Smaragd

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

All of the following are agencies that regulate wine and wine quality. Which one of them is the agency that governs the top quality wines of Canada?

A. VQA

B. IVDP

C. VDP

D. TTB

VQA stands for Vintners Quality Alliance, the agency that governs the top Canadian wines. If you haven’t already gone blind by all these acronyms, it may be interesting to know that IVDP is the Institute of Wines of the Douro and Port in Portugal. VDP stands for the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates in Germany. And the TTB is the Tax and Trade Bureau which regulates wine and alcohol in the U.S.

A Champagne-Seeking Robot

This story is actually more of an “Oh Yes” than an “Oh No.” On February 23, 1900, as a result of a violent storm, the cellars of Pol Roger Champagne collapsed, burying the equivalent of… Continue reading

Smaragd

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