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Number of concrete eggs (egg-shaped vessels) that Sonoma Cast Stone has sold to American wineries since the founding of the company in 1997. Wineries use the eggs (rather than barrels or stainless steel tanks) for fermenting and maturing a wide variety of wines, primarily white wines. Eggs come in 24 different colors (wineries sometimes decorate them for Easter). About 3 ½ inches of concrete separate the wine inside the egg from the surface colors (so don’t worry).

Which group of people below were key players in the development of Cognac?

A. The East Indians

B. The Spanish

C. The Dutch

D. The English

From the end of the Roman Empire through the 16th century, the area surrounding France’s Charente River, which is where Cognac is made, was known for neutral tasting wine, most of it white and low in alcohol. The Dutch who traded in the area for salt (the Cognac region’s other renowned product) began to purchase and ship these wines to England and to other northern countries, despite their disappointment with the wines proclivity to deteriorate during the sea voyage. Their solution eventually was to distill the wines in the Netherlands and then the sell the more durable result which they called burnt wine–brandewijn–eventually anglicized to brandy. And thus sometime in the 17th century, Cognac, the world’s most sought after brandy, was born.

Flor

Literally, “flower.” A layer of yeast cells that forms naturally on top of manzanilla and fino Sherries as they age in casks. Flor acts to prevent oxidation and also contributes a unique tanginess to the… Continue reading

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