General Knowledge Flashcards
The Danube [GER] at nearly 3,000km is the 2nd longest river in Europe. It begins at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg Rivers in Germany’s Black Forest and moves SE through 10 countries
Name 7 wine making country’s of note?
Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria & Romania
Empty’s into the Black Sea marking the boundary between Romania and the Ukraine.
Trajectory of Switzerland’s 2 most famous Rivers?
The Rhine begins at Tomasee lake in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps flowing North through France and then Germany and of course emptying into the Sea through the Netherlands.
The French Rhone starts here at the Rhone Glacier, Valais in the Swiss Alps, flowing West through the Lac Léman past Geneva and into France where it merges with the Saône at Lyon and continues south to discharges into the Mediterranean Sea.
4 types of coffee beans?
Arabica: Thought to be the first. 60% of coffee production.
Robusta: 2nd in prod. double the amount of Caffeine.
Excelsa: Only 7% of prod. Mainly SE Asia.
Liberica: Largest & irregular in size, shape and flavor.
Worlds 3 Highest vineyards?
‘Pure Land & Super High Altitude’ Vineyard @ 3,563m in the South of Tibet. Vidal, Muscat, Bei Bing Hong (ice wine variety)
Recognized by Guinness World Records in 2018.
Vino Uquia: Finca Moya vineyard is at 3,329m. Uraqui Minero Corte A: Syrah, Malbec, Merlot
Bodegas Colomé: Finca Altura Maxima vineyard in Cachi is 3,111m.
‘Feuillete’ barrel size and location?
132l, Chablis. eg. Raveneau
Barrique
Size & bottles?
Pièce
Size & bottles?
Quartaut?
225l = 300 x 750ml
(Burgundy)
228l = 304 x 750ml
Also Cote D’Or, at 57L a ‘quartaut’ is a quarter-size barrel.
‘Demi-Muid’ size and location?
600l Southern (& Northern) Rhone
Stuck
Halbstuck
Doppelstuck
size & location?
1,200l
600l
2,400l
Rheingau, German oval Cask.
Hogshead size & location?
300l, Australia.
Gonc size & location?
136l, Tokaji. Hungarian Oak Cask.
Champagne barrel size?
Traditionally 205l (eg. Krug) although some houses may bring in Burgundy barrels for barrel fermentation.
All of Bollinger’s vintage designated wines are fermented and aged exclusively in cask also. Only house to have all its barrel needs serviced by their own cooper.
Cognac barrel size?
350l is the standard now although in 1900 was 275L and only 200L before the French Revolution.
Puncheon size & location?
450-500l , Australia.
Jerez Butt?
Bota Chica (Shipping butt)?
600-650l
500l (American?)
Fuder size & location?
1,000l, Common in Mosel. [Without O is smaller and thus Mosel]
Foudre size & location?
Variable, Alsace.
Botti / Botte (singular)
10hl-300hl
Traditionally Slavonian (Q.Robur). hl = 100l
Port Pipe size for aging?
Port Pipe size shipping?
Madeira Pipe size?
Marsala Pipe size?
550-630l
534.24l
418l
423l
Armagnac Pièce size?
400-420 L
American Standard Barrel (ASB)/ Bourbon barrel size?
190-200L
For Bourbon & Whiskey/y production.
2 notable Amphora producers?
Tava
100% clay amphora from Piedmonte. Sizes in 320L, 750L and 1600L.
Chateau Durfort-Vivens has 150 TAVA amphoras.
Nomblot
Use to be Burgundy? Now based East of Paris, use to be a coffin craftsman. Concrete Tanks/Eggs.
Caratelli size?
Producer of note?
Vin Santo
50L, but can be up to 225L.
Renzi Francesco is the most famous; better known for the manufacture of similar barrels used for Modena balsamic vinegar
Red Oak are porous and cannot be relied on for watertight cooperage.
Name 3 commonly used White Oaks?
Pro’s and cons?
Quercus Alba (American). White oak- not white though refers to the leaves? Highest in lactones. 80-90 years of age for harvest.
Quercus Petraea/Sessiliflora (French & Central Eastern European)
aka. sessik oak, cornish oak & durmast – have more lactones than Robur?
