Wine is a timeless gift, celebrated for generations. The origins of wine predate written records, but is thought to have been cultivated as early as 3100 B.C. The best part? Times haven't changed—everyone (still) loves wine.

In respect for National Wine Day on Feb. 18, and the gift of wine, we've compiled a comprehensive list of timeless quotes celebrating wine from Leonardo Da Vinci, to anonymous wine fanatics, to women wine connoisseurs. Some are sweet, some are bitter, some are downright thought-provoking—like a perfect glass of wine.

Thoughts from Historical Wine Enthusiasts

photo via Wine Notes from Singapore

1. "Wine is the most civilized thing in the world." — Ernest Hemingway

2. "Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin." — Napoleon Bonaparte

3. "Men are like wine—some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age." — Pope John XXIII

4. "Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people." — Shakespeare

5. "In victory, you deserve Champagne. In defeat you need it." — Napoleon Bonaparte

6. "Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." — Benjamin Franklin

7. "The discovery of a good wine is increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star." — Leonardo Da Vinci

8. "Be careful to trust a person who does not like wine." — Karl Marx

9. "Remember, gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne!" — Winston Churchill

10. "Wine is sunlight held together by water." — Galileo Galilei

11. "The discovery of wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars." — Benjamin Franklin

12. "Give me wine to wash me clean of the weather—stains of cares." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

13. "Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know." — John Keats

14. "Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read." — Francis Bacon

15. "If we sip the wine, we find dreams coming upon us out of the imminent night." — D.H. Lawrence

16. "It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine." — Heraclitus

17. "When a man drinks wine at dinner, he begins to be better pleased with himself." — Plato

18. "Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine." — St. Thomas Aquinas

19. "Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship; and pass the rosy wine." — Charles Dickens

20. "My only regret in life is that I did not drink more wine." — Ernest Hemingway

21. "Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy." — Benjamin Franklin

22. "Either give me more wine or leave me alone." — Rumi

23. "Beer is made by men, wine by God." — Martin Luther

Anonymous Wine Lovers Speak Out

photo via Amana Colonies

24. "Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it." — Anonymous

25. "Life is too short to drink bad wine." — Anonymous

26. "A meal without wine is called breakfast." — Anonymous

27. "Love the wine you're with." — Anonymous

28. "You can't buy happiness but you can buy wine, and that's kind of the same thing." — Anonymous

29. "A good woman is like a fine red wine, once uncorked, appreciate to the full and never waste a drop!" — Anonymous

30. "It's not so bad if stuff happens, as long as you serve the right wine with it." — Anonymous

31. "Reality is an illusion that occurs due to a lack of wine." — Anonymous

32. "It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full. There is clearly room for more wine." — Anonymous

33. "Who is this "moderation" people are telling me to drink with?!" — Anonymous

34. "If you have to ask if it's too early to drink wine, you're an amateur and we can't be friends." — Anonymous

35. "There comes a time in the day when no matter what the question is, the answer is always wine." — Anonymous

36. "Whichever glass you chose, may it be more full than empty." — Anonymous

37. "Wine is more than a beverage, it's a lifestyle." — Anonymous

Quotes from Women Who Love Wine

photo via Santa Barbara Chic

38. "Wine speaks to all the senses: the eyes behold the color, tone, and shade; the nose, the bouquet, the fingers and lips caress the cool crystal; the ears delight in the subtle swishing of the liquid; the tongue rejoices in the reward of a rich harvest." — Mary Lou Posch

39. "Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine." — Joan Collins

40. "Wine is a living liquid containing no preservatives. Its life cycle comprises youth, maturity, old age and death. When not treated with reasonable respect it will wicken and die." — Julia Child

41. "Once we hit 40, women only have about four taste buds left: one for vodka, one for wine, one for cheese and one for chocolate." — Gina Barreca

42. "Artists and poets still find life's meaning in a glass of wine." — Joy Sterling

43. "Men are like a fine wine. They all start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp on them and keep them in the dark until they mature into something you'd like to have dinner with." — Kathleen Mifsud

44. "Language is wine upon the lips." — Virginia Woolf

45. "I'm like old wine. They don't bring me out very often, but I'm well preserved." — Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

46. "I like sweet wines. My idea has always been that when you're young, you like sweet wines; and then you get sophisticated, and you drink dry white; and then you get knowledgeable, and you drink heavy reds; and then you get old, and you drink sweet again." — Sally Jessy Raphael

47. "Just like becoming an expert in wine, you learn by drinking it, the best you can afford." — Julia Child

48. "Wine is earth's answer to the sun." — Margaret Fuller

49. "I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind." — Emily Bronte

50. "What I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of its own grapes." — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

51. "Wine is a gateway drug to environmentalism." — Katherine Cole

52. "There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall." — Colette

53. "If your arteries are good, eat more ice cream. If they are bad, drink more red wine. Proceed thusly." — Sandra Byrd

54. "The wine—it made her limbs loose and liquid, made her feel that a hummingbird had taken the place of her heart." — Jodi Picoult

55. "Wine is just a conversation waiting to happen." — Jessica Altieri