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Number of “adaptive grape varieties” just approved formally by the French government and added to the list of 14 authorized varieties already in use in Bordeaux. The new varieties, intended to help cope with climate change, include four reds (arinarnoa, castets, marselan and touriga nacional) and 2 whites (alvarinho and liliorila). The adaptive varieties can be used only in the appellations Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, and Entre-Deux-Mers and can only constitute up to 10% of a blend.

Prestige Cuvée Champagne wines are defined as those wines that come in elaborate, expensive bottles.

Answer: False.

Prestige cuvée Champagne bottles may come dressed in finery, but it is what’s inside that earns them the title. These are the finest (and most expensive) wines that a producer makes, from the best grapes in the top, highest-rated crus or vineyards of Champagne. The French refer to these singular offerings as têtes de cuvée, a term that can be loosely translated as “top batch.” Prestige cuvées are almost always vintage-dated, and are made only in exceptional harvests, on average 3 times per decade. One reason for this is that Champagne is one of the most northern wine growing regions in the world—at roughly the same latitude as the U.S.-Canadian border—with an inherently cool climate where the grapes struggle to ripen. Prestige cuvées are aged longer than other vintage Champagne wines (on average 10 years versus 3 years) and continue to develop in the bottle for another decade.

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