Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
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).
About how many hectares of vineyards are farmed in Austria?
46000
As of 2018, Austria had 46500 hectares of vineyards, from which 2.75 million hectolitres of wine were produced. Generally, Austria produces about as much wine as is consumed locally within the country, though thankfully for wine lovers they export about 52 million litres.
True or False: as of July 2019, there was no standard keyboard emoji for white wine?
True
While the "Wine Glass" was approved as part of Unicode 6.0 in 2010, and red wine has been represented in keyboard emoji since Emoji 1.0 in 2015, a white wine emoji has been conspicuously absent. In 2019, Chardonnay pioneer Kendall-Jackson Winery co-authored a 19-page proposal outlining the need for a white wine emoji addition, for review by the Unicode Technical Committee (UTC) .
What are the defining characteristics of Austria's Wachau wine region?
All of the above
Austria's Wachau wine region is notable for its steep vineyards, which grow along the Danube River from Spitz to the Loiben Basin. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wachau's dry stone terraces have allowed for viticulture for more than 1000 years, acting as a means to protect the vineyards from erosion.
The largest contiguous St. Laurent vineyard in the world is located in Austria. What is its name?
Ried Stiftsbreite
Ried Stiftsbreite, located in Tattendorf, Austria, can claim to be the world's largest contiguous planting of the St. Laurent grape, having planted roughly two kilometers of St. Laurent vines.
The Zierfandler grape variety is also known by what other name?
Spätrot
Zierfandler is sometimes called Spätrot, a name that comes from the reddish color that develops on the sun-exposed sides of the grape when it ripens on the vine.
Of the following grapes, which is NOT a prominent variety grown in Austria's Thermenregion?
Blaufränkisch
A cross between Blauer Zimmettraube and Weißer Heunisch, the red Blaufränkisch grape was first documented in the 18th Century in Austria (in what was then Germany, where it was called Lemberger). In that country, it is grown primarily in the Burgenland and eastern Niederösterreich regions.
