April 2005
Did you know....that the color of the juice in all grapes, be they red or white, is mostly clear. Red wines get their color when the juice is fermented with their red skins. In turn, when making white wine, the juice and skins are separated before fermenting.
Wine Trivia......The Southern Rhone region Chateauneuf du Pape in France translates to "New Caste of the Pope". Back in the 14th Century, the head of the Catholic Church lived in Avignon, France instead of Rome, Italy. Whether drinking French or Italian wines, it must have been good to be the Pope.
May 2005
Did you know......that the bulbous straw covered Chianti bottle is called a fiasco. Meaning flask, it was a staple with spaghetti & meatballs, a red & white checkered table cloth, and quite useful as a decorative candle holder.
Wine Trivia....Depending on whose story you believe, the "Coupe" champagne glass (the short and wide glass not the taller fluted glass) was molded from Marie Antoinette's left breast. Others contend it came from Helen of Troy's or Madame du Pompadour. Now that's worth toasting to.
June/July 2005
Did you know....that the # 1 Italian wine imported into the United States is Lambrusco. Sweet in taste and a good starter for those new to wine, more than 2 million cases are imported each year by Riunite alone.
Wine Trivia......Can you name the only 3 States in the U.S. that do not produce wine? Yes, it is true that 47 out of our 50 United States produce wine, yet Wyoming, North Dakota, and Alaska remain the only one's unable to do so. And of all the wine producing States, California accounts for 90% of the total output.
August 2005
Did you know.....that our own US Government tried it's hand in the wine making business. In the late 1700's, they subsidized grape growing in Alabama and Indiana, neither of which ever panned out. Then in the 1920's, the USDA (Department of Agriculture) built two state of the art wineries, trying to pave the way for the future of wine making in America.
This venture also failed miserably, eventually both being sold without ever crushing a single grape in the process.
Wine Trivia.....True champagne comes only from the region of the same name about 90 miles east of Paris, France. But how many different types of champagne, by level of sweetness, are there? The answer is 6, with Extra Brut the driest, then Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi-Sec, and Doux being the sweetest of all. Use this table for the type you prefer when buying your next bubbly.
September 2005
Did you know.......that on average, depending on the winery and the type of varietal being crushed, 1 ton of grapes produces about 60 cases of wine, or 720 bottles.
Wine Trivia.....How much wine does a typical barrel hold? Usually, about 60 gallons. Depending on the type of barrel, a Bordeaux style holds 225 liters, a Burgundy style holds 228 liters, winemakers produce about 22 and a half cases per barrel, or 272 bottles.
October 2005
Did you know...that a cork tree is stripped of it's bark once every nine years. In Southern Portugal, source for most of the world's wine corks, the tree's are first harvested when they become 25 years old. On average, these trees will be used 15 times over the course of their lives.
Wine Trivia.......How long does it take for a wine grape to ripen. From bud break until harvesting, some grape varietals take as little as 100 days, while others, such as late harvest type, may take up to 190 days.
November/December 2005
Did you know......that wall paintings found in Egypt dating back to around 2500BC, depict wine, vines on trellises, amphorae, and figures crushing grapes with their feet.
Wine Trivia......What is the "Belgian Test" of a wine? Conducted at many dinner tasting's, it's when multiple bottles of wine are presented, then waiting to see which one will be the first to become empty. A true sign of the best wine.
January 2006
Did you know......that Chambertin du Beze was the favorite wine of the Emperor Napoleon. He was well known for sharing his wine with his soldiers, which he believed made them a better fighting unit.
Wine Trivia....Do you know what the top 3 selling varietals of wine are in the U.S.? According to industry sources, the top 3 sold in retail outlets and restaurants are: Chardonnay, Merlot, and White Zinfandel respectively.
February 2006
Did you know......... that the California based E & J Gallo Winery produces 75 million cases of wine each year. To make this staggering fact even clearer, that amounts to about 143 cases per minute. That is more wine per minute than many small wineries produce in an entire year.
Wine Trivia...... In 92AD, Emperor Domitian sought to eradicate all the grapevines throughout Italy and Southern France. Luckily for fans of Chianti, Nebbiolo, Syrah, and Grenache, his plan was a miserable failure.
March 2006
Did you know.....that a 5 ounce glass of white wine contains about 104 calories. A 5 ounce glass of red wine typically contains about 110 calories.
