Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
Which aromatic compound is often responsible for a distinctive note of roses?
Geraniol
Geraniol is a type of terpene, compounds which often cause aromas of resin, herbs, or flowers in a finished wine. Geraniol is often responsible for wine scents reminiscent of geranium or, in many cases, roses/rose petals.
True or False: Italy's Acqui DOCG (featured alongside the better known Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG) is meant for only dry, still rosé wines?
False
While Brachetto d’Acqui is sweet and sparkling (“frizzante”), wines made under the Acqui DOCG are dry rosé wines. This is meant as a revitalization of the dry Brachetto style that was well-known in the late 1800s. However, Acqui DOCG wines can be vinified as either sparkling or still, with lower sugar content than their sweeter “Brachetto d’Acqui” cousins.
True or False: Germany imports the most liters of wine per person annually?
False
Germans import an impressive 17.5 liters of wine per person, but they don't take the number one global spot. That honor goes to Belgium, which imports over 26.3 liters of wine per person each year.
The Castelão grape variety is also known by what name?
Tinta Merousa
Castelão for several decades was the most widely planted red grape variety in Portugal. It goes by a few other names, including Periquita, João de Santarém, and Tinta Merousa (particularly in the Douro).
Codru is located in central Moldova, and is influenced by the presence of oak and linden forests. White wines traidtionally do well there, including Muscat, Traminer, and Chardonnay.
True or False: Rioja wine sales are dominated by red wines?
True
Red wine comfortably dominates the total volume of Rioja wine sold globally. While white and rose wines are also made there, a whopping 87% of all Rioja wines sold are red.
True or False: Winemaking in Armenia didn't begin until modern times?
False
Armenian winemaking is ancient, and they have the evidence to prove it. It's oldest winery dates back over 6,000 years, based on findings made in the Areni-1 karst cave in the Armenian mountains. A rudimentary grape press, along with clay wine jars discovered in the cave included traces of grape pigments, alcohol and other grape materials from winemaking.
Which New Zealand wine region produces the second most volume of wine grapes harvested in the country?
Hawke's Bay
Marlborough is New Zealand's highest production wine area, accounting for 75% of the country's wine grape harvest annually. Hawke's Bay takes (a distant) second place, generating 12% of New Zealand's wine grape harvest each year.
True or False: Rioja's new Vinedo Singular wine designation has a minimum vineyard age requirement?
True
Rioja's new Vinedo Singular designation can only be used on wines that come from plots within a single vineyard. Among other requirements, the vineyard must be at least 35 years old .
What is the most widely planted white grape in Rioja?
Viura
Taking up just over 69% of the region's white grape plantings, Viura is by far the most widely planted white grape in Spain's Rioja. Malvasia, Garnacha Blanca, and Tempranillo Blanco combined make up just over 18% of Rioja's white grape plantings.
