The Most Famous Phrases and Quotes About Wine

You’re with friends at a dinner party.

The conversation is flowing as freely as the Italian wine and you’re starting to feel a little loose. One glass turns into two, which turns into three. Before you know it, you’ve been whisked away by wine, transported to a time and place where life seems to slow down and you’re able to just revel in the moment.

It’s a feeling that millions of people throughout history have felt.

And it’s a feeling that has inspired a great many famous phrases and quotes about the wonderous effects of wine.

It’s those quotes we’re going to focus on in this article. Here, we’re going to introduce you to some of the most profound, humorous, and perhaps even ridiculous quotes to come from the mouths of great people when they’re enjoying a glass or several of their favourite wines.

Thomas Jefferson

“No nation is drunken where wine is cheap; and none sober, where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage.”

So, we’re starting with a quote that goes a little out of its way to point to wine as the greatest of all alcoholic beverages. Jefferson apparently viewed wine as a necessity, with his statement that “no nation is drunken where wine is cheap” apparently being a reflection of his view that wine should be made affordable to all.

He even gets in a shot at other beverages and spirits, making it seem that nation’s experience their downfalls when nations don’t have access to affordable wine.

We don’t know if we agree with him there. But if nothing else, Jefferson’s reflections on wine show a deep love for the drink.

Plato

“Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the gods to man.”

The great Greek philosopher Plato takes us a step further, claiming that wine is literally the greatest gift to ever be given to mankind by the gods.

We tend to agree with him there, though we are a little biased.

This quote shows the sheer reverence that the Ancient Greeks held for their wines. In fact, they were so in love with the drink that they even had a god specifically dedicated to it. The Ancient Romans followed suit, which perhaps helped to spark the Italian love affair with wine that lives on to this day.

Ernest Hemingway

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”

One of the greatest authors who ever lived, Hemingway obviously had a way with words. And in this quote, we see his pure love for wine spill out. Much like Plato and Jefferson, Hemingway views wine as perfection, going so far as to call it the greatest sensory experience gifted to mankind.

And again, it’s difficult to argue with him.

Wine satisfies the cravings of almost all of our senses. Taste and smell are the most obvious ones. However, wine is a complete sensory experience. We gaze into our wines. We enjoy them in the company of others, with drinking wine often linked to great conversation. We even enjoy the feel of bottles of wine in our hands.

It is a completely enthralling experience.

Burgess Meredith

“Wine, it’s in my veins and I can’t get it out.”

How many times have you felt the same way as Burgess Meredith? The great actor loved wine so much that he felt like it was a part of him. And anybody who has ever heard the siren call of that bottle they have stored in the house knows exactly how he feels.

Great wines reach us on a level that no other drink can. They inspire us through their taste and their history. And as many Italian wine producers will tell you, their wines truly become part of their blood. It is etched in the histories as deeply as anything else in their lives.

Dan Ackroyd

“Wine represents to me sharing and good times and a celebration of life. It is always around happy occasions with family and friends and centred around joy. What better item to be involved in than something that represents all these wonderful things.”

Who would have thought that the man behind Ghostbusters would give is the most relatable quote about Italian wine that we’ve ever heard?

This is exactly what wine represents to so many millions of people.

It is not simply an alcoholic beverage. Great wines have the power to bring people together, creating shared and joyful experiences in the process. So many of us share the same types of happy memories that Dan Ackroyd alludes to here. When we think about wine, we think about the wonderful times that we’ve spent with those closest to us.

Stephen Fry

“Wine can be a better teacher than ink, and banter is often better than books.”

Again, we have one of the great wordsmiths of our time reminiscing on all of the wonderful conversations that he has had while drinking wine with his friends.

And again, we couldn’t agree more with him.

Great wine unites us and inspires us to talk about everything in life. These conversations allow us to learn more about life, the people we love, and everything in between. While we love few things more than settling in with a good book and a nice glass of wine, it is often the banter between friends that we think of when we reminisce on our fondest Italian wine memories.

The Final Word

So many wonderful words have been said about wine that it is impossible to list them all here. There are many quotes that are just as potent and powerful as the above that we have not shared.

Perhaps you have a favourite quote or phrase about Italian wine?

Allow it to inspire you to develop a deeper appreciation for your wines. After all, wine is so much more than a drink. It is art in a glass.