Top 10 wines facts

From Cyprus. Commandaria is an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made in the Commandaria is made from sun-dried grapes of the varieties Xynisteri and Mavro. It represents an ancient wine style documented in Cyprus back to 800 BC. The name Commandaria dates back to the crusades in the 12th century.

Among the crowned heads and popes. Vin Mariani was a tonic and patent medicine created about 1863 by Angelo Mariani. In 1863, Mariani started marketing a wine called Vin Tonique Mariani (à la Coca du Pérou) which was made from Bordeaux wine and coca leaves. Vin Mariani was very popular in its day, even among royalty such as Queen Victoria. Pope Leo XIII and later Pope Saint Pius X were both Vin Mariani drinkers. Pope Leo awarded a Vatican gold medal to the wine, and also appeared on a poster endorsing it.

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine.

Chardonnay. Only chardonnay and only in Champagne, as required by the AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) rules.

The number of baskets of sweet grapes. Puttonyos is the unit given to denote the level of sugar and hence the sweetness of Hungarian dessert wine, called Tokaji (or tokay). It is traditionally measured by the number of hods of sweet botrytised or nobly rotted grapes (known as Aszú) added to a barrel of wine, but is now measured in grams of residual sugar. The puttony was actually the 25 kg basket or hod of Aszú grapes, and the more added to the barrel of wine, the sweeter the eventual wine. Measurement goes from 3 to 6 Puttonyos. A Tokaji made entirely from Aszú grapes is known as Eszencia.

Burgundian bottle. This is a Burgundian bottle, because it has a squat silhouette and a neck narrowing upwards.The Mozel/Alzac bottle has a similar shape, but it is more slender. The Bordeaux bottle has a simple, short neck and a cylindrical shape.

Decanting of wine. Fundamentally, decanting serves two purposes: to separate a wine from any sediment that may have formed and to aerate a wine in the hope that its aromas and flavors will be more vibrant upon serving.

Spain. Sangria is an alcoholic beverage of Spanish and Portuguese origin. A punch, the sangria traditionally consists of red wine and chopped fruit, often with other ingredients such as orange juice or brandy.

Chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. Primarily, the grapes Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay are used in the production of almost all Champagne, but a tiny amount of pinot blanc, pinot gris, arbane, and petit meslier are vinified as well. Champagne appellation law allows only grapes grown according to appellation rules in specifically designated plots within the appellation to be used in the production of champagne.

Hobby of collecting postcards. Officially the biggest collection postcards has got Mario Morby from Great Britain. Contains 1 000 265 pieces. It is officially record in Guinness Book of Records.