It’s estimated that, globally, humans drink more than 4 billion bottles of wine every year.
Enjoying the pleasure of a glass of fine white or red has been something people have been doing for centuries now, but what some people don’t know is that every bottle of wine has a deep history and science behind it!
If you think you know everything there is to know about this beverage, think again. We’ve compiled a list of the 11 most interesting facts about wine for your amusement, and some of these facts might surprise you!
11 Interesting Facts About Wine
From being served to kings in medieval times to benefitting your brain, wine has a lot more to it than you might think. So, pop a cork and toast to these fun facts about this alcoholic delight.
1. It’s Chock Full of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are compounds found in your body and in certain foods that protect your cells from damage. These antioxidants are also found in many red wines, which means that enjoying a glass of wine after work could be beneficial to you.
The number of antioxidants found in the healthiest wines is equivalent to that of seven glasses of orange juice or 20 glasses of apple juice!
2. The Oldest Wine Cellar Is on the Titanic
The world’s oldest wine cellar lies among the wreckage of the titanic, 13,000 feet underneath the Atlantic ocean.
More than 12,000 bottles of wine were aboard the Titanic when it sank to the bottom of the sea in 1912. Incredibly, most of these bottles still rest on the ocean floor today, intact, with their corks still in place.
3. Oenophobia Is the Fear of Wine
It might be hard to believe, but for some people, seeing or coming into contact with wine can induce paralyzing fear.
People suffering from oenophobia often experience symptoms of extreme anxiety and display irrational behavior if they see or even just think about things like spilled wine, wine bottles, or other wine-related triggers.
4. We’ve Been Wine-Drunk for 9,000 Years
Historians have dated the oldest discovered wine all the way back to 7,000 B.C., meaning that humans have been drinking wine for some 9,000 years! This ancient beverage was found on shards of pottery in central China and, upon examination, was some sort of honey and rice wine.
Vineyards in the Middle East were also starting to pop up around this time, and from there the news of wine-making began to spread all around the world.
Although modern wine has changed a lot since then, it’s clear that we’ll be drinking wine for another 9,000 years to come. It isn’t a surprise that once we tasted the very first drop of fermented nectar, we were hooked!
5. Younger Wine Is Healthier
Although there are health benefits to all different kinds of wine, younger wine is better for you than older wine.
So, if you’re in it for the health positives, aged wine isn’t necessarily the best wine. Younger wine contains higher levels of tannin, which is a natural polyphenol that works as an antioxidant in your body!
Young red wines are the richest in tannin.
6. You Can Bake With It
You’ve heard of cooking with wine, but did you know you can bake with it, too? It tastes just as delicious as it sounds!
One popular drunken-dessert is red wine brownies, which involve soaking cranberries in red wine and then adding them to brownie batter. Once they’re baked to gooey perfection, these brownies have just the right amount of wine-flavoring that makes it impossible to stop eating them!
7. It’s a Brain Boost
Alert the media: wine makes you smarter!
Okay, maybe not, but research has shown that wine stewards have larger, more developed parts of the brain. It’s even been proven that occasional wine drinkers have improved cognitive abilities!
In 2018, a Rochester study found that low levels of wine consumption can calm inflammation in the brain and even help flush toxins.
If that isn’t enough of a reason to pour a glass, you should know that some properties of wine are also capable of reducing the risk of cognitive decline and even lower chances of stroke.
8. There’s a Wrong Way to Drink Wine
And, conversely, there’s the right way!
To avoid looking foolish at the next dinner party, make sure that you hold the wine glass at the stem with your fingers. Be delicate, and never let your hands touch the bulb or else you’ll warm the wine.
Holding the glass by the stem also makes it easier for you to swirl the wine, so you’ll be able to enjoy the aroma better, too!
Looking for other ways to enjoy wine at home? Check out this post that offers some great ideas on how to drink wine and get the most out of the experience!
9. Vatican City Drinks the Most Wine
On average, the people of Vatican City drink 74 liters of wine (about 105 bottles) per person per year! This makes Vatican City wine’s top consumer since this is more wine per person than anywhere else in the world.
This amount doubles the amount of wine consumed on average per person in France or Italy, and triples the amount of wine consumed in the United Kingdom!
10. It’s Best to Store it Sideways
You’ve seen how wine cellars and racks are made so that the wine is stored on its side, but do you know why?
It isn’t just for visual appeal! Wine is stored on its side so that the corks don’t dry out and drop into the bottle, making the liquid go bad. When sideways, the liquid touches the cork, keeping it just wet enough so that it retains its shape and stays in place.
11. Hippocrates Used Wine to Treat Patients
Hippocrates, or the ‘father of medicine’, often recommended wine as a treatment to many of his patients. He gave it to patients to treat diarrhea, labor pains, and other ailments, and he even recorded that it helped lower fevers.
Wine Down
So, pour a glass of your favorite white or red and cheers to these fun facts about wine! You might find yourself appreciating what’s in your glass more now that you know this information!
Did these facts about wine surprise you? If so, don’t forget to check out our other interesting facts to learn something new!