Wine Trivia.....At one time, people believed that if you took a bath in a tub of wine, it would react like a fountain of youth. Scientists and doctors now concur that with the recent findings to the health benefits in wine, there may exist evidence to support this age old theory.
April 2006
Did you know.....that it takes approximately 600 individual grapes to make a single bottle of wine.
Wine Trivia....if you took 12 standard bottles of wine and put their contents into one single bottle, what would it be called? Besides one heck of a party, this 9 liter bottle is called a Salmanazar.
May 2006
Did you know.....that there are approximately 56 million bubbles in an open bottle of Champagne. Studies also show that the longer a bottle is aged, the smaller the bubbles will be in size. Also, the colder that Champagne is chilled, the smaller the bubbles will be. Cheers!
Wine Trivia.....What is a "slide"? It is a holder made to keep a bottle upright, usually made of silver with a felt or polished wood underside, used to pass a bottle from person to person along a table. Think of it as a coaster with walls.
June/July 2006
Did you know....that in the Northern Rhone region of France, every red wine made comes from one single grape varietal: Syrah.
Wine Trivia.....What is the oldest winery in the United States? That honor goes to Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, NY. Established in 1839, it was originally named Blooming Cove by winemaker Jean Jaques. Located 50 miles northwest of NYC, they continue to produce fine wines to this day.
August 2006
Did you know....that 98% of all the commercially produced wine in the world is consumed within the first week that they are purchased.
Wine Trivia.......the longest recorded flight of a champagne cork was 177 feet 9 inches. It was shot at ground level at Woodbury Vineyards in Fredonia, New York in the states Lake Erie district.
September 2006
Did you know.....that in the Alsace region of France, it is by law that all wine, both red and white, be bottled in traditional long tapered style bottles.
Wine Trivia.......Newborn children of wealthy British families traditionally receive a pipe of Port. A pipe is a wine cask consisting of 126 gallons which results in about 61 cases of vintage Port. When they reach drinking age, the wine is perfectly aged and ready for consumption.
October 2006
Did you know......that our 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson, is credited as being America's first wine connoisseur. He learned much about wine while being the Ambassador to France, yet was unsuccessful in his repeated quest to grow grapes at his Virginia Home, Monticello.
Wine Trivia........What is the most widely planted Champagne grape? Most would guess Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, but in reality, it is Pinot Meunier. This lesser known red grape enhances most non-vintage Champagne with body and bright fruit flavors.
November/December 2006
Did you know......that when we celebrate the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau, or Le Beaujolais Est Arrive! meaning the new vintage has arrived, the actual wine is only 6 weeks old. Made from the gamey grape, it is released each year on the 3rd Thursday in November.
Wine Trivia.....What is the Brix Scale? It is the method of determining the sugar content of a grape before it is picked prior to harvest. Developed by 19th century German wine chemist Alfred Brix, winemakers use a refractometer to measure the ripeness of a grape for its potential alcohol level.
January 2007
Did you know......that a United States made oak barrel that has a capacity of 158 gallons is called a butt. They are used predominantly in the making of the fortified wine Sherry.
Wine Trivia.....Translated to English, the German wine Liebfraumilch means ilk of the Virgin This inexpensive easy to drink wine is a blend of Muller-Thurgau, Riesling, Salvager and Keener grapes.
February 2007
Did you know......that the word Meditate combines the words "Merit" and "Heritage" to define a category of wines blended from traditional Bordeaux grape varietals. For red Meditate, the blend must contain at least 2 of the following grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlo, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, or Carmenere.
Wine Trivia.....What kind of wine is Pinot de la Loire? You would think a pinot noir or pinot grigio from the Loire region of France, but in actuality, it is what Chenin Blanc is often known as in Argentina.
March 2007
Did you know....that when Queen Victoria of England proclaimed "A bottle of hock keeps off the doc", she was playfully making reference to the medicinal powers associated with the white Rhine wine from the village of Hockheim in the Rheingau region of Germany.
Wine Trivia.........The famous dry red wine from Hungary is called Egri Bikaver. Back in the 16th Century, the native Magyars, defending the town fortress in the city of Eger, drank so much red wine, they stained their beards blood red. The invading Turks retreated in fear, believing they had attained their fierce fighting prowess from drinking the blood from bulls.
Hence the story of the famous Bulls Blood wine from Hungary.
Anniversary Issue 
