145/365: National Wine Day*

Today is a grape excuse to imbibe in a glass of vino. Or two. Or a bottle. Hey, I won’t judge! May 25 is National Wine Day!

Not to be confused with National Drink Wine Day (February 18). Since I already discussed the history of wine in that post, I’ll discuss a few interesting wine facts instead.

It’s also National Brown Bag It Day. But brown bags, while high in fiber, lack flavor. So, wine it was!

Italy is the world’s top wine producer, followed by France and Spain. The United States comes in at #4, and Argentina caps the list in the fifth spot.

The top 5 wine producing states in the U.S. are – in order – California, Washington, New York, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

Not all wines improve with age. In fact, 90% are best enjoyed within the first year of being bottled.  White wines darken with age, while red wines turn lighter.

Put a cork in it? Not necessarily. Screw caps are gradually replacing corks, even on more expensive bottles of wine. 93% of New Zealand wines and 75% of Australian wines contain screw caps.

A 5-ounce glass of wine contains 100 calories and no fat or cholesterol.

A typical glass of wine requires 1/2 pound of grapes to make.

There are approximately 10,000 varieties of wine grapes worldwide.

Wine grapes are the #1 fruit crop in the world.

Richard Nixon loved Chateau Margaux from France. During state dinners, he instructed his wait staff to serve him the good stuff but pour cheaper wines for the guests, hiding the label with a napkin.

“Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson.

“One should always be drunk. That’s all that matters…But with what? With wine, with poetry, or with virtue, as you chose. But get drunk” – Charles Baudelaire

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever” – Aristophanes

“Wine makes a man more pleased with himself, I do not say it makes him more pleasing to others” – Samuel Johnson

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance” – Benjamin Franklin

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food” – W.C. Fields

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing” – Ernest Hemingway

“The wine-cup is the little silver well, Where truth, if truth there be, doth dwell” – William Shakespeare

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink, I feel shame! Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this wine, they might be out of work, and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, ‘It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver?'” – Jack Handey

“Red red wine you make me feel so fine, you keep me rocking all of the time; red red wine you make me feel so grand, I feel a million dollars when you’re just in my hand” – UB40

Related articles

• Screw-cap or cork? Have you been screwed? (beingasommelier.wordpress.com)
• Fine Wine (enagar.com)