11 Fascinating Facts about Wine | Buy Wine Online - Cellaraiders

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Questions? call 866.909.WINE or email ben@cellaraiders.com

11 Fascinating Facts about Wine

August 04, 2015

11 Fascinating Facts about Wine

If you buy wine online, you already know quite a bit about the beverage that has brought joy to so many people over the centuries. You may know how to pair wines, for example, understand the fermentation process works, and have already discovered the best places to buy wine online. Because it is such an ancient delight and enjoyed by so many civilizations around the world, there may be some fascinating facts about wine you have not yet discovered.

1 The tradition of bumping glasses started in Rome as a way of showing that the drinks did not contain poison. Bumping the glasses together sloshes the wine around enough to spill from one cup to another. The Greeks started the tradition of the toast, where the host would drink from the vessel first to show the wine was not tainted.

2 Ancient Roman law forbade women from drinking wine. In that male-dominated society, people perceived women as weak, fickle, and easily led astray by pleasures of the flesh. Consumption of wine by a female was an offense punishable by death.

3 According to one study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, women who drink wine enjoy sex more than females who abstain. The study showed that regular moderate intake of red wine is associated with improved sexual desire.

4 Ancient Egyptians did not like wine. Many believed the red beverage was actually the blood of men who tried to battle the gods of the time and lost, which they thought accounted for the erratic behavior of an intoxicated person.

5 During prohibition, manufacturers of grape juice concentrate wanted to teach their customers how to take advantage of the quick fermentation process of wine without risking arrest. At least one clever distributor affixed a sticker on their product that read, “After you mix the concentrate with water, please do not keep the mix in a barrel for 20 days – as it will turn into wine.”

6 The refrigerator is no place to keep your wine. In fact, neither is your kitchen. Your refrigerator keeps your wine too cold while your kitchen keeps it too hot – both temperature extremes compromises the quality of your wine. A wine cellar works best, of course, but a cool basement works too. Keep all wine bottles on their sides to prevent drying and shrinkage of the cork, of course, unless they use an artificial cork.

8 Oenophobia is the medical term for intense fear of or hatred for wine.

9 Cobra wine, popular in Vietnam and other parts of Asia, combines rice with blood of a snake killed on the spot. Some cobra wine contains the snake’s heart or other body parts.

10 In a 2003 competition, Richard Juhlin was able to identify 43 out of 50 wines presented to him by smell only. In comparison, the second place competitor could only identify four wines.

11 You can get a better selection when you buy wine online. Only an online wine dealer has access to the rarest, most sought-after, and highly prized wines that you desire.