Wine Information and Frequently Asked Questions

As a wine consultant, I have spent an excessive amount of time learning about wine’s history, chemistry, and complexities. Here are a few lesser known facts about wine and answers to some frequently asked questions for your wine education.

• The color of wine is determined by how long (if at all) it is fermented with the grape skins.

• The smaller the champagne bubble, the less chance you have of getting a headache the next day.

• Chianti is not a grape, it is actually a growing region in Italy. Sangiovese is the grape.

• Real Corks can be composted (or reused for cork boards, sound insulation, etc).

• Most champagne-style sparkling wine is made from one of three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Pinot Menuier.

• Grappa is a pommace (see glossary).

• A burgundy wine bottle has less of a neck then a Bordeaux wine bottle so that it can more easily catch sediment.

• Dom Perignon, accredited with inventing sparkling wine, was actually trying to create a still wine.

• Wine is destroyed by oxidation.