Smaragd

June 29, 2018

This Austrian term is used only in the Wachau region of Lower Austria for the ripest grapes and, hence, for the fullest-bodied wines. Smaragd (pronounced smar-AHGD) wines must have a minimum of 12.5 percent alcohol, but most have considerably more. The word smaragd is also the name of a bright green lizard that suns itself in the Wachau vineyards.29

Washington State is the second largest wine region in the U.S. behind California. Which of the following is NOT one of top 4 wine grapes grown in the State?

A. Riesling

B. Merlot

C. Chardonnay

D. Syrah

D.

More than 40 grape varieties are grown in Washington, but three quarters of the wine production is made up of just four grape varieties: cabernet sauvingon, riesling, chardonnay, and merlot. Syrah comes in fifth with only a half as much produced as fourth-placed merlot. That said, syrah is the grape to watch here. The quality of Washington State syrahs is shockingly good.

“The pleasures of the table reside in the mind, not in the mouth.”

—Charles Spence,

Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating

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