Rulander - The Blog Of Lists

Understanding wine is a diplomatic passport to life. A demonstration of wine knowledge and discernment, as long as it is done with modesty, will always be appreciated.

Our lists of Wine Buff's Stuff offer a variety of facts and occasional figures about wine and the people who make it. They will never be dull. They will be at times dense but interesting, at others light but fun. They will enhance any conversation.

They will be like wine itself.

1.
A force of nature
There is a big difference between grape "species" and grape "varieties". There are plenty of grape species, but only one of them, vitis vinifera, is commonly used to make wine. About 4,000 varieties of grape have been developed from this one species. So be upstanding please and raise your glasses to an under-acknowledged force of nature, the vitis vinifera species of grape.

2.
Just drink it
Wines vary greatly in how long they will last once open. Younger, more tannic reds will last longer than lighter, older ones. Whites, properly corked and refrigerated, last longer again. Fortified wines can last for months without spoiling. However, the only certain way to prevent leftover wine spoilage is not to leave any over.

3.
Heart starter
A glass of champagne may be as beneficial as red wine at lowering the risk of heart disease. Like red wine, champagne contains phenols - compounds which work as antioxidants. It's about time some serious testing of this theory was done. It would involve drinking some serious amounts of champagne. I'm available.

4.
Special wood
Only about 5 per cent of an oak tree contains wood suitable for making wine barrels.

5.
The seal deal
The English were the first to seal wine bottles, using cork imported from Spain and Portugal.

6.
Government cut
The first time the retail wine trade was regulated was in 1750BC when Babylonia's King Hammurabi declared the industry would benefit from judicious administrative oversight, and that the consumers it served would be shielded from unscrupulous practices. Today, governments use pretty much the same excuses to tax the wine industry.

7.
Stain drain
Speaking of administrative manipulation rooted in political expediency, 8th-century celebrity Charlemagne was reputed to have introduced codification of rules covering the planting of vines and wine-making in France and Germany, which resulted in the planting of lots of white wine grapes in red wine vineyards. It is believed the reason is that Charlemagne was sick of red wine staining his beard.

8.
What's that strange taste?
The custom of touching glasses is often claimed to have evolved from concerns about poisoning, the idea being that a solid clink would cause a little of the contents of each glass to spill into the other. It's a fun story, but almost certainly apocryphal.

9.
Crumby idea
On the subject of toasting, the word "toast," meaning a wish of good health, started in ancient Rome, where a piece of toasted bread was dropped into wine. We could research, and report on, the reason for this tradition, but we won't, just in case it catches on again.

10.
Grape of the day - pinot gris
Pinot gris is known by several other names: pinot grigio, burot, malvoise, rulander and tokayer. These names generally represent regions where the grape is grown, and the styles and variety of the wine produced vary considerably. The grape has become popular again in recent years after a century or two out of favour because of low-yield issues in its French heartlands of Champagne and Burgundy. The word pinot means pine cone in French, and refers to the close-packed grape clusters of pinot gris. Gris means grey in French (grigio means grey in Italian), which differentiates the blue-grey pinot gris grape from its sibling, the pinot noir. Much of the world's annual production of pinot gris is consumed by my wife, who says it is particularly good with Indian food.

Wikipedia, beekmanwine.com, rackwine.com, 800wine.com, www.thewinedoctor.com

Wine Buff's Stuff: 1
Wine Buff's Stuff: 2

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