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Size (in millions of acres) of the Texas Hill Country wine region, one of the largest American Viticultural Areas. By contrast, the Stags Leap District AVA within the Napa Valley, is less than 1/3000th the size. Although it’s said that everything is bigger in Texas, the largest AVA is actually the Upper Mississippi River Valley at more than 19 million acres.

Grappa is made from distilled grape juice.

Answer: False.

Grappa is the clear brandy that results when the pulpy mash of stems, seeds, and skins left over from winemaking is refermented and then distilled. In most parts of the world, this leftover stuff is thrown away or spread on the ground as fertilizer. But in Italy, nothing gastronomical is wasted—even if it sometimes tastes like a grenade has just exploded in your throat. Historically, grappa, was a specialty of the cold, northern part of the country, where people put a small shot of it into their morning coffee. The best grappas today are usually made from the skins and stems of a single aromatic white grape variety, such as riesling, moscato, or gewürztraminer.

“Based on chemistry, DNA, ancient texts, art, ethnography and experimental archaeology, it’s clear that as humans, we are set up as biological creatures to drink alcohol.”

—Dr. Patrick McGovern
Director of Biomolecular Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania,
and author of Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture

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