2000

Year that the site jancisrobinson.com was founded. This week the company announced it had been sold for an undisclosed sum to Recurrent Ventures. Jancis Robinson will stay on as the editor-in-chief. The site, with subscribers in 82 countries, features reviews and articles by fifteen global wine writers and critics. Jancis Robinson, the author of 20 wine books, also advises the Queen of England on her cellar.

Which of the following regions is NOT known for wine barrels made from its indigenous oak species?

A. Slavonia

B. Caucasus

C. Wisconsin

D. Ontario

Ontario may be famous for its maple trees but NOT for its oaks. While there are over 500 species of oak (scientific name Quercus—derived from the Celtic quer, meaning “fine,” and cuez, meaning “tree”) in the northern hemisphere, only three species are suitable for wine and spirits barrels. Oak contributes a wide variety of desirable flavors to wine, and is porous enough to allow air flow while remaining liquid tight when quartersawn (American oak) or split along the grain (French/European oak). Slavonia is a region in northeastern Croatia, part of the former country Yugoslavia. Many Italian producers have favored Slavonian oak (Quercus robur) for their sangioveses and nebbiolo-based wines. The Caucasus is a region on the European border between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Caucasian oak (also Quercus robur), primarily from Russia, imparts less tannin and fewer aromatics, which is useful if you want a more fruity, straight-up expression of the grape itself. Wisconsin (as well as Minnesota, Missouri, and Oregon) supplies Quercas alba for American oak barrels. American oak is well-known for its generous amounts of wood sugar that caramelizes when charred, introducing toffee and brown sugar notes. Classic Rioja winemakers and Australian shiraz producers often use American oak. Other regions supplying oak for wine barrels can be found throughout France, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia.

“We have 90 wines by the glass, typically about 30 rieslings. We offer our guests two sips of riesling, one off-dry and one trocken, then walk away. More than 50 percent of the time, they choose the one with more residual sugar, and that’s great! We want to rock people’s worlds. Tell them stories about who is making the wine and where it came from, not screaming about sugar levels.”

**— Paul Grieco, owner of New York’s Terroir restaurant, as quoted in Science Makes a Mockery of Tasting Notes by Kathleen Willcox (Wine Searcher May 3, 2021)**

2000

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