Last: 2018 annual wine quiz

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Our annual Herald wine quiz is an opportunity to test your wine knowledge to see if you can give your neighbourhood sommelier a run for his or her money.

Accredited wine education is at an all-time high in Calgary and wine educators tell me it is mostly just people who want to learn more about the world’s most studied and historic drink.

Modern restaurant wine lists have evolved as well; the days of the 30-page tome are all but done except for a few high-end wine-focused establishments. Look for small but carefully chosen lists that feature interesting wines that compliment the foods being served. Having a little wine knowledge never hurts in that regard. Good luck!

1.     You are in an East Indian restaurant that specializes in spicy vegetarian dishes. Your safest bet for a good wine match would be:

a)     Chardonnay

b)     Cabernet Sauvignon

c)     Riesling, either dry or off-dry

d)     Syrah

2.     True or false: A French researcher was able to teach a chimp to detect flaws in wines simply by smelling them with near perfect accuracy. This chimp/sommelier has been dubbed “Monsieur le Nez” and his skills are now in demand across France.

3.     If you found yourself in a wine region called Alentejo you would be in which country?

a)     Spain

b)     Italy

c)     Greece

d)     Portugal

4.     The primary difference between Champagne and Prosecco, besides being produced in different countries and from different grapes is:

a)     Prosecco undergoes its secondary fermentation in a tank whereas Champagne undergoes it in the bottle

b)     Champagne must be produced from a single vineyard whereas Prosecco can be made with grades from numerous vineyards

c)     Champagne grapes are picked by hand whereas Prosecco is machine harvested

d)     All of the above

5.     If you are a Master of Wine, or MW, you are accredited as which of the following?

a)     The male partner to a Mistress of Wine, an exclusive wine club that caters to swingers

b)     As a wine expert accredited by the MW organization based out of the U.K., considered to be the highest level of wine education available

c)     A buyer for the famous Christies auction house who appoint top staff as MW’s who then are tasked with evaluating auction wines

d)     As someone whose wine collection is upwards of 5,000 bottles (which must be verified by the MW organization in order to receive MW status)

6.     Riddle me this: If you are a “riddler” in a Champagne house, you are responsible for which of the following tasks?

a)     Removing the sediment that accumulates over time prior to the final bottling

b)     Adjusting the dosage – the amount of sugar that determines the sweetness level – prior to bottling

c)     Turning the bottles on a regular basis to encourage the sediment to accumulate in the neck of the bottle for removal prior to bottling

d)     Going on hilarious crime sprees, only to be foiled by Batman time and time again

7.     Which one of the following white vinifera grapes (the genus used to make wine) is the most widely planted worldwide?

a)     Sauvignon Blanc

b)     Airen

c)     Chardonnay

d)     Riesling

8.     Sediment found in red wine can be caused by which of the following?

a)     Dead yeast cells

b)     Bits of grapes and seeds

c)     Tartrates and polymers

d)     Phenolic molecules that form tannin polymers

e)     All of the above

9.     True or false: Natural wines must be made without the use of sulphites.

10.  Chateauneuf-du-Pape can be made with which of the following grapes?

a)     Syrah and Grenache only

b)     Grenache and Mourvedre only

c)     A combination of six grapes that include the ones listed above

d)     Any combination of 13 permitted grapes that include the ones mentioned above

11.  Which famous person delivered the following quote?

“I have taken more good from alcohol than alcohol has taken from me.”

a)     Ernest Hemingway

b)     Dylan Thomas

c)     W.C. Fields

d)     Sir Winston Churchill

12.  True or false: A wine that is made from certified organically grown grapes can still — and often does — contain all the usual additives used for non-organically grown grapes once the winemaking process begins.

13.  Which of the following animals is most notorious for destroying vineyards in Europe?

a)     Bears

b)     Birds

c)     Rodents

d)     Wild boar

14. If you are making biodynamic wine, your compost mixture is traditionally made and buried in which of the following vessels?          

a)     Clay amphora

b)     Used oak barrels

c)     Cow horns

d)     Sausage casings

15.  The most widely planted red grape in Germany is which of the following?

a)     Dornfelder

b)     Lemberger

c)     Regent

d)     Spatburgunder (A.K.A. Pinot Noir)

16.  True or False: American oak barrels are considered better than traditional French barrels for aging wine but they are not as widely used because they are much more costly.

17.  A massively popular red wine that is effectively marketed as a dry red, in fact, has 17 grams per litre of sugar, more than a can of coke. That wine is:

a)     Apothic by Gallo

b)     Yellow Tail Shiraz

c)     Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel

d)     Walmart’s La Moneda Reserva Malbec (Walmart U.S.A.)

18.  True or false: A wine with a screw cap guarantees that the wine will be free from TCA, the bacteria that causes cork taint.

19.  If you are making a “natural” wine, you must adhere to which of the following rules:

a)     You cannot use sulphur in any form.

b)     Your vineyards must be certified organic.

c)     You cannot use any fining agents such as bentonite or egg whites.

d)     There are no rules for making natural wine.

20.  Donald Trump recently claimed that Trump Winery — owned by Eric Trump — is one of the largest in the U.S. when in fact it is not even the largest in the state where it is located. That state is:

a)     California

b)     Washington

c)     New York

d)     Virginia

Answers: 1 (C), 2 (False), 3 (D), 4 (A), 5 (B), 6 (C), 7 (B), 8 (E), 9 (False), 10 (D), 11 (D), 12 (True) 13 (D) 14 (C), 15 (D), 16 (False), 17 (A), 18 (False), 19 (D), 20 (D)

Geoff Last is a long-time Calgary wine merchant, writer and broadcaster and a regular contributor to City Palate Magazine and other publications. He instructs on food and wine at the Cookbook Company Cooks and was recently awarded a fellowship to the Symposium of Professional Wine Writers based in Napa Valley.