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Number of millions of cases of spirits produced last year by the top 25 spirits brands in the U.S. alone according to Shanken News Daily, enough booze to make about 32 billion one-ounce shot cocktails. The smaller spirits brands contributed an additional 500,000 cases themselves. The top spirit brands sold in the U.S. are Smirnoff and Bacardi.

The first country to understand that grapes covered with the mold Botrytis cinerea could lead to marvelous wines was Germany.

Answer: False.

While there are four countries—Germany, France, Austria, and Hungary—that are famous for their botrytized wines, there is just one nation that first realized the mold’s true wine-making potential: Hungary. As of the early 17th century, the Tokaji Aszú wines of Hungary’s Tokaj-Hegyalja region were well-established luxuries. And, although it is not clear if Austria adopted the technique from Hungary, the part of Austria famous for botrytized wines—Burgenland—borders Hungary, and indeed was once part of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire. Meanwhile, Germany made their first botrytized wine in 1775, Bordeaux in the mid-1800s.

TCA

TCA stands for 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, a compound that forms when phenols interact with chlorine and mold. In addition to grapes, barrels, wooden pallets, wood beams and cardboard cases are all sources of phenols. TCA most frequently… Continue reading

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