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Weekly Wine Quiz #47 – Frost and Grapes
It is Saturday, therefore it is the time for our traditional wine quiz.
Quite honestly, I had something else in mind as the topic for the quiz (wanted to play around some etymology and urban legends) – but considering how white is everything outside (we got about 18 inches of snow here in Southern CT), I decided to take a totally different subject for the quiz – it will be all about Ice wines (a.k.a. Icewine and Eiswein).
Here are the questions for today’s quiz:
1. Briefly explain what Icewines are, including required conditions for harvesting of the grapes.
2. Which country is the biggest producer of the Icewine? As a bonus question, narrow it down to the specific region in that country.
3. Name two most popular white grape varieties for production of the Icewine.
4. Name the winery which pioneered Icewines made from the red grapes. Name that grape as well.
Good luck and have fun! Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #46: Where In The World?
Happy Saturday, folks!
Let’s play our traditional wine quiz game. As it was done a few times in this blog, below is a picture for you, and I would like you to tell me where this picture could’ve been taken (name the winemaking region, as precisely as you can):
If I will leave you with just a picture, I think it would be a very difficult quiz and simply not fun. So, let me tell you about some of the grapes which are grown in that region:
White: Riesling, Chardonnay, Cortese, Viognier
Red: Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah
Remember, this is only a fun exercise – it doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong, but it matters if you are playing (and having fun) or not!
Looking forward to your comments.
Good luck! Have a great weekend and cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Results of Book Giveaway and a Rant
Meritage Time!
Let’s start from the answer for the Wine Quiz #45, an Easy One. In that quiz, you were supposed to answer 3 easy questions, and then simply talk about your favorite wines and wineries. All of it with an ultimate goal of leaving the comment so you can get the new wine book called “Rock and Vine” to be shipped to you. Free. And you know what – before we get to the answer and the results, let me get the rant out.
I don’t get it. So the free book (5 copies) was offered, pretty much for anyone who would care to leave a comment in the blog. According to the stats from the WordPress, the post had total of 56 views – and only 4 people left comments. Are people not reading books anymore? Did the people who wanted the book were too shy to leave a comment? Was it something I said (or didn’t say)? I’m puzzled… Honestly, I was not looking for the book giveaway as a cheap publicity shot, to attract more followers or something – I simply don’t do it. So as I said already, I’m puzzled – and if anyone want to offer a theory or explanation or simply tell me that I’m too dumb to get it – be my guest. End of the rant.
Now, let’s get to the wine quiz answers and the winners. We have two winners of the wine quiz and 3 winners of Rock and Vine book giveaway – Jeff (The Drunken Cyclist) and Oliver (The Wine Getter) are the winners of the wine quiz ( they got 3 out of 3 questions right) and both of them plus Emily (@WineMuse) are the winners of the book giveaway!
Now, if you want details, here are the first 3 questions with the answers:
1. In the famous movie “Sideways”, where (in which region) the action took place, and what were two grapes which Miles was so adamant about (one positive, one negative)?
Answers are Santa Barbara, Pinot Noir and Merlot – you can read more here.
2. Which grape is referred to as “The Real American Grape”?
Norton. By the way, Oliver, this is not my designation : ) – this designation is actually trademarked – here is the link.
3. What Judgement of Paris was all about and when did it t took place (provide short description)?
Judgement of Paris took place in 1976 and it was a blind tasting event where French wine critics overwhelmingly preferred California wines over similar French wines, which put California on a world-wide wine map. Here is the link for additional reading.
And the last two questions were:
4. Name three US wineries which you visited, want to visit or at least drunk the wine from
5. Thinking about your favorite wines, name one of them ( any one of them). As a bonus, provide short description and may be explain why is it one of your favorite wines.
Let me just quote the answers:
Emily (@WineMuse):
4. Failla, Varner, Littorai most recently
5. Whatever is in my glass at the moment 
(but really, I do like all the wines mentioned above. They are extremely well-made and unique. I also really like & respect the people that make each of them)
TheWineGetter:
4. Chateau Grand Traverse, Brys Estate and Left Foot Charley – all Traverse City based wineries whose wines I have tried but never visited. This year is the year!
5. One of them would be the 2001 Poliziano Vino Nobile Asinone which I tried in their tasting room in the fall of 2005. The wine just hit me completely unexpectedly with its depth and earthiness and was so far above the regular vino nobile that Poliziano produces. It was just incredible. (I have to name a riesling, too! Sorry. One of the many was a 1990 Vereinigte Hospitien Erdener Prälat Auslese which we had at a birthday party for Nina. The wine was dark amber in color and I have never come across such a vanilla a yellow fruit bombs in a riesling again.)
TheDrunkenCyclist:
4. I have visited Clos Pepe, Littorai, and Freeman Wineries (among countless others).
5. One of my favorites wines is the Clos Pepe Pinot Noir. The wine is phenomenal, but above that, it is made by Wes Hagen, who is one of the true characters in the wine business today.
