Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
In 1794, shortly before it was to be auctioned, Burgundy’s now most famous vineyard - Romanée-Conti - received its name, in homage to its owner the Prince of Conti. Only one other official Burgundy climat has been named after one of its owners. What is it
Clos des Cortons Faiveley
According to the book "Le Domaine de la Romanée-Conti" by author Gert Crum, the Grand Cru monopole Clos des Cortons Faiveley (of Domaine Faiveley), is the only other official Burgundy climat named after a former owner. It was authorized in 1930.
True or False: The component in plants that creates tannin wasn't discovered until 2013?
True
According to ScienceDaily.com, an international team of scientists discovered the plant organelle that creates tannins (which give wine structure and astringency, and serve to protect most land plants) in 2013. The scientific team that isolated the source was headquartered at INRA in Montpellier, and dubbed the organelle "tannosome."
Modern winemaking in Japan dates back to what year?
1874
Japanese researchers visited Europe to study viticulture and procure vines in the 1870s. One of the country's largest wine producers, Mercian, can trace its history back to 1877.
Between 2000 and 2011, China's total vineyard area almost doubled to how many acres under vine?
Over 1 million
In just over ten years, it's estimated that China has increased its vineyard acreage to 1,384,000 making it (unofficially) the sixth largest wine producer in the world since the year 2000.
True or false: Chenin Blanc has been grown in South Africa since the eighteenth century?
True
Chenin Blanc has been a mainstay of South African winemaking in the Cape for a few hundred years; it was one of the grape varieties grown in Constantia dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
What is the most planted wine grape in South Africa, according to total plantings?
Chenin Blanc
Accordign to Tim James' "Wines of the New South Africa," although its numbers have decreased in recent years, white wine grape Chenin Blanc still reigns supreme in vineyard plantings, constituting just over 18 percent of South Africa's area under vine. Cabernet Sauvignon comes in at number two, with 12 percent, and Colombard next at 11.8 percent. Pinotage makes up only 6.5 percent of the country's plantings.
South Africa's Ko-operatieve Wijnbouwers Verenigingvan Zuid Afrika (LWV) was established in what year?
1918
The KWV was first established as a cooperative producer in 1918, with a Dr. Kohler elected as chairman. Over the decades, the KWV came to oversee the majority of South Africa's wine business, its wine prices, and production standards. Now, the KWV functions again as a cooperative, producing more than 100 products.
True or False: The French Huguenots established viticulture in South Africa?
False
There is no doubt that the French Huguenots had a big impact on winemaking in South Africa - they helped to increase the number of vines planted there from about 100 in 1655 to 1.5 million by 1700. But it was Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company who established viticulture in South Africa when he planted grapes in South Africa in the mid 1600s, making wine in an effort to help prevent scurvy in sailors during their spice route journeys.
What are some ways that winemakers can minimize the influence and odors of Brettanomyces yeast in a finished wine?
All of the above
While the influences of Brettanomyces are not easy to control, practicing all of the techniques mentioned above can help to lower the amount of "Brett" and thus help to keep it under the detection threshold for most wine drinkers.