Wine Facts

I'm often asked how many clusters of grapes make a bottle of wine or things like that. My answer is usually "I don't know"... I hate saying that, but I don't know everything and I don't want to lie to you either. So I decided that I would put that information out on the blog along with the link to web site that I found all of the information on. This is a lot of fun stuff so I hope you enjoy it.
There are about 400 species of oak, though only about 20 are used in making oak barrels. Of the trees that are used, only 5% is suitable for making high grade wine barrels. The average age of a French oak tree harvested for use in wine barrels is 170 years!
As of this year (Sept. 2007) the average cost of a French Oak wine Barrel is $900 each! The price can go a little lower and a bit higher, but that's a good average.
The figures below are adjusted for Oregon Pinot Noir so to reflect this area. Also remember these are averages...

2 grape cluster = 1 glass
80 grapes = 1 cluster
6 clusters = 1 bottle
40 clusters = 1 vine
1 vine = 10 bottles
1200 clusters = 1 barrel
1 barrel = 60 gallons
60 gallons = 25 cases
30 vines = 1 barrel
400 vines = 1 acre
1 acre = 2 tons
2 tons = 132 cases

Another question I'm frequently asked is what the different sized wine bottles are called. I know the first couple, but you would be surprised how big they can get.
How big can a wine bottle get?
Capacity (Liters) followed by the number of standard size bottles contained:
Standard (.75) 1
Magnum (1.5) 2
Jeroboam (3) 4
Rehoboam (4.5) 6
Methuselah (6) 8
Salmanazar (9) 12
Balthazar (12) 16
Nebuchadnezzar (15) 20
Tell me... How does Nebuchadnezzar rate anyway?

Some more interesting stuff.

What is the ideal temperature for wine?
Whites: chilled (45-55 degrees F) for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Reds: slightly cooler than room temperature (about 65 degrees)
Sparkling Wine: thoroughly chilled; refrigerate several hours or the night before serving.
Dessert Wine: room temperature. (I prefer it ice cold myself).

Chilling tones down the sweetness of wine. If a red wine becomes too warm, it may lose some of its fruity flavor. Just don't put an ice cube in your red wine. OK?

Well there is some interesting facts for you. Hope you enjoyed it. Now go open a nice glass of Pinot and enjoy!

Cheers!