National Red Wine Day

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August 28th is National Red Wine Day in the United States.

Red wine is wine that has been made from dark coloured grapes. The colour of the wine can vary a lot, with that of young wines being violet through brick red and to brown for older wines. The colour comes from the skins of the grape in most cases, as the juice of purple grapes is greenish white; the exception being teinturier varieties which produce a red juice. There are dozens of different grape varieties used to make red wine.

Traditionally, red wines are drunk at room temperature, though the coolest room of the house, not the room where they are drunk, not chilled, though it is becoming more common to chill red wines, especially those that are highly aromatic.

National Wine and Cheese Day

July 25th is National Wine and Cheese Day in the United States.

Cheese and wine are a very common combination, though different countries have different ways of eating it. For example, in Britain a cheeseboard would follow dessert and the wine served would be a sweet one like Port. In France, the cheeseboard is consumed before dessert, with a red wine. In each case, there would be a number of different cheeses used, normally of contrasting types, together with other accompaniments such as crackers, grapes and nuts.

Cheese and wine don’t have to be served as part of a meal, though. They are often served together, with the cheese and wine being the sole things served, together with the aforementioned accompaniments. Such a serving is more likely to happen at a social occasion.

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Cheese%2C_wine_and_bread_in_a_sidewalk_cafe_in_Paris%2C_June_2015.jpg

National Rosé Day

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June 13th is National Rosé Day in the United States.

Rosé is a type of wine that has some of the colour from grape skins included in it, though not enough for it to be classed as a red wine. The name means "pink" in French, and rosé wine is pink, but the colour can vary tremendously, from close to purple to pale orange. The colour is dependent on the grapes and process used to make the drink.

Rosé wines can also vary a lot in other ways. They range from sweet to dry and from still to sparkling. Rosé wine is usually made as the final product. Though it can be made by blending red and white wines together, this is discouraged in most places and is forbidden by law in France. Rosé wine should be made as rosé, not as a combination of two other wines.

National Wine Day

May 25th is National Wine Day in the United States.

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from, usually, fermented grapes, although other fruits can be used (drinks made with other fruits are often called by other names, though, such as cider for apples).

Wine has been consumed for a long time, dating back over 8,000 years. It is often associated with religious ceremonies. Wine is produced in many countries around the world, although some have a better reputation for the quality of their product than others (you can get English wine, but it is rarely considered to be quality) and there are different colours available, such as white, red and rose, which are the most common.

Some wines are sparkling, with champagne, which can only be produced in a specific region of France using specific grapes, being the best known of such.

National Moscato Day

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May 9th is National Moscato Day in the United States.

Moscato, more properly known as Moscato d'Asti, is a sparkling white wine made from Muscat à Petits Grains, a white wine grape of Greek origin and part of the Muscat family. Moscato is a sweet, low-alcohol wine that is considered to be a dessert wine - sweet wines normally served with desserts.

Moscato d'Asti is made by small producers in small batches in the town of Asti in Montferrat, Piedmont, Italy. Records indicate that Moscato d'Asti has been made in Piedmont since at least the 14th century and Moscato bianco is considered to be one of the oldest grapes grown in that area.

National Drink Wine Day

A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace) [FAL]

National Drink Wine Day is on February 18th in the United States.

Wine is a fermented, and therefore alcoholic, drink that is primarily made from fermented grapes. Some countries will define just what is allowed to be used in order for a drink to be called wine, and what types of grapes are allowed to be used in a particular type of wine. Rice is another thing used to make wine, and there are various fruit wines such as cherry, plum, pomegranate, elderberry and currant. Mead, which is made from honey, is sometimes called honey wine. Champagne is a specific type of sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France, but there are other sparkling wines from other countries.

Wine is known to date back to at least 5000 BC, which is when the earliest signs of winemaking have been found. Wine has historically played an important role in many religions around the world, not just those dedicated to gods of wine. The primary colours of wine are red, white and rosé, but there are different subcategories within these. As well as being drunk, which is what this day celebrates, wine is a popular cooking ingredient too. Wines can be classified by region of origin, which is more commonly seen in European wines, and by grape, which is how wines of the New World are typically classified.