Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
What aroma is caused by Isovaleric acid in wine?
Cheese
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.
True or False: Much of the central and southern portions of the Crozes-Hermitage area were once planted with fruit trees?
True
Peach orchards and other fruit trees were once widely planted in the central and southern portions of Crozes-Hermitage, because of the soil's relatively high content of potassium residue. It is widely believed that this residue imparts a round, fleshy characteristic to the region's wines.
How many bottles of wine are produced annually in France's Crozes-Hermitage appellation?
7 million
As of 2017, the 11 districts of the Crozes-Hermitage area of France's Rhone produces about seven million bottles of wine per year. Located at the 45th Parallel, Crozes-Hermitage has approximately 4200 acres under vine.
