Funny and Famous Wine Quotes and Toasts

Great Writers Have Paid Homage to Wines Throughout History

Jul 3, 2009

Wine quotes and musing from history's greatest writers, philosophers, and a person named Anonymous have been around for more than 300 years, almost as long as wine!

Wine, the nectar of the Gods— the inspiration of the muse —the fruit of the vine. All of those and more have been said about wine as it has been romanticized in prose, uttered in jest or memorialized in the pages of history. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “Wine is bottled poetry,” while Dom Pérignon said “Come quickly. I am tasting the stars.” Both were trying to put into words the very nature and essence of the premium crushed elixir of the wine grape.

From the dawn of time, wine created a sensual experience. When a glass of wine was poured the senses were engaged -- the sound of the popped cork, the splash made in the glass, the smell of nature, the hues from golden to ruby, and the tickle and weight of the wine on the tongue all added to the imagery of the mind as these senses found their way to paper. It was said, "In water one sees one's own face, but in wine one beholds the heart of another.” No other drink has inspired so many poets and writers!

The skill of master winemaker created the essence of wine, but the journey of wine was chronicled by the thousands of quotes and saying penned or uttered by history's most notable characters. Quotes, quips, idioms, and sayings were passed down from Jesus, Homer, Plato, Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Wm. Butler Yeats, Virginia Wolfe, W.C. Fields, Erma Bombeck, and a host of others.

Many quotes relating to wine have been attributed to Anonymous, French and Chinese Proverb, and Irish Toast. These writers are more often quoted than some of the world's most prolific literary greats. Unfortunately, many sayings appear to have been muddled versions from prior times and authors. Sayings are also attributed to several authors or historic icons, leading to duplications and mis-quoted versions.

Such is the case of this quote, “One of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for thoughts," originally made by Dr. Samuel Johnson. Reference credit is sometimes given to James Boswell, as it was written in Boswell’s book The Life of Samuel Johnson, yet Johnson himself previously wrote it. When curious about quotes checking with Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, it has been a definitive resource for quotes for more than one hundred years.

While Bartlett’s Quotations has quotes from history's greats, it doesn't address some of today's notable unattributed witticisms that often come out while drinking wine such as:

Toasts

When toasts are needed, famous authors and those “ Proverb” and anonymous people are often referenced. The Irish seem to have been very prolific quoters and toasters, at least based upon the amount of credit given to Irish Proverbs. You would expect these quotes and toasts to pay less homage to wine or drink and more to the occasion, however, the wine drinker will find that quotes were inspired by the essence of the grape's nectar as much as the person that was being regarded with a toast.

"Here's to friendship, the wine of life, let's drink of it and to it," does justice to the wine and the person being toasted. Others that have been frequently quoted include:

There are thousand of quotes to be found and read in both old and modern literature. To borrow a quote from Samuel Butler, “Letters are like wine; if they are sound they ripen with keeping. A man should lay down letters as he does a cellar of wine.” It is obvious that many have taken this to heart and committed the essence of wine to paper for the wine drinker’s enjoyment. Cheers!

The copyright of the article Funny and Famous Wine Quotes and Toasts in Old World Wine is owned by Margo Dillard. Permission to republish Funny and Famous Wine Quotes and Toasts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.