Just the facts ... about wine

Happy New Year! As 2024 begins, I look forward to sharing more conversation about wine and more tasting reports on wines of quality and value.

We begin the year by celebrating the 25th birthday of The 30 Second Wine Advisor. Our first edition went out to just 70 email subscribers on Jan. 18, 1999.

We reached 1,000 within the first month and 10,000 by March 2000. Nowadays this publication goes out to around 20,000 free and paid subscribers weekly, and I’m delighted to have you all on board.

But enough about us! While we’re talking about numbers, let’s look at the world of wine in statistics and fun facts.

• This week’s Wine Advisor goes to all readers, but my tasting note is limited to paid-tier subscribers, whose financial support helps pay for the wines I review. Please consider supporting us with a paid subscription.
• Food and wine books you’ll like

We begin the year by celebrating the 25th birthday of The 30 Second Wine Advisor. Our first edition went out to just 70 email subscribers on Jan. 18, 1999.

We reached 1,000 within the first month and 10,000 by March 2000. Nowadays this publication goes out to around 20,000 free and paid subscribers weekly, and I’m delighted to have you all on board.

But enough about us! While we’re talking about numbers, let’s look at the world of wine in statistics and fun facts. Thanks to WineAmerica, the National Association of American Wineries, for this stack of facts from its recent report, “The Magic of Wine – Wine Facts.”

Wine Facts

Did you know that it takes 600-800 grapes to make a bottle of wine…or that there are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne…or that 60 countries produce wine?

Born about 6,000 BCE in what is now the country of Georgia, wine is now a global beverage, with Italy, France, Spain, and the United States as the largest producers, together accounting for more than 50% of world’s total production.

A Nation of Wineries: Wine regions have been developing across the U.S., as diverse landscapes and weather patterns allow states to grow a variety of grapes.
Archived article from The New York Times, July 5, 2013

Wine is fascinating in many ways – as a farm product, economic engine, unique beverage, and consumer product. Here is a small sampling of fun facts about the magic of wine. Do your own searches and share them with friends.

World Wine Facts

6000 BCE: Approximate origin of wine in what is now Georgia, followed by Persia (now Iran) in 5000 BCE, Armenia in 4100 BCE and Sicily in 4000 BCE.

60: Number of countries which produce wine, with 28 producing 85% of all wine

50: Member countries in OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine), with the United States not a member but Texas Department of Agriculture as a non-voting observer

30 to 50: Latitude degrees in both the northern and southern hemispheres within which grapes are grown (e.g., temperate climates)

18,181,433: Number of acres of vineyard, with 49% for wine, 43% fresh table grapes, and 8% for raisins

600-800: Number of grapes to make a bottle of wine, equivalent to 2.5 – 3 pounds

50%: Approximate total percentage of worldwide production coming from the four largest countries (Italy, France, Spain, United States)

10,000: Different types of grapes for wine, juice, fresh fruit, and raisins, with wine grapes including 1,368 Italian, 204 French, and 77 Portuguese varieties, and with Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay the most popular varieties

8: Different overall categories of wine including red, white, rose, orange, sparkling fortified, ice, and dessert

1716: Year the first “appellation” was created in Chianti, Italy, with Cotes du Rhone the first French one in 1937; the concept of appellations was mentioned in the Bible pertaining to wines from different regions

247: Mentions of wine in the Bible, with 40 of those negative (mostly warning against abuse), 145 positive (often in the context of meals, blessings, and worship), and 62 neutral (mostly describing situations)

49,000,000: Bubbles in a bottle of Champagne!

There’s more, much more, including an extensive list of U.S. Wine Facts and Economic Impact of wine to the U.S. economy. Click on over to WineAmerica’s “The Magic of Wine – Wine Facts” if you’d like to see the full text of this report including all the rest.

But first, for our paid-tier subscribers, here’s this week’s tasting report!