10 Fun Facts About Red Wine

On this week's episode of Brown Bag Wine Tasting, William Shatner sat down with his old friend Levar Burton to talk about education, LeVar Burton's life work and his childhood. 

In the episode, LeVar gave the featured wine an 89 while our sommelier gave it a 95. But LeVar later admitted Behind the Scenes (video below) that he prefers red wines anyway. So in the spirit of LeVar's love of red wines, we gathered 10 Fun Facts You Should Know About Red Wine.

1. As red wine ages, it loses it's color. You can analyze the color by holding it at an angle in front of a white background. Red wine starts out as purple and slowly changes to brown over time. 

2. Red wine isn't just Levar Burton's favorite. Apparently red wine accounts for 55% of all wine sales in restaurants.

3. Red wine is so red because red wine is fermented with the grape skins while white wine isn't (which is why white wine can also be made from both red and white grapes without the skin). That explains why red wine is often described at "tannic."

4. The reason some people get headaches after drinking red wine is because of histamines found in the skin of grapes. Anyone sensitive to histamines is more likely going to get a headache. You can read more about the dreaded  red wine headache here. 

5. The oldest person to ever live attributed her  age (122) to a diet of olive oil, port wine and 1kg of chocolate per week. That's not a bad way to live. 

6. Chinese people who want to show off their wealth drink expensive red wines mixed with Coca-Cola or Sprite to make it more palatable. Seems like a waste to us! Although, the man who created Coca-Cola had to take out wine from his original formula which was sometimes prescribed to cure a low sexual libido. How things have changed! 

7. All wines are sensitive to extreme temperatures. But if red wine gets too warm, it can lose it's fruity flavors. 

8. Red wine glasses are specifically made to enhance their aromas. The lip of a red wine glass is sloped inward to capture and deliver the wine's aromas to your nose. 

9. You have to drink 20 glasses of apple juice to get the same amount of anti-oxidant benefits in one glass of wine. Yikes. 

10. Although these days, Bordeaux mostly grows red grapes and is known for its red wine, it was originally known for its white. 

Here's a clip from Behind the Scenes! 

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.

Continue the Discussion