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Number of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in California, more than any other state. September is California Wine Month. The US has a total of 258 AVAs which are approved by the TTB, (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.) Law requires that 85% of grapes must come from within the AVA for a wine to be labeled with that designation.

What famous painting was created in exchange for a vineyard?

A. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

B. Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

C. The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

D. The Scream by Edvard Munch

Not every barter deal works out well. But in 1498, the Duke of Milan, Italy. Ludovico Sforza, probably came out ahead. Sforza offered Leonardo da Vinci, the great artist/scientist/inventor, a small vineyard in return for a painting. Da Vinci, a great wine lover, accepted, and went about painting The Last Supper, which was subsequently hung in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Da Vinci’s vineyard survived until 1943, when it was destroyed by a fire that resulted from Allied bombing in World War II. In 2007, Italian viticulturists and geneticists began excavating the site of the former vineyard, which ironically had been protected by layers of ash and debris. Through DNA testing of the extant roots they found buried there, the scientists determined that da Vinci had grown Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, a white variety still grown in Lombardy.

“Saying you had a bad vintage of Napa Valley wine is like saying you had a bad truffle.”

—Robert M. Parker, Jr.

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