France

Question 1

What was the first region in France to develop appelation rules (in the 1920’s)?

Answer 1

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Question 2

What is the most planted white grape in France?

Answer 2

Ugni Blanc

Question 3

What mountain range provides Alsace with a barrier from western storms?

Answer 3

The Vosges

Question 4

What is the most planted grape variety in France?

Answer 4

Merlot

Question 5

List the levels of French wine, from low to high.

Answer 5

Vin de Table, Vin de Pays, VDQS, and AOC

Question 6

What would the EU equivalent of a Vin de Pays wine be?

Answer 6

PGI (table wine with geographic indication)

Question 7

How many delimited vin de pays regions are there in France?

Answer 7

152

Question 8

How many AOC’s are there in France?

Answer 8

More than 300

Question 9

How many cases of wine does Bordeaux produce annually?

Answer 9

About 63 million.(1/4 of French AOC wine production)

Question 10

Name the two rivers in Bordeaux that meet to form the Gironde?

Answer 10

The Garonne and the Dordogne

Question 11

What is the main city on the Right Bank? On the Left Bank?

Answer 11

Right = Libourne
Left = Bordeaux

Question 12

What sort of climate does Bordeaux have?

Answer 12

Maritime

Question 13

What are the white grapes of Bordeaux?

Answer 13

Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and a little Muscadelle.

Question 14

What is the British term for the Bordeaux style of wine?

Answer 14

Claret

Question 15

What region produces Bordeaux’s best dry white wine? And what is the dominant grape in these wines?

Answer 15

Graves (especially Pessac-Leognan) - Sauvignon Blanc

Question 16

What is the French term for botrytis?

Answer 16

Pourriture noble (noble rot)

Question 17

Bordeaux hosts how many AOC’s?

Answer 17

About 40

Question 18

What is Bordeaux’s largest appellation?

Answer 18

Bordeaux

Question 19

Does Graves produce red wines?

Answer 19

Yes

Question 20

What are the major AOCs of the Left Bank?

Answer 20

Medoc, Haut-Medoc, St Estephe, St-Julien, Pauillac, and Margaux

Question 21

Does the AOC of Entre Deux Mers produce red wines?

Answer 21

No - although there is a lot of red wine production, only dry white wines carry the Entre Deux Mers AOC

Question 22

What two Right Bank AOCs make the most coveted wines?

Answer 22

St Emilion and Pomerol

Question 23

What year marked the classification of the Bordeaux growth wines?

Answer 23

1855 - with Mouton moved to fist growth status in 1973

Question 24

What years marked the classification of Graves chateaux?

Answer 24

1953 and 1959

Question 25

What years marked the classification of St-Emilion?

Answer 25

1954 and most recently 2006

Question 26

What are the two grand cru classe wines in St-Emilion to carry "A" level status?

Answer 26

Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval-Blanc

Question 27

What is the main grape of Pays Nantais in the Loire?

Answer 27

Melon de Bourgogne (Muscadet)

Question 28

What is the only grape allowed in AOC wines from Pays Nantais?

Answer 28

Melon de Bourgogne

Question 29

What are the main areas of the central Loire?

Answer 29

Anjou-Saumur and Touraine

Question 30

What is the main grape of Anjou-Saumur?

Answer 30

Chenin Blanc

Question 31

What are the two main grapes grown in Touraine?

Answer 31

Chenin Blanc (west) and Sauvignon Blanc (east)

Question 32

What is a synonym for Malbec in the Loire?

Answer 32

Cot.

Question 33

How many AOCs are in the Loire Valley?

Answer 33

More than 60.

Question 34

What is the primary red grape of Anjou-Saumur?

Answer 34

Cabernet Franc.

Question 35

What is the main sweet wine area of Anjou, and what are it's two sub-regions?

Answer 35

Coteaux de Layon - Bonnezeaux and Quarts-de-Charme.

Question 36

What grape is used in the sweet wines of Coteaux de Layon in the Loire?

Answer 36

Chenin Blanc

Question 37

What is the main grape in Savinierres?

Answer 37

Chenin Blanc

Question 38

What are the red-only appellations in the Loire?

Answer 38

Saumur-Champigny, Bourgueil, and Chinon

Question 39

Which produces a red wine - Pouilly-Fume or Sancerre?

Answer 39

Sancerre (Pinot Noir)

Question 40

What are the four zones of Champagne?

Answer 40

Montagne de Reims, Valle de la Marne, Cote des Blancs, and Cotes des Bar

Question 41

What is the main soil type of Chamagne?

Answer 41

Kimmeridgian soil

Question 42

What is the most planted grape in the Champagne region?

Answer 42

Pinot Noir - Chardonnay is the least planted of the three

Question 43

What does the term Brut Nature mean in Champagne production?

Answer 43

No dosage

Question 44

Name the levels of sweetness in champagne, from most to least sweet

Answer 44

Doux, Demi-sec, sec, extra dry, brut, extra brut, brut nature

Question 45

Roughly how many Champagne houses exist?

Answer 45

300

Question 46

What are the two main geographical boundaries of Alsace?

Answer 46

The Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River to the east.

Question 47

What is the climate of Alsace

Answer 47

Continental

Question 48

What are the two distinct styles of dessert wines from Alsace?

Answer 48

Vendange tardive (late harvest grapes that may of may not be botritized) and Selection de grains nobles (botrytized)

Question 49

How many appellations are in Alsace, and what are they?

Answer 49

3 - Alsace AOC, Alsace Grand Cru, and Cremant d'Alsace

Question 50

From north to south, name the main regions of Burgundy.

Answer 50

Chablis, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnais, Maconnais, and Beaujolais

Question 51

The Cote D'Or is made up of what two regions?

Answer 51

Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune.

Question 52

How many appellations are in Burgundy?

Answer 52

100

Question 53

What grape makes up 90% of Cote de Nuits productions?

Answer 53

Pinot Noir

Question 54

What are the seven grand cru parcels in Chablis Grand Cru?

Answer 54

Vaudesir, Les Clos, Valmur, Blanchot, Bougros, Les Preuses, and Grenouilles

Question 55

What is the dominant red grape of Maconnais?

Answer 55

Gamay

Question 56

What French region is the second largest producer of AOC level wines after Bordeaux?

Answer 56

The Rhone Valley

Question 57

Are the climates of the northern and southern Rhone similar?

Answer 57

No - the north has a continental climate, the south a Mediterranean.

Question 58

What is the red grape variety of the northern Rhone? What are the whites?

Answer 58

``` Red = Syrah White = Viognier, Marsanne, and Rousanne ```

Question 59

What grape makes up 2/3 of red wine plantings in the southern Rhone?

Answer 59

Grenache

Question 60

What region of the northern Rhones requires its red wine to be 100% Syrah?

Answer 60

Cornas.

Question 61

What wine accounts for more than half of the Rhone Valley's output?

Answer 61

Cotes du Rhone

Question 62

What region of the Rhone only produces roses, by law?

Answer 62

Tavel

Question 63

What is the largest communal AOC of the Cotes Chalonaisse?

Answer 63

Mercurey