Sip, Sample & Stroll

Lipstick Trick – avoid lipstick stains on your glass, discretely lick the edge of the glass right before you take a sip. No lipstick, no problem!

Leftover wine should not be saved for any more than three-to-four days on the counter. When wine comes in contact with oxygen, it starts to break down. This greatly effects the taste and balance. It is best to use any wine you have leftover for cooking instead of drinking it as it is. However, if you airtight seal your wine in the fridge (red or white), it should last three-to-seven days. Icewine that is airtight sealed can last upwards of three months in the fridge!

All grape juice starts out clear. If you go out into the vineyard and lightly squeeze a wine grape of any color: red, blue, purple, black, green, yellow... you will get the same color grape juice, clear.

Red and Rosé wines receive their colour from contact with grape skins. Although red wine can only be produced from red grapes, rosé wines can be produced from both white and red grapes.

On average, there are about 75 grapes in each cluster. One grape cluster equals one glass of wine.

Syrah and Shiraz are from the same grape. The difference is in their style. Typically, Syrah is made from a cooler climate and Shiraz is made in a warmer climate, but they can be called whichever the winery chooses.

Traditional Champagne is typically made with Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay (with most blends being about 2/3 red and 1/3 Chardonnay).

A glass of wine (about 4 oz.) contains about 85 calories. 1 cup blueberries contains 85 calories. Which would you rather have??

The first (lever-waiter's) corkscrew was invented in the mid-1800s. C.F.A. Wienke patented the lever or waiter's corkscrew in 1883. However the first corkscrew was invented, years before, in the late 1700s.

A “cork-tease” is a funny term used to describe someone who constantly talks about the wine he or she will open but never does.

When you’re prepping for a wine party, estimate for about ½-1 bottle per person, but make sure to serve responsibly and know who the DDs are!

A decanter is used mainly to remove sediment from older red or white wines. Also, it can be used to open up young red or white wines. Otherwise, wine will “breathe” enough in your glass and decanting is not necessary. If you chose to decant, decanting your red and white wines for an hour is the same as letting the wine age in a cellar for year. If you let them sit in the decanter for two hours, it is the same as two years and so on. This requires patience or proper party planning.

We have monks to thank for our Champagne: Monastic orders such as the Cistercians and Benedictines preserved and innovated the art of winemaking during the Middle Ages. One of the world’s most famous Champagnes Dom Pérignon (1638-1715) was named after a monk.

Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are from the same grape. Pinot Grigio tends to be a lighter bodied wine meant for easy sipping and Pinot Gris has more of a medium body taste sometimes known for being more of a “serious” wine.

Sauvignon Blanc is most well known for aromas of fresh-cut grass – which is the perfect pair for spring veggies like fiddleheads, asparagus, and green salads. Ideal for fresh spring crops.

The "legs" in wine, also know as "tears of wine," "curtains," or "church windows" refer to the traces of liquid that run down the sides of the glass after you've swirled your wine and can tell you about the body of wine. The quicker the legs run the lighter the body of the wine; the slower they run, the heavier the body.

A Nebuchadnezzar bottle holds 15 litres of wine – not only is that big, but it’s also a total of 20 bottles!

You can only call sparkling wine “Champagne” if it is made in the region of Champagne, France, otherwise it is known as sparkling wine, or wineries will give the wine a unique name.

You should only fill your wine glass about 1/3 of the way full to allow enough room for you to swirl, aerate, and smell your wine.

The shape of the original shallow and wide-mouthed Champagne or sparkling wine glass is known to be a tribute to the “breast” of Marie Antoinette, but the Greeks claim it is a tribute to Helen of Troy.

A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. Yes, there are good vintages and bad vintages, and every region is different.

Icewine grapes get picked by hand in the middle of the night when the temperature has reached -8 for three nights in a row. And from every grape, you only get one drop of this precious nectar – hence the price tag on such small bottles. Shameless plug: Canada is by far a leader in the style of late harvest wines.

The earliest archaeological evidence of grape wine has been found at sites in Georgia (c. 6000 BC). Leading us to believe that the country of Georgia is the “birthplace of wine.”

