Insider numbers to help you win wine bets, show off at wine bars, or one-up siblings. Weighted to Napa, the U.S. premier wine producer.
All numbers are approximate; numbers vary according to grape and other factors:
• Years before most wine vines produce wine-worthy grapes: 3.
• Years before wine vine hits its stride: 5.
• Years of top production for wine vine: 30-35, but quality intensifies for a century or more as productivity decreases.
• Number of grape clusters on a vine: 40.
• Number of grapes in a cluster: 75-100.
• Number of grapes needed to make one 750 ml bottle of wine: 500-800.
• Number of grape clusters in a 750 ml bottle: 5-8.
• Number of bottles made from one vine: 5-8.
• Calories in 5-ounce glass of dry wine: 100-125.
• Calories in 750 ml bottle of dry wine: 500-625.
• Calories in 5-ounce glass of sweet desert wine: 150-180.
• Calories in 12-ounce bottle of regular beer: 150.
• Calories in 2.5 ounces of coffee liqueur (Kahlua): 260.
• Cases (12 bottles) of wine produced annually in Napa County: more than 9 million.
• Cases of wine produced annually in Texas: 1.2 million.
• Acres of wine grapes in Napa County: around 43,000.
• Acres of wine grapes in Texas: around 2,700.
• Percentage of acres in Napa County planted in wine grapes: 9 percent.
• Percent of California wine made in Napa: 4 percent.
• Biggest crop in Napa before wine grapes: prunes.
Recommended (all locally available):
• Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet South Australia 2008. Intense nose; plum, berry; silky tannin, medium body; good Aussie value. $12
• Gianni Gagliardo Dolcetto d’Alba 2009. Fruit nose, fruity mouth; blackberries; medium-light; tart finish; chill, pour w/first course. $15
• Charles Smith Boom Boom! Syrah. Example of why Syrah wows in Walla Walla. Intensely dark color; dark fruits, sweet tobacco; plush mouth. Washington. $17