One last note – there are still 2 books I can give away. If you want them, leave a comment or otherwise send me a note over the next two days – first come, first serve…
That’s all I have for now, folks. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #45 – an Easy One, and A Book Giveaway!
Here comes another first. No, of course not the quiz, otherwise why would it be called #45? Only few days ago I wrote my first wine magazine review, and now I’m doing my first giveaway!
It is not the wine giveaway, as some of you could’ve hope (this might be even illegal), but it is wine book giveaway. This brand new book is called Rock and Vine, and it is profiling a group of young “wine revolutionaries”, people who are [again] changing California wine industry. Here is the quote from the book’s press release:
“In Napa, fifth generation winemaker Joe Wagner creates the nation’s best selling Pinot Noir, while second generation wine brand director Christina Turley hooks a new generation on dry, high-end White Zinfandel. In Sonoma, Jordan Kivelstadt introduces America to premium wine-on-tap, while reality television star Ben Flajnik and his partners Mike Benziger and Danny Fay are mixing serious biodynamic wines with seriously good times.”
I think it should be an interesting book to read, and you even might be able get your own hard copy – and this is what this giveaway is all about.
I got 5 copies of the book to give away. In order to find 5 lucky people, I have a wine quiz which consists of 5 questions – very easy questions, I think, and some of them not even be real questions at all. The winners will be selected from the people who will leave the comments. If there will be only 5 people commenting, selecting the winners will be an easy job. If there will be more people commenting, 5 winners will be selected at random. There is one essential limitation I have to mention – this giveaway is open only to US residents – yes, I know that many of my readers come from the countries outside US, but this is not my limitation.
Here are the questions:
1. In the famous movie “Sideways”, where (in which region) the action took place, and what were two grapes which Miles was so adamant about (one positive, one negative)?
2. Which grape is referred to as “The Real American Grape”?
3. What Judgement of Paris was all about and when did it t took place (provide short description)?
4. Name three US wineries which you visited, want to visit or at least drunk the wine from
5. Thinking about your favorite wines, name one of them ( any one of them). As a bonus, provide short description and may be explain why is it one of your favorite wines.
You don’t need to win the quiz and answer all the questions in order to win the book. In essence, you don’t even need to answer any of the questions (I still hope you will answer at least some of them) – but you need to leave a comment in order to have a chance to win the book. When you will be leaving a comment, if you are not using WordPress, please make sure that your e-mail address in the appropriate field is correct. If you are a winner, I will need to contact you to get your mailing address for the publisher to send you the book.
Have fun and good luck! Open some great bottle over the weekend! Cheers!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for my own review. All opinions are my own.
Weekly Wine Quiz #44: What’s In The Numbers?
Saturday = Quiz Time, right? Well, of course not – there are thousands of more interesting things to do on Saturday than to solve the wine quiz, but in case you got a few free minutes, here is one for you.
Today’s quiz will be all about numbers. No, no, this is still a wine blog, no worries – so these numbers will be relevant to the wine world. Below you will find a group of numbers which have direct (and pretty strong) relationship with the wine world. While each number has individual meaning, the idea is that they are all related, together they define something. You will need to figure out where do they belong and what is the meaning of each number. Here we go:
A. 100%
B. 75%
C. 85%
D. 95%
Is there a controversy here? May be, but I’m not aware of it at this point, therefore, it is an official quiz.
Have fun and good luck! Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #43: Which One Doesn’t Belong?
Domaine Romanee-Conti La Tashe 2008
Time to play our weekly wine game!
I still don’t have a good idea for the series of quizzes, so we will continue jumping around for a while. As you can guess from the picture, today we will be talking about Burgundy.
When it comes to the grapes, Burgundy is probably the easiest to remember appellation in the world – they only use two grapes – all the reds are made out of Pinot Noir, and all the whites are made out of Chardonnay – easy, right? When you see a bottle of Burgundy, you don’t need to read the back label or search on internet to find out what grapes this wine is made out of, you immediately know it.
However, as everything in this world has two sides, so does Burgundy. The payback for the “grape simplicity” is probably the most complex in the world system of naming the wines, with Grand Crus, Primier Crus, Domaines, Clos and so on (no, we are not going into the Burgundy crash course here, this is just a prelude to the question).
Playing on this complexity (see, I’m honest), below is the list of Burgundy wineries, but one of them doesn’t belong – you will need to figure out which one and why:
- Clos de Lambrays
- Clos du Tart
- La Grand Rue
- La Romanée
- La Romanée Conti
- La Tache
Have fun and good luck! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Random Vine Happenings and more
First Meritage Time of the 2013!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #42, Common Traits. In that quiz, you were supposed to identify what can be common between five different wines and/or wineries. I’m happy to report that we have two winners – both vinoinlove and thedrunkencyclist correctly pointed out to the fact that all of those wines use Merlot either as the only or very major component. I also have to note that I’m very impressed with the excellent in-depth analysis conducted by VinoinLove (you can see it in the comments section of the quiz post). As usual, both winners get unlimited bragging rights as their prize.
