History

Question 1

Who is Ausonius?

Answer 1

A Latin poet and winemaker and Bordeaux native who made the first written reference to wines of Bordeaux.

Question 2

What did Ausonius write?

Answer 2

He referenced his home as “a country famous for Bacchus, its river(s) and its great men.”

Question 3

What was the Bordeaux region called by the Greeks and Romans?

Answer 3

Burdigala

Question 4

Who is Pliny the Elder?

Answer 4

A Roman author who mentions the Biturica vine and Burdigala c. 77 AD.

Question 5

What is Biturica?

Answer 5

A vine believed to have been of Greek origin having been transplants from Epirus (now Albania). It was originally known as Balisca.

Question 6

What is the evolution of Biturica?

Answer 6

Biturica started as Balisca, then morphed into Biturica, then Vidure (vigne dure, or hard vine).

Question 7

What current varietal is Biturica linked to?

Answer 7

Authors have tried to link Vidure with modern-day Cabernet Sauvignon as the vine is often called Vidure or Petit Vidure in Graves.

Question 8

Who occupied Bordeaux for over 100 years?

Answer 8

After the fall of the Roman empire (476 C.E) , the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe invaded and occupied Bordeaux.

Question 9

How did France come to be?

Answer 9

The Franks united all disparate peoples of Gaul and gave shape to the country, France. This was accomplished under the leadership of King Clovis in the 6th century.

Question 10

What role did the Roman Catholic Church play?

Answer 10

Held all of European society together during the Dark Ages, and shepherded and preserved both vine and wine culture.

Question 11

Who owned the lands and vines of Bordeaux?

Answer 11

The nobles and the merchant class at the start of the medieval period.

Question 12

What was Bordeaux mainly producing by the 12th century?

Answer 12

Red wine (89%).

Question 13

Until the 17th century, the Medoc peninsula was largely a marshland, true or false?

Answer 13

True.

Question 14

When did sweet white wines come into deliberate production?

Answer 14

After the end of the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD).

Question 15

Who is Elenore d’Aquitaine?

Answer 15

She was a French duchess of Aquitaine (territory including Bordeaux) who married the King of England - Henry Plantagenet in the 12th century making Bordeaux English; contributed to rise of exportation of bordeaux internationally esp. within England

Question 16

What was the impact of the 100 years war on Bordeaux?

Answer 16

In 1337 the war between France & England interrupted the export of bordeaux wine to England; By the end of the war in 1453 France repossessed the Bordeaux region from England

Question 17

Until the 17th century, what was the most prominent wine region in the left bank?

Answer 17

Graves

Question 18

When (and by whom) was wine introduced to Bordeaux?

Answer 18

In the mid 1st century by the Romans

Question 19

When (and by whom) was the Medoc converted from marshland to vineyards?

Answer 19

In the 17th century by the Dutch

Question 20

What (and when) replaced Graves as the most prestigious wine producing region?

Answer 20

The Medoc replaced Graves in the 17th century

Question 21

What was the most dominant grape in the Medoc from the 17th - 19th centuries? What replaced it?

Answer 21

Malbec until it was replaced by cabernet sauvignon