They say wine makes people happy. Is that so? One thing is certain, romantic dinners are more special with it and it is the favorite partner of good food. Here are some interesting and fun facts about wine that you might not know.
Richard Julien is a wine expert who can identify 43 out of 50 types of wine just by smelling them.
The color of the wine can tell you a little about the geographical location where the grapes were grown. The darker and denser shades of red wine, as well as the yellow shades of white wine suggest that the grapes from which they are made were grown in warm southern regions. On the other hand, lighter drink colors suggest a cooler climate.
According to historical sources, wine was discovered as a beverage about 6000 years ago in the Middle East.
The earliest remains of wine have been found in Iran, dating back to the Neolithic period (8500-4000 BC). The oldest evidence of winemaking has been found in Georgia, dating back to 7000-5000 BC
Hippocrates,who is considered the father of medicine, included wine as a healing therapy for almost every ailment. Prescribed it for fevers, as a diuretic, as a general antiseptic.
Not all wine improves he alth.
Red wines are known to contain many beneficial antioxidants such as polyphenols and resveratrol,which reduce the risk of heart disease and the development of crab. While white wine is believed to increase the risk of cancer, especially of the gastrointestinal tract.
An Italian study shows that women who drink two glasses of wine a day enjoy better sex than those who don't.
The oldest bottle of wine in the world dates back to 325 AD. and was discovered near the city of Speyer, Germany. It is on display in the city, at the Historisches Museum der Pfalz.
According to one of Hammurabi's laws (1800 BC), any wine seller who made a fraudulent profit was punished by death by drowning.
One of the worst places to store wine is the kitchen, because it's also usually the warmest place in the home. The refrigerator is also not a suitable place. It can only be used to cool the drink, because even if the refrigerator is set to its highest degrees, it is too cold for the wine.
How you hold the wine glass is of great importance.
Wine glasses are held by the stem, not only because it is accepted by etiquette, but because when we hold the glass to the bowl with our hand, we increase the heat of the wine.
Greece is the only country in the world that, to this day, according to an ancient tradition, adds wood resin to wine to give it a unique taste and aroma.
It is correct to store wine bottles in a horizontal position. In this way, the wine is in continuous contact with the cork and thus prevents it from drying out, shrinking and letting air into the bottle.
The first known illustration of wine consumption was found in a 5,000-year-old Sumerian artifact called the "Standard of Ur".
It is a misconception that wines get better with age. This rule does not apply to all wines. In fact, more than 90 percent of all wines should be consumed within a year.
