Two-Thirds Empty!

According to proprietary research from Veuve Clicquot, whose parent company is LVMH, Americans, on average, drink a mere 1/3 glass of Champagne per year. The bubbly beverage is still considered by most to be a special occasion drink. I personally think one full glass a day is more than appropriate. One bright spot: the U.S. recently surpassed the U.K. as the biggest importer of Champagne. Cheers to that.

Hock, the British nickname for Rhine wine, is named after the famous village of Hochheim in Germany. In which of the following regions is Hochheim located?

A. Mosel

B. Rheingau

C. Rheinhessen

D. Mittelrhein

Hochheim (pronounced HOE-hime) is located in Germany’s famous region known as the Rheingau. At first, hock implied a wine from Hochheim. Later, it came to mean any Rheingau wine; and later still, any Rhine wine. England’s Queen Victoria is credited with the line, “A bottle of hock keeps off the doc.”

2003

The current vintage of Egon Müller’s “Scharzhofberger” Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Mosel, Germany). Only 18 bottles were produced, each of which sold for over $13,000, making this one of the most expensive wines upon release. Usually, wines spend years… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed

Join tens of thousands of other wine lovers. Get each week’s edition of WineSpeed delivered to your inbox every Friday. It’s fast. It’s free. It’s the smartest way to stay up to speed on wine.