10 things you might not know about wine

(WTOP) - Wine. It's paired with some of the world's finest cuisines -- not to mention some of the world's finest cookies.

Experts are paid to know about its thousands of varieties, and expert grocery stores market it for $3 a bottle.

It's been consumed for thousands of years, and the number of vineyards and wine producers continues to grow.

But here are some things you might not know about wine.

1. Malbec vs. Mickey and Minnie

Disneyland is a magical place, but so is wine tourism -- otherwise known as enotourism ... or oenotourism or vinitourism.

According to the California Wine Institute, 14.8 million tourists visit the state's wine regions each year. Wine country is the second most popular destination in California after Disneyland, which saw 15.9 million visitors in 2010.

California isn't the only place wine lovers travel.

In 2007, the U.S. Travel Association conducted a survey that found 27 million travelers engaged in culinary or wine-related traveling over three years. For comparison, Disney World's Magic Kingdom saw 16.97 million visitors in 2010.

The survey included a list of the top 12 destinations for wine-related travel. They are California (31 percent), New York (10 percent), Missouri (5 percent), North Carolina (5 percent), Oregon (5 percent), Pennsylvania (5 percent), Washington (4 percent), Virginia (4 percent), Texas (4 percent), Florida (2 percent), Michigan (2 percent) and Ohio (2 percent).

Activities for wine travelers include participating in winery tours, driving a wine trail, tasting locally made wines and attending wine festivals.

The survey found that wine travelers spend, on average, $973 per trip, with about 23 percent (or $219) of their travel budget going toward wine-specific activities.

2. Think Outside the Bottle