Five facts about wine

Fact #1: "Contains sulfites"

What? Wine contains sulfur? That can't be right! Oh yes, it is, but not quite in the way you might initially think! Sulfites play a very important role in winemaking, as their addition prevents the wine from fermenting uncontrollably and turning into vinegar in no time. Sulfiting makes the wine shelf-stable and palatable. Now you're probably wondering why the addition of sulfites is so explicitly mentioned on the label – quite simply, sulfur dioxide and sulfites must be declared if present in concentrations exceeding 10 mg/l, as both are considered allergens, making this information crucial for allergy sufferers!

Fact #2: How should I store my wine?

Most of you probably don't have a wine cellar like the ones we often see in fancy restaurants, nor a wine cabinet at home. But we don't need either to enjoy a glass of wine now and then. good bottle of wine to be able to enjoy it.

The German Wine Institute recommends storing wine at 10-12 degrees Celsius in a cool, dark, odorless, humid, and vibration-free environment. In short, if you have a cellar, it's best to use it for wine storage. If you don't have a cellar, we recommend, for example, a pantry or a spot on the floor in your apartment where it's usually cool and out of direct sunlight. A tiled floor, for instance, will already provide some coolness.

When choosing a storage location, also consider the type of closure your wine has: If it has a cork closure, you can store the wine upright for 1-2 years. Anything beyond this period should be stored lying down to keep the cork moist and prevent it from shrinking and losing its seal. Wines with all other types of closures can be stored upright.

Fact #3: Alcohol-free wine = 0.0% alcohol? No

You've probably experienced this: you're standing in the supermarket in front of the wine shelf and find grape juice labeled "alcohol-free wine" alongside the alcoholic wines. But the term "alcohol-free wine" isn't entirely accurate, because even this wine contains alcohol! In Germany, the wine regulations clearly state that a wine can only be labeled as alcohol-free if it contains less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. Therefore, even so-called "alcohol-free wine" contains alcohol.

Fact #4: What does the Dürkheim Sausage Market have to do with wine?

A sausage market has something to do with wine, what? You heard right, the Wurstmarkt, which has been held annually in Bad Dürkheim since 1417, is actually the world's largest wine festival.

Every year, on the second and third weekends of September, the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Bad Dürkheim hosts this festival.

Here, 300 wines and sparkling wines are offered, all of which must either have a wine seal from the German Agricultural Society or an award from the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Agriculture.

Fact #5: The Art of Wine Glasses

Most of you will now have a picture of a wine glass in mind, but have you ever wondered why a wine glass has such a long stem, or why you should only fill the glass halfway? First of all, the stem is there so you can only hold the glass by it, because, as you learned earlier, wine should be stored and enjoyed at 10-12 degrees Celsius. The stem prevents the wine from warming up when you hold the glass, which would prevent it from developing its full flavor. As mentioned earlier, you should always only fill a wine glass halfway. Many of you have probably also seen people swirl the wine in their glass after filling it. Logically, you can only swirl the wine if it's not filled to the brim! But why swirl it? Quite simply, by swirling the wine, you give it the opportunity to coat the inside of the glass, allowing the wine to release its aromas. Stay tuned to learn more about wine glasses and their uses. In our blog post on wine glasses, we describe which glass is suitable for which wine. And that concludes our 5 facts about the world's most popular grape juice. We hope you enjoyed reading and now know a little more about our world of wine lovers. If you liked the post, have any questions or suggestions about what you'd like to see covered, please leave a comment or send us an email – we look forward to hearing from you!