Who Knew?

If you talk to me for five minutes, you'll find out....well....that I talk A LOT. But you'll also probably learn that I love my family, I love my dogs....and I love my wine. I've been on a wine-out all week (gained a few pounds in San Francisco that I need to get rid of!!), but it's Friday and I have two new bottles of wine to try!

Since I'm celebrating Wine today, I found some amazing facts that I bet most of you were unaware of.  Here are a few of the ones that made me say 'who knew?'

Hippocrates, widely considered the father of medicine, includes wine in almost every one of his recorded remedies. He used it for cooling fevers, as a diuretic, as a general antiseptic, and to help convalescence.b

Oenophobia is an intense fear or hatred of wine.

One of the most quoted legends about the discovery of wine is the story of Jamsheed a semi-mythical Persian king (who may have been Noah). A woman of his harem tried to take her life with fermented grapes, which were thought to be poisonous. Wine was discovered when she found herself rejuvenated and lively.

Red Burgundy is made from the Pinot Noir grape and is so difficult to make that winemakers all over the world see it as some kind of Holy Grail.

Women are more susceptible to the effects of wine than men partly because they have less of an enzyme in the lining of the stomach that is needed to metabolize alcohol efficiently.

Romans discovered that mixing lead with wine not only helped preserve wine, but also gave it a sweet taste and succulent texture. Chronic lead poisoning has often been cited as one of the causes of the decline of Rome.

But my very most favorite is this:

· Plato argued that the minimum drinking age should be 18, and then wine in moderation may be tasted until 31. When a man reaches 40, he may drink as much as he wants to cure the “crabbedness of old age."

I agree 100% Plato!

Here are a few more if you are interested: http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/08/21_wine.html