who's buying the wine | The Green Monkey

Let’s see who should order the wine! Here’s a fun, little quiz that I got from www.wineeducation.com.

Challenge your friends and keep score. Winner gets to order and the loser gets to pay!

1. Wine is made:  a) in 50 U.S. states b) from grapes c) both d) neither

2. Bordeaux makes:  a) sweet dessert wines b) heavy red wines c) both d) neither

3. Oak is:  a) a flavor of winemaking b) a flavor of a grape c) both d) neither

4. Cabernet Sauvignon is:  a) found in Bordeaux b) a red wine grape c) both d) neither

5. German Wines are:  a) always sweet b) never red c) both d) neither

6. Chablis is:  a) a great white wine of France b) cheap and not worth drinking c) both d) neither

7. Champagne is:  a) a French wine b) any sparkling wine c) both d) neither

8. Sweet wines are:  a) usually cheap b) not good with food c) both d) neither

9. Champagne is made from:  a) red wine grapes b) white wine grapes c) both d) neither

10. Red wine is:  a) always aged b) always decanted c) both d) neither

11. Brandy is made from:  a) wine grapes b) grain c) both d) neither

12. Cognac is:  a) brandy from a specific region b) made from around the world c) both d) neither

13. Port is:  a) a fortified wine b) one of the longest aging wines c) both d) neither

14. Pinot Noir is:  a) a heavy red wine b) never found in the US c) both d) neither

Answers:

1. c) both - Wine is made in every State in the US as of this writing. There has long been a great debate over wines not made from grapes (peach and cherry as well as honey, are all common). Without entering the debate, wine obviously is made from grapes as well.

2. c) both – While Bordeaux is best known for its great Red Wines, the communes around Sauternes make some of the finest sweet dessert wines in the world from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

3. a) a flavor of winemaking – Wine is often aged in Oak barrels, which imparts a taste to the wine. This taste is highly prized by many wine lovers, although it can sometimes overwhelm the flavors of the grape. Oak is decidedly a flavor of winemaking.

4. c) both – Cabernet Sauvignon is a red grape that is at home in Bordeaux, as well as throughout the New World. It is one of the best known and popular grape varieties.

5. d) neither – German Wines can certainly be sweet, and the best of the best are; however many German wines are as dry as any in the World. These crisp dry wines are great with most foods, and can be found by looking for “Kabinett” on the label.

6. a) a great white wine of france – Chablis is considered part of Burgundy in France, even though it is north west of the rest of the region. Here Chardonnay is grown to produce one of the finest white wines in the World. Crisp, almost to a fault, these wines often represent great values, because of the damage done to the name in the US by referring to cheap jug wines as “Chablis”. While this is almost a trick question, it is important enough that I will only count “A great white wine of France” as the correct answer.

7. a) a French wine – The term Champagne refers to a sparkling wine made in the region of Champagne, France. No other sparkling wine can or at least should be able to, use this name.

8. d) neither - Sweet wines, at least the best of them, are among the highest art of a winemaker’s repertoire. These wines can be late-harvested, affected with a mold (noble rot) that draws the water out of the grapes, or they could have had the water drawn out by freezing. However they became sweet and intense, the grapes are now special and precious. The very best dessert wines use only the most intense grapes, picking them out by hand. As you may suspect this ensures that these will be among the most expensive wines in the world. When sweet, but not as sweet as dessert wines, Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, can be delightful with spicy foods and flavors like those found in Chinese and other Pacific Rim cuisines.

9. c) both – Champagne is often, but not always, made from both red (Pinot Noir) and white (Chardonnay) wine grapes. The designation Blanc de Blanc on the label means the wine was only made from white grapes. The red grapes have to be pressed very carefully not to get any color in the wine. Rose Champagne either has color from the red grapes it is made with, or sometimes they add red wine to the finished sparkling wine, to give it color.

10. d) neither – Red wine is only aged when it is of a style that is intended to age. Red wine is only decanted when it has aged and has sediment in the bottle, or if you are trying to force out an off odor

11. a) wine grapes - Brandy is a distillate of grapes. Make wine, distill it, and you have Brandy. To make good brandy you should then age it in wood so it takes on a dark color and a mellow flavor. Cheap brandies have caramel coloring, and are filtered through charcoal to soften them.

12. a) a brandy from a specific region – Cognac is a Brandy from the region of Cognac, in France. Because France has strict laws regarding all of its wine products, you can be assured that even the cheapest Cognac will be a high quality Brandy. While learning about Cognac, many people are fooled into equating price with quality. A simple hint: If it comes in a crystal bottle, the price you pay is for the bottle, not the Cognac

13. c) both - Port is a product of Portugal. In the US it is called Oporto or Porto to signify its authenticity. If it just says Port, it may be made in the US or Australia. A fortified wine, Port is one of the longest aging wines. It is not uncommon to find the 1963 vintage still available in a better restaurant or shop. Unlike dry wines with that much age on them, Port can be very well priced, rarely exceeding $175 a bottle for the very best.

14. d) neither - Pinot Noir is a red wine grape that yields a lighter, more crisp styled red wine than most other grapes. Traditionally grown in Burgundy, it is increasingly at home in the US and other New World regions. It is difficult to grow and to make, but when it is good, it is very, very good.

Your Score:

1-3 Let someone else order the wine.

4-7 Not bad, you have a good basic understanding of wine.

8-11 Very good! You know enough to be comfortable ordering or selecting a bottle of wine

12-15 You are much too savvy for this test. Check back with me when I do an “Experts Wine Quiz”!

I scored a 12 , guess I am more savvy than I tought. Have fun with this blog, forward to your friends and find out who’s buying the wine next time you’re out and about.

Have a terrific Fat Tuesday!

Deb

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 9:28 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.