National Drink Wine Day

As a wine lover and trained sommelier, I simply couldn’t let “National Drink Wine Day” go unmarked…

So, if you’re sitting at your desk and anticipating your chance to celebrate this most amazing day, here are five fun wine facts to get you to five o’clock:

1. Hit the Brakes

They say there are many uses for wine – a glass of wine can improve your health and …power your vehicle? That’s right! Prince Charles converted his 38-year-old car to run on biofuel made from surplus wine. This was done as a way to reduce his carbon emissions. Oh, you fancy huh?

2. Dr. Wine

Speaking of health benefits, the first clear health benefit of wine was that it saved new populations from the diseases that lived in bad water.  New civilizations would often die of dysentery, cholera and botulism as more people moved in to a certain area and contaminated the water supply. The high alcohol content in wine, from natural fermentation, kills bacteria very efficiently. For this reason, wine was often seen as a good alternative to water. We can get on board with that!

3. The Tooth Fairy

Do you often opt for a glass of white wine over red to avoid the dreaded “purple mouth”.  Deprive yourself no more because there is a red wine that is delicious and actually won’t stain your teeth at all: try a glass of Pinot Noir next time you’re out. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your pearly whites. #YoureWelcome

4. The Juicy Truth

Almost all wine grapes – red or white – produce clear juice. Red wines get their color from the skins, which are included when a red wine is fermented. White wines usually are fermented only from juice which is why they are lighter in colour.

5. She’s All Legs

Many people believe that “a good wine has legs”; however,  the legs that appear when you swirl wine in your glass are usually not an indicator of quality. In reality, the legs indicate the level of alcohol in the wine. High alcohol wines collect a higher density of droplets on the sides of the glass than low alcohol wines.

Happy National Drink Wine Day, Nuts.

Time to start sipping!