Practice CMS Certified Exam #4

Question 1

Name two (2) regions that have DOCa status in Spain.

Answer 1

Only DOCa Rioja and DOQ (Catalan) Priorat occupy this elite category. To qualify, the region must have had DO status for a minimum of 10 years, wine must be produced and bottled within the region, and wines must cost at least double that of the national average for DO wines.

Question 2

What is Vino de Pago (VP)?

Answer 2

Wines must be produced and bottled wholly within the winery estate. The bodega must also demonstrate unique characteristics to qualify as a VP. There are currently 25 Vinos de Pago, mostly located in the region of Castilla-La Mancha.

Question 3

What date was the Vino de Pago/Single Estate (VP) and Vino de Calidad con Indicación Geográfica/Quality Wine of Geographic Indication (VC) created?

Answer 3

2003

Question 4

What name is given to the unique dark slate soils of the region of Priorat?

Answer 4

LLicorella

Question 5

List the following new quality designations of Priorat in order of lowest to highest. What date did this come into effect? Vi de Paratge, Vinya Classificada, Vi de Vila, Gran Vinya Classificada.

Answer 5

Vi de Vila (village wine from 12 named villages), Vi de Paratge (from 459 single plots, 15 + years old), Vinya Classificada (single vineyards, 20 + years old), Gran Vinya Classificada (single vineyard, vines more than 75 years old, exceptional track record). System declared in 2019. 3 x GVC wines announced in 2020.

Question 6

How many Grand Cru designated communes exist in Champagne? How many Premier Cru?

Answer 6

There are 17 Grand Cru communes in the Marne department:
- Montagne de Reims: Ambonnay, Beaumont-sur-Vesle, Bouzy, Louvois, Mailly, Puisieulx, Sillery, Verzenay, Verzy,
- Côte des Blancs: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oiry, Oger
- Vallée de la Marne: Aÿ, Tours-sur-Marne.
There are 44 communes with Premier Cru rating, with a 90-99% grape production quality rating.

Question 7

A traditional champagne press holds what kg of grapes as a standard measure? What is the term for this measure?

Answer 7

A vertical basket press (Coquard press) holds 4000kg of grapes, a quantity known as a ‘marc’.

Question 8

What is the term given to base wines produced in Champagne?

Answer 8

Vin Clairs

Question 9

What is “Remuage”?

Answer 9

Also called riddling, remuage involves rotating bottles to loosen the sediment created during second fermentation.

Question 10

What is the term for the final dosage given to a wine after disgorgement and before corking?

Answer 10

Liqueur d’expedition (a mix of sugar and wine)

Question 11

What is the name for the wire cage that sits around the top of the champagne bottle and ensures the cork stays in place?

Answer 11

Muselet or Muzzle.

Question 12

Name three (3) Grand Cru designated communes in the Côte des Blancs.

Answer 12

Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, but also Avize, Oiry, and Oger

Question 13

What does CIVC stand for and what is its purpose?

Answer 13

Comite Interprofessional du Vin de Champagne. CIVC is responsible for organizing and controlling production, technical research and development, and the distribution, protection and promotion of the wines of Champagne.

Question 14

Name two (2) white and two (2) red grape varieties that are indigenous to Galicia.

Answer 14

White are Albariño, Godello and red are Mencia and Sousón

Question 15

Name the DO’s of Galicia.

Answer 15

There are five wine Designations of Origin found in Galicia: Rías Baixas, Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras, Monterrei and Ribeiro.

Question 16

Toro is situated in which wine region of Spain? What is the local grape called?

Answer 16

Castilla y León wine region. The local grape is called Tinta da Toro (Tempranillo)

Question 17

What is the prestige cuvee of Ruinart Champagne house?

Answer 17

Dom Ruinart

Question 18

What is the name of the old roman cellars owned by Ruinart?

Answer 18

Crayeres

Question 19

Where do most of the Pedro Ximinez grapes come from for sherry production?

Answer 19

Montilla-Moriles

Question 20

Of the three (3) types of vineyards in the Douro Valley, which one refers to old mixed plantings? Vinha Ao Alto, Patameres or Vinhas Velhas?

Answer 20

VINHA AO ALTO (vertical planting), PATAMARES (new terraces with one or two rows per terrace) and VINHAS VELHAS (old vines planted in a horizontal way usually with 20 or more mixed varieties).

Question 21

What are the three (3) main regions of the Douro Valley?

Answer 21

Douro is divided into three sub-regions, Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior.

Question 22

Why won’t you ever find the term “Vintage” on a bottle of Madeira?

Answer 22

You won’t find the word “Vintage” on a bottle though, just the vintage date of the wine, along with the grape variety, because under Portuguese Wine Law the term “Vintage” is reserved for Port producers.

Question 23

What is the minimum years that a Madeira termed Frasqueira must age: 5, 10 or 20 years?

Answer 23

Frasqueira is aged a minimum of 20 years, sometimes MUCH longer and fetch the highest prices of any Madeira. They also should survive forever, as long as you put the cork back in.

Question 24

What is the primary varietal of Bairrada?

Answer 24

The predominant grape variety of the region of Bairrada in Portugal is Baga, commonly planted on clay soils.

Question 25

What is Estufagem?

Answer 25

Estufa is Portuguese for ‘hothouse’ or ‘stove’, applied to the tanks used to heat wine on the island of Madeira, thereby accelerating its development and maturation, called “estufagem”.
3 methods: Cuba de Calor (heat tank), Armazém de Calor (heat room) and Canteiro (heat room naturally).

Question 26

What is the proper term for Malmsey?

Answer 26

Malvasia, the grape that makes sweet Madeira. The British termed it “Malmsey”

Question 27

Name the approved grape used for wine production in the Weinviertel DAC?

