Well, it is Wednesday again, and time for the Weekly Wine Quiz. Before we get to this week’s quiz, we need to go over the answers from last week:
1. Which of the following varieties is not commonly grown in Dry Creek Valley?
a. Cabernet Sauvignon b. Merlot c. Pinot Noir d. Sauvignon Blanc
C. Pinot Noir. While Dry Creek Valley is perhaps best known for Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc, there are also a bevy of other varieties grown. Pinot, which likes cooler climates, is not one of them.
2. Of the following, which is the oldest winery in Dry Creek Valley?
a. Pedroncelli Winery b. Ridge Lytton Springs c. Rued Vineyards d. Unti Vineyards
A. Pedroncelli Winery. While there are many wineries in the Valley that span generations, Pedroncelli was one of the first, starting in 1927.
3. Which of the following is not a category for wine from the Wachau?
a. Ausbruch b. Federspiel c. Smaragd d. Steinfeder
A. Ausbruch. Ausbruch is a category of sweet wines from Burgenland. The other three are used in the Wachau in increasing levels of ripeness: Steinfelder, Federspiel, Smaragd.
4. Which of the following DAC wine regions is closest to the Wachau?
a. Kamptal
b. Kremstal
c. Mittelburgenland
d. Weinviertel
B. Kremstal. The Kremstal is directly adjacent to the Wachau to the North and the East.
Bonus Question:
Where in the world is this? This is a picture of a bridge spanning a section of Lake Sonoma on the way up to the Rockpile Appellation.
We had one winner last week: Linda of From Vinho Verde to Barolo with Love got three out of the four questions as well as the bonus! Congratulations!
Seeing that I am currently in Austria sipping on some Grüner Veltliner as I write this, why not one more week of Austria?
1. Approximately what percentage of vines in Austria are Grüner Veltliner?
a. 10% b. 25% c. 35% d. 50%
2. Zweigelt, the most popularly planted red variety in Austria is a cross between Blaufränkisch and….
a. Blauberger b. Merlot c. St. Laurent d. None of the Above (they are synonyms)
3. Which DAC has the most acreage under vine?
a. Lower Austria b. Burgenland c. Wien (Vienna) d. Wachau
4. Which of the following French varieties is most widely planted in Austria?
a. Cabernet Franc b. Cabernet Sauvignon c. Merlot d. Syrah
Bonus Question:
Where in the world is this? (OK, it is obviously in Austria, but what wine region?)
Good luck! Answers next week!
the drunken cyclist 
C, D, D, A, Kamptal
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Nice work Josh!
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Hi Jeff
I have 2 questions about last week’s quiz. According to Wikipedia Pinot Noir is planted in Dry Creek Valley but Merlot is not.So shouldn’t Merlot be the correct answer for question 1?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_Creek_Valley_AVA
According to Rued Vineyard’s website they were founded in 1882 (and Ridge is older than Pedroncelli, too). So shouldn’t Rued be the right answer?
Maybe I’m just misunderstanding something here..
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Hi Julian, thanks for your comment and your hard work!
It is far too hot to grow Pinot in Dry Creek Valley. There are certainly producers of Pinot in the Dry Creek Appellation, but they get their grapes from somewhere else (having said that, there might be an anecdotal lot of Pinot, but I could not find where). Merlot, on the other hand, is fairly widely planted. Most of the fruit is sold of to Gallo (and Merlot is mentioned on that Wikipedia page–not the best source of info, though).
As for the second part, the Rueds have been farming the land in Sonoma County for quite some time, but the winery is rather new. Ridge started with their Monte Bello winery, which is not in Dry Creek. The Lytton Springs winery did not become a part of Ridge until the early 1990’s.
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C, C, A, C and bonus: Could that be Kloster Schoenbuehel in Wachau?
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Thanks Oliver! Even naming a vineyard (I actually have no idea what vineyard it is–I was looking for the region…)
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Oh, I was trying to name the building! 🙂 I have no clue about the vineyard itself. Wachau is the region I think this is in…welcome back, Jeff!
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1. C 35%
2. C St. Laurent
3. A Lower Austria
4. Of the choices given, I’ll say C Merlot, however, according to SWE the only French red on the table of Top Grape Varieties in Austria is Spatburgunder (PN) at 650 acres.
Bonus, I’m going to say Wachau, just because it’s fun to say.
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Great job Linda!
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Hope you are having a good time in Austria (a place I want to visit).
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Had a wonderful time, thanks! And you should certainly go!
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🙂
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I enjoy these and I think I missed a few. Austria seems to be a hot spot for wine lately…
1. C
2. d
3. b
4. a (most Austria wines I’ve had tasted earthy like a Franc)
Burgenland
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I tried my best to try as many as I could and I would agree that there are some really great wines–they seem to finally be getting out from under the scandal that rocked the wine production in the country.
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