Spain - Castilla y Leon

Question 1

What is the largest autonomía in Spain?

Answer 1

Castilla y León - “ The land of Castles”

Question 2

What is the climate of Castilla y León?

Answer 2

Continental

• slightly moderate by its proximity to the Atlantic and Mediterranean but still subject to extreme highs and lows

Question 3

The Duero River run through the western part of what autonomía?

Answer 3

Castilla y León

Question 4

What DO is surrounded by the towns of Aranda de Duero and Peñafiel in the Duero Valley?

Answer 4

Ribera del Duero

Question 5

Tinto del Pais and Tinto Fino are the alternate names for this classical grape in Ríbera del Duero?

Answer 5

Tempranillo

Question 6

Abillo in Ribera del Duero is used to make what type of wine?

Answer 6

Rosado (rosè)

Question 7

What is the flagship bodega of Ribera del Duero

Answer 7

Vega Sicilia

Question 8

Who founded the bodega Vega Sicilia and in what year

Answer 8

Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves in 1864

Question 9

What type of grape varietals were planted at Vega Sicilia

Answer 9

Bordeaux varietals:

🔴 Cabernet Sauvignon

🔴 Merlot

🔴 Pinot Noir

🔴 Tinto del Pais ( Tempranillo)

Question 10

What is the benchmark wine of Vega Sicilla and who created it

Answer 10

Unico by winemaker Domingo Txomin in 1917

Question 11

The Vega Sicilla Unico is a blend of what grapes

Answer 11

🔴 Tinto del Pais

🔴 Cabernet Sauvignon

🔴 Merlot

• aged for a decade or more in American and French Oak

Question 12

Ribera del Duero received DO status in what year

Answer 12

1982

Question 13

True or False: You can’t produce white wines in Ribera del Duero

Answer 13

True: only Vinto Tinto and Rosado wines are allowed in Ribera del Duero

Question 14

What is the premier grape of Ribera Del Duero?

Answer 14

Tinto del Pais / Tinto Fino (Tempranillo)

Question 15

What are some classical grape varietals that grow in Ribera del Duero

Answer 15

🔴 Granacha

🔴 Cabernet Sauvignon

🔴 Merlot

Question 16

They only white grape that is permitted to grow in Ribera Del Duero is what and why?

Answer 16

Albillo and it is used for freshness in Rosados

Question 17

What aging requirements do vinto Tinto follow in Ribero del Duero

Answer 17

Rioja

Question 18

If a Rosado and vinto Tinto don’t follow the minimum aging requirements for a Crianza what are they considered

Answer 18

Vino Joven

Most commerical rosados are Vino Joven

Question 19

When did Rueda gain its DO status

Answer 19

1980

Question 20

What is the main grape of Rueda

Answer 20

⚪ Verdejo

• very aromatic, rather than oxidative

Question 21

If a wine is labeled Rueda what is the requirements

Answer 21

Minimum 50% Verdejo grape and often is blended with Viura (Macabeo)

Question 22

What other variety label might you find on Rueda wines

Answer 22

Verdejo or Sauvignon Blanc

If labeled this way grapes must make up minimum 85% if stated on label

Question 23

What is Espumoso

Answer 23

Spanish for sparking wines

Question 24

In Toro DO what type of wines do they make

Answer 24

Vinto Tinto 🔴

Blanco ⚪

Rosado 🔴⚪️

Question 25

What is the grape requirement for vinto tinto in Toro DO?

Answer 25

75% Tinta de Toro ( Tempranillo) 🔴

Question 26

What are the white wines of Toro DO?

Answer 26

Verdejo ⚪️ Malvasia ⚪

Question 27

What method is used to make Rosado wines in Toro DO and what grapes are used

Answer 27

Saignèe blend of Tinto de Toro and Granacha

Question 28

Fariña and Numanthia - Termes are top producers from what DO

Answer 28

Toro DO

Question 29

Pingus - P. Sissec Peaquera - Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez Unico - Vega Sicilia What do these three wines have in common

Answer 29

They are 3 of the top wines produced from Ribera del Duero

Question 30

What makes Tinta Fino from Ribera del Duero different from Tempranillo from Rioja

Answer 30

Ribera del Duero has a harsher, dramatic climate and the berries are smaller with tougher skin which makes the wines more powerful than Rioja.

