What do you know about wine? Take our quiz

L’Eglise of Pomerol. Photo by Marla Norman.

Part I. In the Vineyard 

1. What is a hectare?
a) 2.47 acres
b) 2.17 acres
c) 100 acres

2. What is terroir?
a) earthiness of wine
b) metallic elements imparted in wine
c) combination of soil & climate giving wine character

3. What is green harvest? 
a) deleafing
b) cutting off immature & uneven fruit
c) change of color of the grape berries

4. What are millerandage and oidium?
a) problems in the vineyard
b) organic products to help growth
c) combination of soil & climate giving wine character

5. What is a varietal?
a) combination of grapes under one canopy
b) wine made from a single grape variety
c) a blend

6. What is a Clos?
a) Premier Cru
b) Grand Cru
c) a walled vineyard

7. What is veraison?
a) harvest time
b) crush time
c) grape berries changing color

8. What is biodynamic viticulture?
a) concept of Rudolf Steiner
b) organic growing
c) moral & physical contract with nature
d) all of the above

9. What about sulfites?
a) They keep freshness in wine.
b) They can give people headaches.
c) There’s no getting rid of them. They are natural components in wine.
d) all of the above.

10. In Bordeaux blends, which is harvested first?
a) Merlot
b) Cabernet Franc
c) Cabernet Sauvignon

Caves at Château de Meursault. Photo by Marla Norman.

Part II. In the Winery

11. What is malolactic fermentation?
a) malic acid is transformed into lactic acid
b) an increase of acidity through bacterial removal
c) a process that happens before alcoholic fermentation

12. What is pigeage?
a) gauging of alcohol content
b) filtering of wine
c) punching down the cap for color and flavor extraction

13. What are the lees?
a) source for tartaric acid
b) deposits of dead or residual yeast
c) all of the above

14. What is chaptalization?
a) final blending of varietals
b) addition of sugar to unfermented grape must
c) lowering alcohol content in wine to make it legal

15. What is pomace?
a) selected grapes to make reserve wines
b) solid remains of grapes after pressing including seeds and stems
c) wine made from whole clusters

16. What are tannins?
a) polyphenols found in fruit skins
b) elements lowering bitterness and astringency
c) necessary for alcohol content
d) all of the above

17. Is destemming the same for red and white wine making?
a) no difference at all
b) In red wines, stems are often removed because of their high tannin content.
c) In white wines, stems are always removed because of their vegetal aroma.

18. What is the reason barrels are toasted?
a) Vanilla aromas are released from the cellulose of the wood.
b) Tannins in the wood are softened.
c) Spicy notes and other aromas are imparted
d) all of the above

19. Which red wines have the most tannins?
a) Barbera
b) Tempranillo
c) Syrah

20. Which red wines have the least tannins?
a) Cabernet Sauvignon
b) Barolo
c) Pinot Noir

ANSWERS: 1) a. 2) c. 3) b. 4) a. 5) b. 6) c. 7) c. 8) d. 9) d. 10) a. 11) a. 12) c. 13) c. 14) b. 15) b. 16) a. 17) b. 18) d. 19) c. 20) c.

18-20 – You can start writing these articles instead of me!
14-17  –  You pay attention to what’s going on when you buy a bottle of wine.
10-13 –   Maybe you should pay a little more attention to the wine in your glass.
Under 10 –  You are mostly interested in the buzz. But that’s ok too.

We’ll have another quiz up soon. Until then, keep researching!

Cartoon illlustration by James Thurber for The New Yorker.