665 Million

The value (in U.S. dollars) of Barefoot wines sold last year, making Barefoot the number one selling wine brand in retail stores in the U.S. The sales of Barefoot, one of many brands owned by E. & J. Gallo, are nearly twice that of the number 2 best-selling wine brand: Sutter Home and the number 3 best seller: Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. Gallo, the largest winery in the U.S., is also the largest winery in the world.

The word “butt” refers to what in a Spanish winery?

A. An underground cellar where the oldest wines are kept

B. A barrel used to age Sherry

C. A cigar-shaped tool for sampling old Riojas

D. The remaining solids leftover after the white grapes for Cava are pressed

So-called “butts” are 600-liter (160-gallon) American oak barrels used in the Jerez (Sherry) region of Spain for aging Sherry. Butts are nearly three times larger than a Bordeaux barrel, and are usually painted jet-black. Because the butts are arranged in rows four or five barrels high, and because a typical Sherry bodega has many thousands of such barrels, the visual impression is often startling. Butts are also known as botas in Jerez.

“Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle.”

—Paulo Coelho
Author of The Alchemist

665 Million

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