Well, it is Wednesday again, and time for the Weekly Wine Quiz. Last week’s Quiz was comprised of a few general wine knowledge questions, which we need to address first.
1. True or false: The word “Estate” in the name of a winery has legal meaning.
False. If the label states that the wine was “Estate Bottled” that has legal meaning–that the wine, from grapes to bottling, was under the control of the winery. If the name of the wine is “Drunken Cyclist Estate” however, there is no legal meaning to the word “Estate”.
2. Which of the following is not a benefit from the punt in the bottom of a wine bottle.
a. It makes the bottle stronger. b. It is useful in helping to pour the bottle. c. It catches sediment. d. Puntless bottles are more easily identified as counterfeits.
D. Puntless bottles are more easily identified as counterfeits–this is completely false.
3. What does it mean to “punch the cap”?
a. To pop off the top of a wax-coated bottle. b. To push down a broken cork back into the bottle. c. Another term for sabering a bottle of champagne. d. Pushing floating grape skins back into the fermenting juice.
D. Pushing floating grape skins back into the fermenting juice.
4. Which of the following is associated with a buttery smell in white wine?
a. Lactic Acid b. Citric Acid c. Malic Acid d. Tartaric Acid
A. Lactic Acid
Bonus Question: What well-known figure is associated with this wine?
Richard Gere had this wine made for his Bedford Post Inn in Bedford, NY.
There were a few more players last week, and we have a couple of winners: Anatoli of Talk-a-Vino and Julian from VinoInLovenot only got all the questions right, but they also got the bonus question right as well! Congratulations! An honorable (or perhaps dis-Honorable) mention goes to HoneyDidYouSeeThat who was smart enough to realize that Anatoli was right and said “When in doubt, cheat. So same as above.”
On to this week’s quiz. This week, I decided to throw a few questions about Champagne out there:
1. What percentage of Champagne production is vintage designated?
a. 10% or less. b. 15% c. 20% d. 25% or more.
2. Which of the following is likely most responsible for the earliest development and production of sparkling champagne?
a. The blending of several vintages b. The addition of the liqueur de tirage. c. The invention of "riddling" by Veuve Clicquot. d. Stronger bottles, capable by using coal to heat the glass.
3. Which of the following is in Champagne?
a. Clos de la Coulée de Serrant b. Clos des Goisses. c. Clos de l'Echo. d. Clos Pepe.
4. What term does not describe a wine from Champagne?
a. Doux b. Grand Cru c. Premier Cru d. Vendange Tardives
Bonus Question: Who is this and what type of vines are these likely to be?
Good luck! Answers next week!
the drunken cyclist 
I really do nothing about wine… Just that it gets me wankered really quickly. Which is possibly its most important attribute, no?
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The word “wandered” gets me every time!
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I got this, Google-free of course –
1 B – 10 or less is too low, 20 too high
2 B – Assuming I remember liqueur de triage correctly as adding sugar/yeast for 2nd fermentation
3 B – CLos Pepe is in Cali and my answers for 1 & 2 were B so I’m keeping the trend
4 D – isn’t that late harvest
Bonus – Drew Barrymore. I think she started growing Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. We’ll go with PG because she makes vapid superficial movies and we can’t expect anything more from her wine.
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Excellent work, Google-free Obi Wan.
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1. difficult question. Most of the sources seems to suggest that 10% to 15% of all Champagne production is vintage champagne, but it doesn’t seem to be an option. I will go with b, 15%
2. I think that if it would not be for the stronger bottles, there would be no champagne, so I will go with d.
3. b. Clos des Goisses
4. d. Vendange Tardives
Bonus: Drew Barrymore and Pinot Grigio
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Yeah, once again, my wording on a question is not ideal….
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1. b
2. d
3. b
4. d
Bonus – Drew Barrymore – Pinot Grigio!
And I didn’t just copy Talkavino, I looked up all the answers myself. It was just a bonus that that mine matched his 🙂
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Suuuuure….
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Ok here goes:
1. b
2. Now, I always thought champagne was an ‘accident; and there’s that whole story about the benedictine monks but I HAVE to go with the BRITISH guy (cue uproar from entire champagnois region) who did the first second fermentation I believe SO b. I think.
3. b
4. d
Bonus – Drew Barrymore and Pinot Grigio! Yay finally my useless celebrity knowledge has come in useful. Has anyone tried this wine by the way?
Just realised most of my answers are b which by law of averages means I’m probably wrong somewhere…thanks Jeff!
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Most of the time, my answers are B!
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A, C, B, D, Drew Barrymore
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Excellent work!
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