Traditional Bordeaux wines were made from a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Carmenere, and Malbec. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the most popular blends in today’s market.

Chardonnay is known as the “winemaker’s grape” because it is so versatile. It is used in sparkling wine, on its own, aged in oak or bottled as un-oaked, used in blended wines and can also make Icewine.

White wine gets darker with age and red wine gets lighter with age.

Rieslings are great to age in your cellar. Their backbone of acidity makes them the perfect bottle to lie down and open after 15 or 20+ years!

When it comes to describing body of a wine, you could describe it as light, medium or full bodied - as an analysis of the way a wine feels inside our mouth. Think of it as the difference between skim milk, whole milk and cream.

Pinotage is the signature red grape variety from South Africa. Although not easy to find, when you do find one you like, you’ll fall in love and share it with friends!

According to Louis Pasteur, wine works as a mild natural tranquilizer, serving to reduce anxiety, relieving tension and inducing a lighter spirit. And some doctors are even saying that stroke risk is lower for those who drink wine moderately and regularly - Bottoms Up!!

Beaujolais is an area in Burgundy, France, and the prevalent red grape grown is Gamay. It is light and fruity and is a “red wine for the white wine drinker” because most of the wines are not aged in oak and are friendly on the palate.

Muscat is a wine with a bit of sweetness that can also be called Moscato. Moscato D’asti is a bubbly sweet wine.

The “Cheers” ritual started back in the Middle Ages, when poisoning was a favorite way to get rid of an enemy. To be sure their glass was poison-free, drinkers would first pour a bit of wine into each other’s glass, so if there was poison in one, it was now in both.

When pairing wine and food, always pair the weight of the wine with the weight of the food – when all else fails, pair local wines with local flavours!

The wine cork is not for smelling - is actually for examining. Check to see if it's all in one piece; a fragmented or moldy cork might mean a lower quality wine.

10,000 varieties of wine grapes exist worldwide. With these three being in the top ten:

Cabernet Sauvignon, 840,000 acres (340,000 hectares) Merlot, 657,300 acres (266,000 hectares) Tempranillo, 570,800 acres (231,000 hectares)

Rule of Thumb: Old World wines are usually named after the region where they were grown, while New World wines are usually named for the sole or principal grape in the bottle!

The Vidal grape is the most popular grape used for Icewine. It has strong skins that protect it from the harsh (Canadian) winters.

Gewurztraminer and Viognier are very aromatic wines with lots of floral and perfume aromas. These two are hits for many females – just in case you need a hint as to what to bring to or order on a date!

The world's oldest bottle of wine dates back to AD 325 The bottle has been dated between 325 and 350 AD, and is the oldest known unopened bottle of wine in the world. It was found near the town of Speyer, Germany, one of the oldest settlements in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Putting ice and salt in a bucket will chill white wine or Champagne faster.

Since wine tasting is essentially wine smelling, women tend to be better wine tasters because women, particularly of reproductive ages, have a better sense of smell than men.

Don’t keep your wine bottle standing up – this can cause the cork to dry, shrink and oxygen/air might get in the bottle. Always keep the bottles lying down.

The term "bouquet" refers to the total scent of the wine. Aroma is the scent of the grapes. When wine tasters want to describe the bouquet and the aroma together, they use the term nose.

The dark green wine bottle was an English invention, the work of Sir Kenelm Digby (1603-1665). Previously wine had been kept in goat skin bags.

Malbec is a grape that is one of the originals of the Bordeaux blend from France. It is not a ‘new’ grape as some suspect, but Argentina has certainly claimed it as its signature red!

The average age of a French oak tree harvested for use in creating wine barrels is 170 years. With 400 different oak species being available to source for wine barrels.

The world’s leading cork producer is Portugal.

The word “sommelier” is an old French word meaning butler or an officer in charge of provisions, derived from the Old Provençal saumalier, or pack-animal driver.

Most wine glasses are specifically shaped to accentuate those defining characteristics, directing wine to key areas of the tongue and nose, where they can be fully enjoyed.

Canada is the #1 producer of Icewine in the world! From Vidal to Riesling to Chardonnay to Cabernet Sauvignon – they all make great Icewine!