Answer 27

Gruner Veltliner

Question 28

What is the name of name of the water current that provides cooling influences to the vineyards of Chile?

Answer 28

The Humboldt Current is a cold, low salinity current that acts as a large natural air conditioner fanning into vineyards. It helps create a protective blanket of fog that lowers air temperatures (Similar conditions exist in California’s Napa Valley).

Question 29

Name the sub-regions of the Central Valley in Chile.

Answer 29

Chile’s Central Valley wine region has four (4) wine growing subregions: the Maipo Valley, the Rapel Valley (Cachapoal, Colchagua), the Curicó Valley (Lontue) and the Maule Valley.

Question 30

Name the three (3) growing zones of Chile.

Answer 30

3 unique growing zones: The Costas (cooler coastal regions), Entre Cordilleras (warm inland valleys) and Los Andes (exposed mountainous areas).

Question 31

Name the three (3) towns that form the “sherry triangle” for sherry production in Spain.

Answer 31

Jeres de le Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa Maria.

Question 32

Name the region in southern Spain that is the main growing area for grapes in PX sherry.

Answer 32

Montilla-Morilles

Question 33

The three (3) grapes used in sherry production are:

Answer 33

Palomino (98%), Moscatel (1%) and Pedro Ximenez (grown mostly in Montilla-Morillles).

Question 34

The best soil for growing grapes used in most sherry production is called:

Answer 34

Albariza soils

Question 35

True or False: The Cape West Coast in South Africa is a region within the over-arching region of Cape Coast.

Answer 35

False. The Cape West Coast is a sub-region within the region of Coastal Region, which in turn is within the Cape Coast.

Question 36

Name the three (3) Districts in the region of Breede River Valley in South Africa.

Answer 36

Breedekloof, Robertson and Worcester

Question 37

True or False: Banghoek is a Ward in the District of Stellenbosch.

Answer 37

True. Banghoek Ward lies within Stellenbosch, a cool micro-climate close to the Drakenstein Mountains east of the district.

Question 38

Name two (2) Districts within the region of Cape South Coast in South Africa.

Answer 38

There are seven (7) Districts in Cape South Coast: Walker Bay and Elgin are two, but also Cape Agulhas, Lower Duivenhoks River, Overberg, Plettenberg Bay and Swellendam.

Question 39

Name the two (2) DOC’s declared regions of Argentina.

Answer 39

There are just 2 DOCs in Argentina: Luján de Cuyo and San Rafael.

Question 40

Name four (4) of the eleven (11) AVA’s of Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Answer 40

Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, and Yamhill-Carlton, but the other AVA’s are McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, Van Duzer Corridor, Laurelwood District, Tualatin Hills, Lower Long Tom and Mt Pisgah (in 2022)

Question 41

What is the name given to the warm dry air that is brought into Austria, especially in Burgunland and Niederosterreich?

Answer 41

Pannonian Effect, created from the Pannonian Plain in Hungary which is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountain system.

Question 42

Name three (3) red grape varieties in Austria.

Answer 42

Zweigelt (A cross between Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent), Blaufränkisch, and St. Laurent

Question 43

Name the three (3) designated regions of Landwein in Austria.

Answer 43

Weinland, Steirerland or Bergland. Min 14 KMW.

Question 44

What is the term for “Field Blend” produced mostly in the region of Wein in Austria?

Answer 44

Gemischter Satz

Question 45

What are the three (3) categories for dry wines produced in Wachau region?

Answer 45

Steinfeder: max ABV of 11.5%, Federspiel ABV between 11.5% - 12.5%, and Smaragd min ABV 12.5%.

Question 46

In which year was the Douro Valley established as one of the first demarcated wine regions in the world?

Answer 46

1756

Question 47

What is the name given to the regulation wine system of South Africa? What are the Laws of this system?

Answer 47

The Wine of Origin (WO) system is a regulatory framework that protects the integrity and quality of South African wines.
Laws: Vintage: min 85% from the stated year. Variety: min 85% from specified grape variety. Appellation: 100% of the grapes must be sourced from the stated region, district or Ward.

Question 48

What was the name of the varietal that remains one of the very few still un-grafted vines in the world, and where is it grown?

Answer 48

Ramisco, which grows only in Colares (Lisbon region Portugal), may well be the only Vitis vinifera variety never to have been subject to vine-grafting due to the sandy “chão de areia” topsoils, and the heavy, “chão rijo” clays underneath. Phylloxera-free.

Question 49

What changes were put in place in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal in 2015?

Answer 49

Vinho Verde sparkling can now use Charmat/Tank method, and protection via subsidies for traditional trellises in the region, called “vinha de enforcado” to ensure wine culture.

Question 50

What year was the Carnuntum DAC in Austria approved?

Answer 50

2019. DAC wines can be regional Gebietswein, Ortswein (similar in concept to a Burgundy “village” wine) or single-vineyard Riedenwein. Red wine on Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt , white wines on Chardonnay, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Grüner Veltliner.

Question 51

What are the 10 most recent declared vintages for Port?

Answer 51

1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017

Question 52

What is the latest declared DAC of Austria? When declared?

Answer 52

Thermenregion DAC, 2023 west of Burgenland in Niederösterreich DAC; Zierfandler and Rotgipfler, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc in north, Pinot Noir and Sankt Laurent in south.

Question 53

What are the new regulations for specifying regions on labels in Rioja?

Answer 53

Approved in 2024, now three (3) designations: Vino de Zona, Vino de Pueblo, and Vino Singular. Zona (Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Oriental). Pueblo (144 villages in Rioja). Vino Singular (a special terroir, different characteristics, min 35 years old, hand-harvest).