The country of Georgia, at the intersection of Europe and Asia, is the most likely place humans began making wine at least 8,000 years ago. I say humans began making wine, because fruit turns into wine all by itself with no human intervention—which is likely how Georgians got the idea to help Mother Nature along in the first place.
• Humans produce wine in 60 countries. Twenty-eight countries produce 85% of the world’s wine.
• Half of the world’s wine production comes from four countries: Italy, France, Spain, and the U.S.
• Wine grapes grow from 30 to 50 degrees latitude—the temperate zones—in both the northern and southern hemispheres. This also is where most of the world’s food is grown.
• There are some 18.2 million acres of vineyards on earth. Of those, 49% are planted in wine grapes, 43% in fresh table grapes, and 8% in raisin grapes.
• Grapes are the most important commercially grown fruit in the world.
• There are some 10,000 different grapes. Italy has at least 1,368 different wine grapes, France 204, and Portugal 77. Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are the most planted.
• There are eight different categories of wine: red, white, rosé, orange/amber, sparkling, fortified, ice, and dessert.
• The concept of an “appellation” was first mentioned in the Bible, when it references wines from different regions.
• Chianti, Italy, created the first formal appellation in 1716. The Côtes du Rhône was the first French appellation, created in 1937.
• In 1880, some 80% of the Italian population relied on the wine industry for a living.
• It takes 600-800 grapes—equivalent to 2.5-3 pounds—to make a standard 750 ml bottle of wine.
• There are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne.
• There are roughly 435 species of oak trees, but only 20 are used to make wine barrels.
Tasting notes:
• Gary Farrell Russian River Selection Chardonnay, Sonoma County 2021: Impressive complexity; brisk, exciting; engaging tartness, especially from mid-palate through delightfully prolonged finish. $38-40 Link to my review
• Black Stallion Estate Winery Transcendent Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2018: Rich, balanced, elegant, integrated, powerful without being overbearing. All you wish—and pay for—in a significant Napa cab. $135 Link to my review
Last round
I went to visit a psychic. I knocked on her door and she replied: “Who is it?”
So, I left. Wine time.
Email: wine@cwadv.com
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