Talk-A-Vino

Meritage time!

Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #65, Grape Trivia – Sauvignon Blanc. In the quiz you were supposed to answer 5 questions relevant to the Sauvignon Blanc, one of the most popular grapes in the world.

Here are the questions, now with the answers.

Q1: Name the characteristic smell of (usually French) Sauvignon Blanc wine (hint – it is not the fresh cut grass)

A1: Cat pee, of course! If you don’t own a cat, find a friend who does… Well, you can figure the rest. Or just take my word for it. This is what classic Sancerre smells like…

Q2: Name [probably] the most famous wine in the world which contains Sauvignon Blanc as part of the blend.

A2: Chateau d’Yquem. In this question, I was not looking for the region, I was looking for one specific wine which stands head and shoulders above the rest. And yes, Chateau d’Yquem, the most famous Sauternes in the world, uses 20% of Sauvignon Blanc grapes as part of the blend.

Q3: Which one doesn’t belong and why?

a. Graves, b. Pouilly Fuisse, c. Pouilly Fumé, d. Sancerre, e. Touraine

A3: Pouilly Fuisse is an appellation in Burgundy, which grows Chardonnay – the rest of the appellations grow Sauvignon Blanc.

Q4: One person played a crucial role in making Sauvignon Blanc one of the major California white wines. Can you name that person?

A4: Robert Mondavi with his Fume Blanc wine almost single-handedly put Sauvignon Blanc on the California wine map.

Q5: Below is the list of great Sauvignon Blanc wines and equally great producers. Do you know which producer made which wine?

A5: The correct answer is 1e, 2d, 3a, 4b, 5c.

I’m glad to report that we do have a winner this time! Jeff, a.k.a. The Drunker Cyclist, got all 5 questions correctly! He gets unlimited bragging rights as a prize. Barbie gets an honorable mention for really pushing her point through (and she was right in what she was saying, however, it was still not the right answer – read the comment chain in the original post). Actually, I would like to acknowledge all the people who made an effort to answer the quiz – VinoInLove, WineAndHistoryVisited and EatWithNamie – please keep trying, there will be more quizzes to answer!

Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web.

Quite honestly, I don’t have a lot to share. I guess it is the heat wave on East Coast. Or just me being pathologically lazy. Or something else. No matter. So the only interesting post I want to bring to your attention is the one by W. Blake Gray, where he explains the 6 rules he applies to Twitter. It actually makes perfect sense, but I can’t say, unfortunately, that I follow the same 6 rules. Well, read it for yourself and then decide – again, I think those rules make a lot of sense.

And yes, it is too hot, so I don’t have much else to share with you. Hope the heat wave will pass soon – 102F is way (way way way) past my liking.

Stay cool, drink something refreshing and cheers!