Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
True or False: Today's Falerno del Massico DOC wines are made according to the ancient recipes of the historically famous Falernum wines?
False
Falerno del Massico wines are made with modern winemaking techniques, and likely bear little resemblance to the famous Falernum wines of antiquity from the same region in Campania. Ancient Falernum wines were described by Horatio as severus (thick), fortis (strong), and ardens (ardent). While those could be used to describe some red Falerno wines today, Falernum was often aged in amphorae and sweetened with Hymettus honey from Africa.
What wine grape was a favorite of the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV?
Pallagrello Nero
Ferdinand IV had his gardeners design a fan-shaped vineyard near the palace of Caserta, with ten sections each representing varieties from the Reign of Two Sicilies. Campania's only grapes in the garden were the since nearly-forgotten Pallagrello Nero and Bianco varieties. The King liked their wines so much that they were the only Italian wines presented at banquets with the French regime in the early 1800s.
True or False: The former name of Madiran was Maridan?
True
Gascony's Madiran wine region was once called Maridan, named after the patron saint of the village church and nearby monastery, Mario Dona. The name was presumably modified during Revolutionary times in the area.
Sardinia's Vernaccia di Oristano is related to what other grape variety grown in Italy?
None of the above
Vernaccia di Oristano is thought to be a distinct grape of ancient origin in Sardinia, with cultivation dating back to the time of the Phoenicians. The name likely comes from the Latin vernaculus, meaning "domestic," which could explain why other grapes have similar names in Italy. Vernaccia di Oristano was designated as its own DOC in 1971.
True or False: Winemaking in Sardinia can likely be traced back to the Bronze Age?
True
There is evidence that winemaking was taking place in Sardinia as early as the 2nd Century AD, however the island's indigenous Vitis Vinifera vines have been traced back to the Nuragic period (the Bronze Age).
True or False: Wines from the Lessini Mountains must be vinified dry?
False
The Lessini Mountains area in the Veneto is home to the Monti Lessini Durello Passito DOC, from which sweet wines are made utilizing the appassimento (grape drying) method.
The Veneto's Durello grape most likely got its name from a word meaning what?
Hard
Durello likely gets its name from duro, meaning "hard" or "tough." In De Agricoltura, Pliny the Elder cites a Lessini Mountains area grape that is "duracinus" (or, "with a tough skin"), and local documents in the region dating back to 1292 mention a grape variety called Durasena.
Which of the following wine grapes cannot be found in Italy's Campania region?
None of the above
While better known for Fiano, Greco, and Aglianico, Italy's Campania permits a wide variety of native grapes in some of its sub-regions, including all of the grapes listed in this quiz question. What Campania doesn't utilize much of, in comparison to its other sister regions in Italy, is international grape varieties.
True or False: Campania's white wine grape Fiano is named after a phrase meaning "vine of the birds?"
False
Fiano was originally known as Vitis apiana, which is Latin for "vine of the bees." The grape has been in use for over two thousand years, however, and in that time its original name has morphed considerably. Fiano now finds what is regarded as its highest expression in Fiano di Avellino DOCG wines.
Italy's Campania wine region takes its name from a Latin phrase meaning what?
Happy land
Campania, near Naples, is one of Italy's oldest wine regions, tracing its history back to the 12th Century BC. It takes its name from the Latin phrase "Campania felix," which translates (approximately) to "happy land."
