| NUMBER CRUNCHING Grapes

THE HUMBLE GRAPE HAS BEEN CULTIVATED BY HUMANS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, PLAYING A CENTRAL ROLE IN EVERYTHING FROM WINEMAKING TO NEW YEAR’S TRADITIONS

10.12kg

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST BUNCH OF GRAPES, GROWN IN 2018 BY SEBASTIÁN GÓMEZ FALCÓN IN LOS PALACIOS Y VILLAFRANCA, SPAIN

10,000

THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF GRAPEVINE VARIETIES FOUND ACROSS THE WORLD, THE MOST WIDELY PLANTED BEING CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2017

The year dolma-making in Azerbaijan was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The practice traditionally involves stuffing grape leaves with fillings

5,980BC

The approximate year from which the earliest evidence of grapebased winemaking dates. In 2017, fragments of 8,000-year-old clay jars containing wine residue were found in two Georgian villages

12

THE NUMBER OF GRAPES EATEN BY SPANIARDS AT MIDNIGHT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. THE RITUAL IS SAID TO BRING GOOD LUCK FOR THE YEAR AHEAD

50%

THE PROPORTION OF THE WORLD’S RAISINS PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA. ITS FIRST CROP AROSE WHEN A HEATWAVE CAUSED GRAPES TO DRY UP

The volume of grapes to come out of China, the world’s largest producer, in 2019. Italy was second (7.9m), followed by the US (6.2m), Spain (5.7m) and France (5.5m)

770

14.3m tonnes

The approximate number of vineyards in Great Britain, which produced 10.5 million bottles of wine in 2019