5 wine facts to impress your date

You have done it. You have secured the date. It’s been a longtime coming, good work! Now is the fun part. That’s right, it’s time to impress with your interesting and important wine facts. That is really all your date wants to hear ha. Add the below bits and pieces into your chat and you will be one dazzling date. You can thank us later.

Blanc de Noir.

White wines come from white grapes. Red wines come from dark grapes. The end. Wrong! Did you know that there is a whole world of wine made from cross pollinating grapes and styles? As Australians, we have all heard of skin contact wine (aka orange wine), but have you heard of blanc de noir? If you think of skin contact wines as white grapes treated in a similar way to black grapes (skin left on during fermentation), then blanc de noir wines are essentially flipping and reversing that technique. That is, they are dark grapes treated in a white wine style (skin removed). The result is a fresh, light bodied wine with no tannin. Perfect for a summertime date, or shared over cheese.

We know you already know of one blanc de noir. If you are a smooth mover, you probably have some in the fridge, waiting for the right moment. Champagne. Delicate and bubbly, the famous French sparkling wine is made from pinot noir, pinot meunier, or the two together. Why not treat your date to that bottle and share your fun fact alongside? Outside of Northern France, the Old World seems to love a good blanc de noir. In Burgundy, crémant (sparkling wine) is made from pinot noir and gamay, and elegant cabernet franc blanc de noirs can be found across The Loire Valley. Germans and Eastern Europeans also play with merlot and cabernet franc. The result can be a perfect match for a light meal, or even an aperitif. Speaking of perfect matches, your date will now be telling everyone about your sophisticated wine intel. Sydney Wine Tastings, or your new wingman? You are welcome.

We have to thank the Poms. 

If you’re lucky enough to have strolled the streets of Bordeaux, France, you will be familiar with the gorgeous cobblestone. That’s right, if it weren’t for the rolling vineyards, Bordeaux could easily be mistaken for a 13th century British town. Gorgeous. More importantly, Bordeaux is one of the oldest and most prestigious wine regions in the world. Ever wondered how this came to be?

We can thank the Poms! Long story short, a series of marriages, preferential tariffs and creative political decisions cemented a keen British taste for French wine. By the 14th century, there was a booming wine trade between Bordeaux and London. With the British demanding more wine than they could pay for, building stones began to be traded in place of cash. You’ve got it, France traded wine for a town. A good choice, if you ask us! Skipping forward, once Bordeaux could support their own infrastructure, there was no need to keep up the strong wine trade across the pond. After all, there was a (Hundred Years) war going on at the same time. Now needing to look elsewhere, the British turned to Portugal. Hello, Port!

International politics and wine have an inseparable history. Not only do world leaders need a big glass after a day of war and peace discussions, but it is because of crafty international relations over the past few hundred years that we have our much international loved wines. Why not treat your date to a little history lesson? Note, we said little. Try not to bore them to sleep before the first sip. You’ve got this! 

Australia does it all.

Yes, our beautiful country has had its ups and downs in the world of wine. We all know a certain winery with a certain little critter on the bottle that we would rather not mention. Although, early 2000s aside, Australia has one of the most diverse wine making capacities in the world, and a wine industry that is something to be proud of. From syrah and cabernet sauvignon, to sémillon and chardonnay, Australia has an impressive array of quality wines. From dry rieslings to sweet wines, and fruity sparklings in between, it seems as though us Aussies can do it all. But did you know that this was all started by the convicts?

Much like the rest of modern Australian history, convicts played a significant role in the demand for Australian wine. For one, French criminals were sent to colonial Australia to use their “cultural intellect” to set up vineyards. Funnily enough, the British assumption that all Frenchmen could make wine backfired. The guys tried to grow anything but grapes and were quickly returned. Skip forward a few years and doctors began prescribing wine as medicine for convicts, believing that it would ward off disease… It might not be sound medical advice, but I like their thinking! If your date has a sense of humour, they should see the comedy of errors in the industry’s confused beginnings. Thank goodness Australia figured it out and is now giving the world a run for its wine money. A story of the underdog always goes down well. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

Sweet, sweet Botrytis.

Did you know that fungus can be sexy? Yes, you read that correctly. Botrytis, or ‘noble rot’ is a fungus that is used around the world to make sweet wine. Not just any sweet wine, but some of the most prized. For one, Sauternes, a small village in Bordeaux, is renowned for making delicious botrytised sweet wines from sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle. With some bottles valued at around $2000, these fungus infected grapes are very, very sexy. Don’t worry though, you don’t have to break the bank to give your date a taste of the sweet life. Hungarian Tokaj and German or Austrian Trockenbeerenauslese wines, can be just as decadent (although a little more difficult to pronounce). I once enjoyed a 4 euro bottle of Tokaj whilst in Northern Hungary and will forever have this as one of my favourite wine memories. We paired the sweet wine with a traditional Hungarian bread pudding, watching not to overdo the sugar level. It was heavenly.

How does it work? Well, much like your date, noble rot calls for a little bit of magic. Once the grapes are ripe, the perfect amount of humidity is required for the fungus to set in. With the right, more dry weather conditions following, the fungus turns the grapes into raisins. Then it’s time for picking and fermentation. The rest is at the winemaker’s discretion, of course. If all goes well, you and your date could be enjoying an underrated masterpiece. Why not give something a little different a go? For the New World wine lovers, you should be able to find a tasty Californian or Australian example (told you Australia does it all). Go for it, enjoy a sweet wine with your sweetie and have fun!

Romantic Roman Gods.

Oh the Romans. Those toga draped, grape eating, luxurious lovers of gluttony. They of course couldn’t get enough of wine. After all, it is the juice of the gods. They loved wine so much that they even idolised Bacchus, the god of wine. What a special guy. Believe it or not, Bacchus was not only the god of wine, but the god of fertility. Is there a link here? We will leave that one up to you.

Et voila. Five wine facts to impress your date. Whether you are interested in history, politics or even, mythology, the wonderful world of wine is full of fun facts. Go on, get the wine and a few facts flowing and the conversation will surely play in your favour. Cheers!