June 26, 2006

13 Fascinating Wine Facts

Who counted the number of bubbles in a bottle of Champagne? 

1. In the Middle Ages, wine was used as currency.
2. There was a time when wine was frequently prescribed in the treatment of bronchitis and influenza.
3. It takes over 40 years before a Cork Oak produces cork suitable to use for wine stoppers.
4. There are approximately 50 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne.
5. The pressure in a Champagne bottle is about 90 pounds per square inch about three times that in a car tire.
6. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches.
7. It takes about 600 to 800 grapes to produce a bottle of wine.
8. A healthy grapevine can produce about five bottles of wine per harvest.
9. Tannins come from contact with grape skins during fermentation, and also from oak aging.
10. Whereas time improves many red wines, it ruins most white wines.
11. Red wines usually become lighter in color as they age.
12. A purple tint at the edge of a red wine may indicate youth, while orange to brown indicates maturity.
13. "Good legs" (the teardrops that form when you swish a glass), may indicate a thicker body and a higher alcohol content and/or sweetness.

 

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Mark Belanger, culinary trivia buff (check out his Nanaimo Bar post) is also the Technology Program Manager for Cruise West - which means that anytime you see Cruise West represented out on the web or through email, Mark was in some way involved. From time to time, he'll be unraveling the mysteries of the internet (and other assorted trivial facts about our cruises).

Of course, the best way to learn about the art of wine making is aboard one of our California Wine Country cruises!  

Posted by Mark on June 26, 2006 2:51 PM

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