Wine is one of the oldest and most loved drinks in the world and there are many who enjoy this tipple without knowing too much about its origins. Wine has a rich and wonderful history and the next time you wander into your local wine merchants, it may be interesting to remember the five following unusual facts about wine and the origins of this much vaunted drink.
Wine Fact 1: Wine is responsible for the ‘Rule of Thumb’ phrase
Wine has obviously been around for a long time (long before thermometers were invented) so it stands to reason that there must have been a method for measuring the temperature of wine prior to the arrival of thermometers. And indeed there was. Before thermometers, brewers of wine would dip their thumb into the liquid to ensure that the wine was at brewing and before they would add the yeast and, as a result, the phrase ‘rule of thumb’ was born. So, the next time you utter that phrase, you will have the interesting (sort of) wine story to back it up!
Wine Fact 2: Wine is big in the Bible
Whilst we’re probably all aware of the ‘water into wine’ miracle referenced in the bible, you may not have known that wine is, in fact, mentioned no fewer than 521 times during the course of the bible. As a result of the frequent references to wine in the bible, many monasteries produce wine to this date – and many of these wines are amongst the finest and most sought after on the market (just think Dom Perignon, who was a Benedictine monk when he created champagne as we know it today).
Wine Fact 3: Toasting a glass of wine may be more literal than you think
We’re all used to raising a toast and, more often or not, this toast will be raised with a glass of wine in hand. But where did this tradition originate I hear you say? Well, you may be surprised to hear that it first began back in Ancient Rome when the Romans would drink to good health by dropping a piece of toasted bread into their vats of wine. So, there you have it – 3 unusual facts about wine that you may not have known! Go forth and wow your friends with your knowledge of wine and head to your near wine shop to toast your new found knowledge.
Guest Contributor: Leo is a wine writer who can be regularly be found in UK wine shops perusing the latest arrivals and giving his taste buds a work out with his favourite Spanish, American and French wines.
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