Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
True or False: Famed Australian producer Henschke is replacing wooden fence posts in their vineyards with plastic?
True
According to the book "Authentic Wine" by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop, Henschke is indeed replacing their wooden fence posts with plastic. The driver for the replacement is their concern is that the wooden posts have caused problems with vineyard soil contamination by chromated copper arsenate (CCA).
True or False: The Bordeaux wine trade, besieged by the phylloxera louse epidemic in the latter 1800s, first brought the concept of aging wine in barrels to Spain's Rioja region?
False
The view that traveling wine workers from Bordeaux brought barrel aging concepts to Rioja during the phylloxera epidemic may be incorrect. Barrel aging in Rioja actually predates the European phylloxera epidemic, according to Ana Fabiano’s book “The Wine Region of Rioja.” In the 17th & 18th centuries, Spain looked to barrels as a means of transporting wine across its empire without it arriving at its destinations as fish-smelling vinegar. The work of aristocratic families like the Quintanos - who frequented the Medoc, and loved its wines - also played a part; they brought back Bordeaux techniques for use in making and aging local wines in the mid 1780s. The results were so good, the techniques were temporarily outlawed for price gouging. In 1858, the Marques de Riscal was commissioned to find a Bordeaux export to teach winemaking to the region’s vintners, and he found Jean Pineau, a firm believer in oak aging.
Approximately how many barrels are in use in Rioja winemaking?
1,200,000
Rioja red wine production has become a massive logistical storage challenge. Reserva wines must be aged in barrel for a year, and Gran Reserva wines for two years, as specified by DOC (Denomenacion de Origen Calificada) regulation. As of 2014, there were approximately 1.2 million barrels in use in the region.
Columbia Valley is a large AVA, covering over 11 million acres, encompassing the areas of the Columbia, Walla Walla and Yakima Rivers. It also includes the smaller AVAs Red Mountain, Walla Walla Valley and Horse Heaven Hills. About 40,000 acres of the area is under vine.
True or False: Although some grape vines were planted by settlers in the 1870s, it would take another fifty years before commercial viticulture took hold in New Zealand?
False
It actually took an additional one hundred years - until the 1970s - for commercial viticulture to take off in New Zealand. Matua is credited for helping to start the modern wine industry there, having planted some of the first Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand in 1969 (and producing their first bottle in 1974).
True or False: In the Pfalz German wine region, grape vine planting is so dense that vines outnumber inhabitants 600:1?
True
The Pfalz is one of the largest and most important winegrowing areas in Germany. The area is home to about 10,000 vine growers (about half of them working as contractors), and planting density is high enough that the number of vines outnumber the Pfalz's inhabitants.
Why are there no premiers crus in the Maconnais in Burgundy?
At the time when many premiers crus were designated, Maconnais prdicucers deemed it unnecessary
According to TheDrinksBusiness.com, During German occupation of France in World War II the Maconnais was separated from the rest of Burgundy, via the line between German-occupied France and Vichy France. French wine producers within the occupied territory were told by German high command that all wine below premier cru level would be subject to confiscation, prompting a rush of premiers cru classifications. Being on the Vichy side of France, The Maconnais was not subject to confiscation, and no premiers crus were designated there.
When were the first vines planted in Washington state?
1825
According to the Washington State Wine Commission, vines were first planted in Washington in 1825, at Fort Vancouver. It wasn't until 1981, however, until the state could claim to house even twenty wineries (by 2011, that number would climb to over 750).
How many wineries call eastern Washington's Woodinville area home?
104
As of 2014, there were 104 wineries concentrated in Woodinville, and together they host about 500,000 visitors annually. Most of the resident wineries are small, but the state's largest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, is also based there.
