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Number of new grapes recently created in France. The new grapes—floréal and voltis (both white) and arteban and vidoc (both red)—are crosses and were created as a part of France’s National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) ResDur project. The goal is to develop grapes that can combat extreme weather caused by climate change.

The Italian grape Primitivo is the same as the grape called Zinfandel in the U.S.

Answer: True.

Grown mostly in the region of Apulia, in southern Italy, Primitivo came to Italy via Croatia, where it’s known as Tribidrag or Crljenak Kaštelanski. In the 1990s, DNA typing at Univerisity of California, Davis revealed that American Zinfandel is identical to Italy’s Primitivo. This discovery allowed Italian producers to legally label their Primitivo wines as Zinfandel, capitalizing on Zinfandel’s popularity. The pendulum later swung in the opposite direction, as some American producers labeled their Zinfandel wines as Primitivo. Meanwhile, the linguistic origin of the name Zinfandel remains a mystery.

“I drink Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it―unless I’m thirsty.”

― Lily Bollinger, (1899-1977), Bollinger Champagne

(This quote is dedicated to every wine drinking mother in honor of Mother’s Day.)

― Lily Bollinger, (1899-1977), Bollinger Champagne

(This quote is dedicated to every wine drinking mother in honor of Mother’s Day.)

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