Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
Which of the following Italian wine grape varieties is named after a pine cone?
Pignolo
The Pignolo variety (a red grape that is native to Italy's Friuli Colli Orientali area that nearly became extinct) takes its name from "pigna" - "pine cone" in Italian. Pignolo's grape bunches are small and compact on the vine, making them reminiscent of pine cones.
True or False: The stone terraces prevalent in Austria's Wachau vineyards are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
True
The Wachau, and its landscape of dry-terraced vineyards, were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Dry terraces have been used to support viticulture on the steep hills of the region for more than one thousand years, providing erosion protection, heat retention, and a natural habitat for insects and animals that feed on common vineyard pests.
Which of the following is the trademark name used for the highest quality category of wines from Austria's Wachau region?
Smaragd
Meaning "emerald" and taking its name from the area's local green lizards, Smaragd is the trademark name used for the highest quality of Wachau wines. Steinfeder (named after an indigenous grass in Wachau) is used for the lightest category of the region's wines, and Federspiel (named after a falconry dummy) is the term used for Wachau's medium alcohol content wines.
Which Sonoma vineyard is home to some of the oldest Semillon plantings in all of California?
Monte Rosso
Named after "red earth," the Monte Rosso vineyard (situated on the Southwest side of the Mayacamas mountain range) was planted in 1886 with Zinfandel and Semillon. Some of those vines are still producing fruit today, making the vineyard home to some of the oldest producing Semillon vines in California. The fruit is currently used as a blending component for Louis M. Martini's Sauvignon Blanc.
Which Austrian wine region typically has the lowest average grape yields?
Thermenregion
Thermenregion, with its 42 different wine-growing villages, typically has the lowest average grape yields among Austria's wine regions. The area's 2181 hectares of vineyards, bordering the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), have ample thermal faults and springs, but little to no volcanic soils.
Which of the following is NOT part of Austria's Kremstal wine region?
Strass
Kremstal consists of three main vineyard zones in Austria: the town of Krems, the rocky Krems River valley, and the villages surrounding the Gottweig Abbey south of the Danube river. Strass is one of the leading viticultural towns in the Kamptal region of Austria.
True or False: of the top ten most-planted wine grapes in South Africa, Pinotage is the only variety with decreasing plantings since 2007?
False
Within the top ten most-planted wine grape varieties in South Africa, Pinotage is the only member of that group to have seen an increase in hectares planted since 2007. As of 2017, Pinotage's plantings in South Africa have increased from 6.5% to 7.4% of the country's total area under vine.
True or False: the grape name Pinotage is partly derived from the word "Hermitage?"
True
The Pinotage grape was created in South Africa in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault. Abraham Perold, the first Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University, had hoped to create a wine with the flavors of Pinot Noir, but without the difficulty that grape demonstrates for farming in South Africa. Cinsault, known locally at the time as Hermitage, grew well in the South African climate, and was thus chosen as the partner grape for the crossing.
Which of the following is NOT permitted in the production of Austria's Grosse Reserve sparkling wines?
Machine grape harvesting
Of the three quality tiers permitted in Austrian sparkling wine (Sekt), the most stringent is Grosse Reserve: it requires that grapes be hand-harvested only and pressed within a single municipality, and that the resulting wine must have its secondary fermentation (which provides the bubbles) in bottle (with thirty months of maturing on the lees).
True or False: Austria has more red wine grapes planted than white wine grapes?
False
67 percent of the wine grapes planted in Austria are white. Of those, Grüner Veltliner predictably leads the way, accounting for 31 percent of the plantings (of the reds, Zweigelt leads at 14 percent).
