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Value (in billions of US$) of world wine exports last year (2022), the highest value ever recorded, according to the International Organization for Vines and Wine (OIV). Even though the volume of wine exported was significantly lower in 2022 than in 2021 (due to high inflation and global supply chain disruptions), the average price of exported wine was 15% higher.

A petrol (gasoline) aroma and flavor in wine comes from the proximity of vines planted near oil refineries.

Answer: False.

A petrol aroma and/or flavor in wine is caused by a chemical compound,1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene (thankfully known as “TDN”), which exists in grapes. This aroma and flavor appear more prominently in grapes that are exposed to sunlight and warmer weather. TDN may also emerge in wine that has been aged in bottle for a long period. Certain grape varieties—notably riesling—are prone to TDN.

Come, send round the wine, and leave points of belief
To simpleton sages and reasoning fools;
This moment’s a flower too fair and brief
To be wither’d and stain’d by the dust of the schools.
Your glass may be purple, and mine may be blue,
But, while they are fill’d from the same bright bowl,
The fool who would quarrel for difference of hue,
Deserves not the comfort they shed o’er the soul.

—Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Irish poet, from Irish Melodies, Vol. II

41.3

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