Quercus Robur (AKA: Common Oak/ English Oak/ Quercus Pedunculata) in the forest of Limousin, France & Slavonian Oak (Northern Balkans)
150-200 years of age for the European counterparts. European Oaks have more tannin and contribute more to structure.
Harvest of oak intended for winemaking takes place in the winter months when there is less sap in the trunk.
What variety of Oak are Portuguese cork trees?
2 major planting regions?
Life cycle?
Quercus Suber
Alentejano and Algrave produce more than half the world’s supply of corks.
A Quercus Suber can be harvested from 25 years old and then every 9 years after allowing for a latency period to regenerate. A cork oak lives for approximately 150 years, this means that each tree can be harvested twelve or up to fifteen times.
Oxygen Transfer Rates among American and European Oak?
Since French oak must be split, only 20 to 25% of the tree can be utilized.
American oak may be sawn, which makes it at least twice as economical.
Traditionally American oak is left outside to dry, and not kiln dried like traditional French would be.
American Oak has a higher OTR mainly due to the fact that it is cut.
6 forests in France for oak barrel production? location?
Vosges [NE]
Character varies on altitude but generally tight grained.
Bertranges [North-East Central, Running West alongside Burgundy]
Nevers [North-Central, West of Dijon]
Allier [Central France]
Tronçais tron-say [Central France, North of Moulins and Saint-Pourçain (Auvergne)]
Is the most famous subsection of the greater Allier forest.
Has the finest grain and the most closely packed annual growth rings. Tends to fetch the highest prices/ be the most expensive. Popular for Wine and Brandy.
Limousin [Central Southwestern France – North & West of Limoges]
Wide grains and are more tannic than the tight grained woods and are more popular for Brandy.
Almost all were planted in Napoleonic times. In some forests Robur and Petraea grow together but are not systematically differentiated as far as timber quality is concerned; although the trees are fairly easy to tell apart.
World’s most southern commercial winery?
Otronia, Sarmiento IG, Chubut @ 45.33° latitude south.
Lago Musters glacial lake – ‘Otronia’ is an old local name for the lake. Alberto Antonini & Pedro Parra consult. 50ha on clay, gravels and fragmented mother rock and sand with some limestone?. Wind breaks and netting helps protect from the racing Patagonian winds and allows them to operate organically. Chardonnay.
Formerly was Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks Vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand at 45.22° South
Emphasis on ‘commercial’. There are research stations in Chile at Chile Chico at 46° 33′.
Steepest vineyard in Europe? (World?)
1 producer?
Bremmer ‘Calmont’ in the village of Bremm (Burg Cochem/Lower Mosel) is the steepest vineyard in Europe – if not the world @ 65°-70° incline.
Worked by hand on rail chairs. Shale, silt, limestone, quartzite and sandstone. Walter J Oster is a producer.
Highest Vineyards in Europe?
Associated Variety’s?
Visperterminen in Visp, Central Valais @1,150m SW exposure. The flagship grape here is “Heida Visperterminen” a local synonym for Savagnin, which can also go by the name Païen.
Mount Teide “tay-dee”, Tenerife (3,718m # 1 in Spain)
5 DO’s; with Abona DO @ 1,600m.
The most important varieties are Listán Blanco for whites and red’s Listán Negro and Negramoll.
6 most planted GRAPE Varieties in the world?
*Kyoho: 365,000ha Black table grape. v.vinifera × v. labrusca. 90% of these plantings are in China.
*Cabernet Sauvignon 341,000ha
*Sultanina/ Sultana/ Thomson Seedless/ Izmir (Turkey): 273,000ha white table grape. 3 way grape (table, rasin & wine) but best known for raisin production.
*Merlot
*Tempranillo
*Airen (w) 252,000? Is planted at lower densities and almost exclusively in Spain and notably in La Mancha.
Top 5 country’s by vineyard surface?
Vineyard Surface Area in ha.
- Spain 955,000 (13.1% of World)
- France 812,000 (11.2%)
- China 785,000
- Italy 218,000
- Turkey 410,000
Top 5 country’s by wine production volume (excl juices & musts)
Wine Production by Volume (excl juices & musts)
- Italy 49.8 (19.3%)
- France 45.6 (17.7%)
- Spain 35.7
- USA 22.4
- Australia 12.7