Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
What grape is sometimes used in Reuilly to make rosé?
Pinot Gris
Similar to how some Pinot Grigio is produced in Northern Italy, the French Loire Valley region of Reuilly sometimes produces wine made from Pinot Gris that allows color to be extracted during the winemaking process by letting the juice remain on the skins of the grapes. Since Ponit Gris does have a slight skin color, this results in a lightly colored rosé wine.
True or False: Still rosé wine is produced in the Champagne region of France?
True
While Champagne is justifiably famous for its sparkling rosé wines, some still rosé is made in the region using Pinot Noir grapes, under the Rosé des Riceys appellation. Les Riceys also can lay claim to producing wine under a rare combination of three Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée (AOCs): Champagne, AOC Côteaux Champenois (for red wine), and Rosé de Riceys.
Isovaleric acid, produced by Brettanomyces yeast, can cause wine to smell sweaty or cheesy, generally considered a fault when present in large enough amounts.Brettanomyces can also produce compounds that have aromas considered pleasant (including cloves, smoke, spice, and lilac).
What term is used to describe a wine with a noticeable amount of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs)?
Reduced
Reduction/reduced is a term used to describe wines with detectable levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VLCs). Usually (but not always), this manifests as an odor similar to rotten eggs, caused by the presence of hydrogen sulfide (other VSC aromas include vegetable-like smells such as onion, corn, and cabbage).
True or False: The state of Pennsylvania has wineries that are forty or more years old?
True
Buckingham Valley Winery, Adams County Winery, Presque Isle, Mazza Vineyards, and Nissley Vineyards are all Pennsylvania state wineries that were founded 40 or more years ago in the 1970s.
The Italian wine Ramato is a rose style wine made from what grape variety?
Pinot Grigio
Ramato (typically made in Italy's Friuli region) could be thought of as an "orange" wine, as it takes its "copper" moniker from the resulting hue imparted by Pinot Grigio grapes that undergo some skin contact during fermentation.
True or False: The Chablis Grand Cru sites Les Clos and Blanchot are separated by an ancient path called The Blessed Path?
False
The path that separates Les Clos and Blanchot in Chablis is called La Voie Meurtriere, or "The Deadly Path." The path has been mentioned as far back as the 16th Century.
Which of the following Chablis Grand Cru sites is named for its pale-colored limestone soils?
Blanchot
The Blanchot Grand Cru takes its name from the 1500s moniker Couste de Blanchot, itself stemming from the Germanic word for "blank." This was, no doubt, a reference to the site's rocky, white limestone soils.
What Spanish DO forms a geographic semi-circle around the Priorat winemaking region?
Montsant
The Montsant DO houses the Montsant mountain range for which it is named, as well as the Prades and La Llena mountain ranges. Montsant consists of about 1800 hectares, and the geography encases the area of Priorat.
The Samso grape variety is more commonly known by what name?
Carignan
Carignan is also known as Carinyena in Spain, and as Samso in Catalan. The Catalan area houses the Montsant DO, which has over five hundred hectares of Carignan planted.