Question 31

Where did Ribera del Duero get its name

Answer 31

From the Duero river which is the 3rd largest river in the Iberian peninsula - it flows through the Meseta Central of north central Spain, flowing into Portugal where it becomes the Douro River

Question 32

How many hours of sunlight to most Vines get in Ribera del Duero

Answer 32

2400 hours per year

Question 33

How many acres of Vines are in Ribera del Duero

Answer 33

52,000 acres (21,000 hectares)

Question 34

What is the soil type of Ribera del Duero

Answer 34

Close to the Duero River - sandy sediments, Marl and ancient riverbed stones Laderas (slopes) - above the riverbed - limestone and clay

Question 35

What does Tinta del país mean

Answer 35

Red wine of the land

Question 36

What does Tinto fino mean

Answer 36

Fine Red

Question 37

Who grows most if not all the Cabernet Sauvignon in Ribera del Duero?

Answer 37

Vega Silica

Question 38

What are the notes of a Crianza from Ribera del Duero

Answer 38

Easy drinking Cherry pie Spice Earth Vanilla flavor and aromas

Question 39

What are some dishes Ribera del Duero

Answer 39

Lechazo - baby lamp - seasoned with only salt and pepper then roasted over a hardwood fire in a brick oven til crisp on outside and melts on the inside falling off the bone Setas - stuffed mushrooms Morcilla - blood sausage stuffed with rice

Question 40

The Duero River flows westward through the center of the region and passes the DOs of

Answer 40

Ribera del Duero Rueda Toro Tierra del Vino de Zamora Arribes on its path toward Portugal

Question 41

Burgos - North Segovia - South Valladolid - West Soria - East These are the four districts for what DO

Answer 41

Ribera del Duero

Question 42

What is Saffron

Answer 42

Considered one of the most expensive spices in the world - a flower ( saffron crocus) - takes fifty thousand to seventy thousand flowers to make one pound

Question 43

The founder of Pesquera name is

Answer 43

Alejandro Fernández

Question 44

What is Alejandro Fernández theory on filtering wines

Answer 44

Doesn’t believe in it, after he presses his grapes, he places them in barrels to ferment and aging. Believes that filtering damages the overall body of the wine

Question 45

Peter Sisseck is the owner of what famous Spanish winery

Answer 45

Dominio de Pingus • founded in 1995

Question 46

What is the wine that is called the “little sister” of Pingus

Answer 46

Flor de Pingus

Question 47

When did the Moors invade Spain

Answer 47

711 AD

Question 48

When did the Catholic monarchs regain control of Spain

Answer 48

15th Century by the Habsburg Spain (house of Habsburg) • Charles V was the king

Question 49

Why is N 22 highway so important in Ribera del Duero

Answer 49

Cause 5 of the most iconic estates in the DO ( Vega Sicilia, Pingus, Abadia Retuerta, Alion, and Mauro) set off this highway

Question 50

N22 Highway is known as what

Answer 50

Milla de Oro ( golden mile)

Question 51

What is the lone white grape variety in Ribera del Duero

Answer 51

⚪️ Albillo Mayor

Question 52

What are the characteristics of Reserva wines from Ribera del Duero

Answer 52

Fuller, fleshier texture and greater overall depth, concentration, and intensity

Question 53

What are the age requirements for Crianza wines from Ribera del Duero

Answer 53

- minimum two years, at least one of which be in oak barrels; the year starts October 1

Question 54

What are the aging requirements of Reserva from Ribera Del Duero

Answer 54

Agingva minimum of three years, at least one of which must be in oak barrels, the year starts December 1

Question 55

What are the aging requirements of Grand Reserva in Ribera del Duero

Answer 55

A minimum 5 years, at least 2 of which must be in oak barrels; the year starts December 1

Question 56

What are some of the physical features of Castilla y León

Answer 56

- Meseta Central - a huge plateau in the center of Spain | - Duero River - flows from west to east through the heart of the regions