Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
As of 2015, Madeira producers can use what new aging category on labels of Madeira wine?
50 years
Technically not an average blend age but a stylistic certification, in 2015 an "over 50 years" category has been added to Madeira, joining the previously existing 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 year old categories. The new category is meant to represent the pinnacle of Madeira aging before release.
True or False: The smallest grape supplier on the Portuguese island of Madeira farms only three plants?
True
Most of vineyard sources on Madeira island are small (the average vineyards size is only one acre), but according to Portuguese wine authority Rui Falcao, the smallest of those suppliers is quite small, indeed - it consists of grapes farmed from only three plants.
During the end of the seventeenth century and the start of the eighteenth century, what type of wine accounted for two-thirds of the wine consumed in the United States?
Madeira
According to the Madeira wine institute, the fortified wines from the Portuguese island of Madeira accounted for fully two-thirds of the wine consumed in the United States in the time just after that country's inception. New York was the primary Stateside destination for the wine around that time, drinking up half of Madeira's exports between 1785 and 1787.
What is the the term for the settling of freshly pressed grape juice during Champagne production?
Débourbage
The settling of freshly pressed grape juice prior to fermentation is called débourbage, and is common for white wine production (not just for Champagne).
True or False: In 2014, the largest export market for Douro table wines was Canada?
False
According to the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP), in 2014 the largest market for table wines from Portugal's Douro region was the southern African nation of Angola (Canada came in second).
In what way does Flor - the protective layer of yeast that forms on top of some Sherry wine while in barrel - help Sherry develop?
All of the above.
The layer of flor that coats some Sherry in the barrel helps develop the classic Spanish fortified wine in several ways. It prevents the Sherry from too much oxygen exposure, resulting in a pale color and yeasty aromas; it metabolizes some of the sugars in the wine, making the Sherry dry; and it increases acetaldehydes, which give Sherry some of its distinctive aromas.
True or False: The famed To Kalon vineyard in Napa Valley was first planted in 1966?
False
Robert Mondavi selected the To Kalon vineyard as the home of his Napa Valley winery in 1966, but that's not when it was first planted. According to Robert Mondavi Winery, the famous vineyard was first planted by Hamilton Walker Crabb nearly one hundred years earlier, in 1868.
Throughout the 19th century (and into the early 20th century), how was Champagne sweetness described?
By country of destination
Before the current scale, Champagne sweetness was referenced by destination country "style," from Goût anglais ("English taste"), through increasing levels of sweetness: Goût américain ("American taste"), Goût français ("French taste"), and Goût russe ("Russian taste", the sweetest, between 200 and 300 grams of sugar).
True or False: as of 2014, Champagne shipments to the U.S. have been on the rise?
True
According to the Bureau du Champagne, 2014 saw in excess of 19.2 million bottles of Champagne shipped to the United States, an increase of over 1.3 million bottles when compared to 2013.
What do the cellars of Champagne, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and Machu Picchu all have in common?
All have achieved Unesco World Heritage status.
In 2015, the cellars and vineyards of Champagne were granted Unesco World Heritage status, putting them on a very exclusive list with sites like Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.