And now, to the news! Looks like that Natalie MacLean scandal (stealing of the wine reviews etc.) keeps reverberating throughout the blogosphere – here are two recent blog posts on the subject – one from Joe Roberts (a.k.a. 1WineDude), and another one is from Chris Kassel of Intoxicology Report. Both posts are great and if you didn’t read them yet, you really should.
Next, I want to bring to your attention an event coming up in about two weeks in New York. Stefano from Flora’s Table blog posted about Vinitaly International and Slow Wine 2013 taking place in New York city on January 28th. Please check Stefano’s blog post for more information about those events.
Last but not least I want to mention an interesting post by Mike Veseth from Wine Economist blog. This blog post is talking about choice of wine available to today’s wine consumer, who makes those wines and where the wines are coming from. The post is a bit technical, so you will need to pay attention while reading it. That blog post also features a “wine universe” picture you can play with (zoom in, zoom out) – definitely very interesting to see.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty. Until the next time – Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #42: Common Traits
Did you miss these posts? Whether you did or did not – the holidays are over, and it is time to resume our traditional Saturday wine quizzes.
I wanted to come up with a nice series, as I had it with the wine reviews (#29, #30, #31 and #32), but nothing interesting came to my mind so far, so this quiz will be completely random.
Many times before I asked you to find what is different, or which item doesn’t belong to the list. This time, it is the other way around. Below is the list of different wines and/or producers from all over the world, who share something in common. Can you please tell me what it is?
- La Mondotte
- Chateau Le Pin
- Tua Rita Redigaffe
- Amuse Bouche
- Quilceda Creek
As usual, please provide the answer in the comments below.
Have fun and good luck! Happy first weekend of 2013! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Self-directed Rant, Ouch and more
Meritage time!
As usual, let’s start from the answer to the weekly wine quiz #41, Which one doesn’t belong. I would estimate the complexity of the quiz as medium, as you had to figure out what the question was all about, and then think about what item doesn’t belong to the list (and even explain why). I’m glad to report that we have a winner, who is being quite persistent at winning lately – thedrunkencyclist. He properly identified that Corton, which is a Grand Cru Appellation from Côte de Beaune, doesn’t belong to the list of Grand Cru appellations from Côte de Nuits. Well done, Jeff – and a double amount of unlimited bragging rights is all yours, as you were able to answer the question without the use of Google.
Before we get to the interesting stuff, I need to let some cringe out of the system – so we are getting to my self-directed rant. Let me just scream it out loud – I HAVE SO MANY BLOG POSTS IN MY HEAD AND I CAN’T GET THEM OUT! There, I said it. I don’t think this is a writer’s block, and if it is, it is some very sophisticated masochistic form. I have posts which should’ve been written during summer when I visited wineries in New York Hudson region. Then there were great wine tastings I had all the intentions to write about. We had an amazing time in October at Paumanok winery – and this blog post still sits in the drafts section. The list can go on and on. I still can’t figure it out how this stuff works, and it is upsetting. But – now, that I let it out of the system, I will make sure truly hope all those belated posts will follow. Okay, this is the end of my rant.
Now, there are few interesting things I want to share with you. First is what I called an “ouch” – it appears that Natalie MacLean, a well known wine writer, who has eponymous web site and iPad/Android App, had being borrowing stealing wine reviews from the other wine writers, including the reviews located on “subscription-only” web sites, such as Jancis Robinson, without any acknowledgement to the actual authors. Palate Press put out a big article on the subject, which is worth reading, including the comments section. The story of course reverberated on multiple blogs. Hopefully her readership will adjust accordingly (but I guess we will never know).
Folks behind Wine Folly published a very interesting infographic chart for the different types of wine. As a mind mapping junkie, I can only applaud any efforts to classify an extremely diverse subject, such as wine world, in a compact and comprehensible fashion. Take a look at the link above and let me know what you think (hint: this chart might be a good present for the wine geek in your life).
That’s all I have for you, folks. The glass is empty, but it will be definitely refilled soon. Happy Wine (and Whisky) Wednesday. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #41: Which One Doesn’t Belong?
As life happens, I had no chance to post the traditional Saturday quiz. But – at least it is still a weekend.
I’m going somewhat back to the basics of the wine world with this quiz, and I will probably stay with this basic theme for a while. The idea is simple – I will present you with the list of objects, which can be grapes, wines, appellations, etc. – you will need to figure out what the list is all about and then find an incongruity, an object which should not be on that list. Here we go.
Which one doesn’t belong and why?
A. Chambertin
B. Corton
C. La Grande Rue
D. Musigny
E. Ruchottes-Chambertin
If you can solve it without Google, you can double your unlimited bragging rights which come here as a prize.
Have fun and good luck. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and cheers!
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