Opening a bottle of wine starts at 6.59pm exactly, according to research by California wine brand JaM Cellars into the wine habits of 2000 Americans. But hang on, what time was that again? The American clock is anywhere between 5 and 10 hours behind UK-based Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in a country so vast it has six time zones. So in Brit-time Wine o’Clock starts at one minute to midnight and goes on to almost 5am.
Well, an all-nighter might be okay for a marketing survey but in real life when exactly is Wine O’Clock?
The Oxford English Dictionary officially recognised the phrase in 2015 and defined it as 'an appropriate time of day for starting to drink wine', which for most people will be clocking-off time from work - or the time you shut down the lid on your laptop in these home-working pandemic times. So anytime after 5pm? Or at anytime on a Friday if you were participating in the Prime Minister’s household ‘wine-time Fridays’.
Still not sure? Then buy yourself a Wine Time themed clock on Zazzle for £35, or get in a Wine o’Clock food and wine hamper from Hays Hampers for £33-£35 (in both white and red wine versions). You could ask the owners of Wine O’Clock wine shop in the Kings Heath area of Birmingham, or just decide for yourself when it’s an appropriate time to slurp some vino.
Here at WineUncorked we’ve decided the perfect time is 7pm – so that’s when we start our monthly online wine tasting events (next one on Thursday 10th February with Smooth tasting wines). But for our American readership on the east coast that’s a start time of 2pm...or 3pm when we Spring forward into British Summer Time and Daylight Saving Time in March.
Easy isn’t it?
Timely wines recommended by www.wineuncorked.co.uk
Chateau Minuty ‘M de Minuty’ Rosé 2020
£14.99 Majestic
This Cotes de Provence rosé has fresh fruity flavours of peach and grapefruit.
£15.99 Majestic
The name comes from the way the rosé wine is made – the crushed grapes are left infusing with their skins for just 11 minutes. Such a short time means only a little of the red grape skins colour leeches out, resulting in a delicate colouring to the wine. A lightly fruity and spicy Italian wine.
Avantis Estate Agios Chronos 2017
£26 Amathus Drinks
This Greek red is named Holy Time and is the flagship wine of Avantis Estate. Made with a blend of the red grape variety Syrah, blended with a small amount of the aromatic white grape Viognier, the result is perfumed blackberry flavours.
£35 Petersham Cellars
An Italian sweet dessert wine named after vineyard owner Signor Volta. Mr Time, as he would be known in English, makes this wine in the passito style. That is the grapes are partially dried to concentrate their sweetness before they are made into wine. Apricot and honey flavours.
Ten Minutes By Tractor Chardonnay 2018
£35 Laithwaites
The joining of the three Australian vineyards into one, all 10 minutes apart by tractor, gives this wine its name. Flavours of citrus and vanilla.
Related articles
Monthly online wine tasting events with Paula from WineUncorked
More monthly online wine tasting events with Paula from WineUncorked
