Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
What percentage of Asolo Prosecco production is labeled "Sui Lieviti"?
1%
"Sui Lieviti" means “on the lees,” and accounts for a mere 1% of the production of Asolo Prosecco. Most Asolo Prosecco is made in the Extra Dry and Brut categories, which together account for over 90% of all Asolo Prosecco production.
True or False: One of the alternative names for Carménère is a reference to the size of its seeds?
True
Carménère is a relative of Cabernet Sauvignon (being an offspring of Cabernet Franc and Gros Cabernet), and shares some of that well-known variety's characteristics. One of the names for Carménère, Grande Vidure (large hollow), is a reference to a time when it was believed to be a large-seeded clone of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Which of the following wine regions is NOT part of Australia's Victoria?
McLaren Vale
Australia's Victoria is home to several important wine regions, such as Beechworth and Yarra Valley (both known for Pinot Noir), as well as Rutherglen (famous for its fortified dessert wines). McLaren Vale, however, is not one of those regions, as it is situated in South Australia.
True or False: Australia's Victoria wine region contains over 650 producers?
True
Australia's Victoria wine region is home to just over 650 producers, making wine from fruit supplied by over 1,100 grape growers, farming more than 22,000 hectares of vines.
True or False: Portugal's Alentejo winegrowing region sees some of the highest sunshine amounts in Europe?
True
Portugal's Alentejo region enjoys over 3,000 hours of sunshine annually. This puts is on par with San Diego, and is well above Portugal’s national average of sunshine hours (already the highest in Europe, according to Wines of Alentejo).
What grape variety is also known as Preto Mortágua and Mortágua?
Touriga Nacional
An important red grape variety for Portugal's Alentejo region, Touriga Nacional is also known in the Dão and Douro regions as Preto Mortágua, Mortágua, Tourigo Antigo, and Tourigo.
What is the more common name of the grape variety also known as Grande Vidure, Carmenelle, Cabernelle, Grant Carmenet, Carbouet, and Cabernet Gernischt?
Carménère
Carménère's name is derived from the French carmin (meaning crimson), a tribute to the color that its vines' leaves turn in Autumn. Carménère is also known as Grande Vidure, Carmenelle, Cabernelle, Grant Carmenet, Carbouet, and Cabernet Gernischt (the latter being used primarily in China, where it is also planted).
Carménère is a cross between Cabernet Franc and what other grape variety?
Gros Cabernet
Considered one of the original six red grapes of Bordeaux, and now planted primarily in Chile, Carménère is a cross between Cabernet Franc and Gros Cabernet.
About 70% of what Portuguese grape variety is found in the Lisboa wine region?
Vital
Vital has a reputation for being difficult to grow, Vital plantings have declined in recent decades. However, this white wine grape variety is seeing some popularity again among producers in its home region of Lisboa, where about 70% of all Vital can be found according to Vinhos de Lisboa.
True or False: cultivation of the Cortese grape variety in Italy dates back to the 10th century?
True
The first references to the cultivation of Cortese (the grape variety used to make Gavi) date back to the 10th century, when the region belonged to the Obertenghi Marquises. Genoa's merchant fleet ensured that the wines made from Cortese were sold well abroad, and they became a symbol of the quality of goods from the area.