Test your wine knowledge with quiz questions from our expert.
What is a nickname that was once given to the Brettanomyces wine yeast?
The British Fungus
According to Master of Wine Christy Canterbury, Brettanomyces (often responsible for a variety of odors in red wine, ranging from spices and cloves to off-putting Band-Aid and cheese aromas) was once known as "The British Fungus."
Wine aromas resulting from the actions of Brettanomyces (Brett) yeast are often divided into "good" (spices and cloves) and "bad" (Band-Aid and animal). What is the most common ratio of "bad" Brett volatile phenols to "good" ones found in some red wines?
10 to 1
According to Master of Wine Christy Canterbury, the ratio of “bad” (4-ethylphenol, or "4EP") to “good” (4-ethylguaiacol, or "4EG") in red wines can be about 10 to 1 generally. However, that Brett ratio can differ significantly depending on the type of wine, and can be 8 to 1 for Bordeaux style red blends, 3 to 1 for Pinot Noir, and an astonishing 24 to 1 for Shiraz.
What volatile phenol is associated with an aroma of Band-Aid in wine?
4-ethylphenol (4-EP)
A by-product of the wine yeast Brettanomyces, 4-ethylphenol (4-EP) imparts aromas reminiscent of animals, horse saddles and (more often) Band-Aid. Whether or not this is viewed as a fault in a wine is most often a matter of personal preference.
True or False: French explorers made wine from native grape varieties when exploring the Great Lakes in Michigan?
True
According to the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council, in the late 1600s Louis Hennepin wrote of wild grapevines from which were made “great quantities of wine” during the inaugural voyage of Rene Robert Cavelier's ship The Griffon. These French explorers sailed into what they called the “Upper Great Lakes” from Lake Erie, where they found wild grapevines growing along what is now known as the Detroit River.
The influential and popular Japanese Manga "The Drops of God" is heavy on the French vino, but one U.S. wine has made the ranks as one of the "Apostles" wines sought after by the comic's protagonists. Which producer made that wine?
Sine Qua Non
The 2003 Sine Qua Non The Inaugural (Eleven Confessions) Syrah is the U.S. wine that made the cut and got a prestigious mention in "Drops of God," appearing as the "Seventh Apostle" in the comic.
The Santa Maria Valley American Viticulture Area became the third AVA established in the United States in what year?
1981
Santa Maria Valley was declared the third AVA in the U.S. in 1981. It was originally comprised of just over 97 thousand acres in Southern San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara counties, with borders that were originally based on area roads.
The first wineries in the Pacific Northwest were located in what U.S. state?
Idaho
According to Constellation Wines U.S. Applications Chemist (and former University of Idaho professor) John Thorngate, Idaho was the site of the first official wineries in the Pacific Northwest. That U.S. state had a thriving wine industry dating back to the mid 1800s, until it was stymied by Prohibition in the early 1900s.
True or False: A wine's phenol content determines its level of perceptible astringency?
False
While a wine with more polyphenolic compounds(such as tannins) is likely to feel more astringent in your mouth, according to Clark Smith's book "Postmodern Winemaking" it's the way that tannin molecules are assembled that primarily determines how much astringency we perceive in a finished wine.
Tartaric acid is rare in plants, but is prevalent in grapes, varying in concentration based on grape variety and the soils types in which the grapes are grown. This kind of acid develops during flowering and remains stable in the fully-matured grapes. Tartaric acid helps in stabilizing wine and retaining its color, and are the cause of the crystals that appear in some wines when they age (resulting as a by-product of tartaric acid’s solubility).
