100K

Number of bottles of blue wine sold since its launch last summer. Made by a Spanish wine company called Gïk, the wine comes from red and white grapes grown in north central Spain, including Rioja. Spanish authorities recently banned sales of the sweetish drink since blue wine is not among the 17 approved types of Spanish wine. The company argues that the blue wine’s composition is 100% grapes. The color of the wine comes from indigo, a dye extracted from the Isatis Tinctoria plant. A non-caloric sweetener is added as well.

What is Puliniacus?

A. A heritage strain of yeasts used in the 18th century when Champagne as we know it began

B. The name of a Roman poet who wrote about the beneficial relationship between wine and the emotions

C. The name of a village that later became known as Puligny-Montrachet

D. A type of rot that can overtake botrytis cinerea in the vineyard, potentially devastating sweet wine production in the vineyard affected

Originally a Gallo-Roman village known as “Puliniacus,” Puligny-Montrachet got its current name in the late nineteenth century. The wines of Puligny-Montrachet (poo-le-KNEE mon-ra-SHAY) are often considered the most ravishing chardonnays in the world. The tiny village (just 1,260 acres) sits in between two other great white wine villages—Chassagne-Montrachet to the south and Meursault to the north. Before World War II, the village was also planted with wheat, blackcurrants, and mulberries.

“When a cabernet sauvignon is unbalanced, it’s cassis poured into vodka.”

—Pam Starr
Co-owner/winemaker Crocker & Starr, Napa Valley

100K

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