Bourboulenc (bore-boo-LAHNK)

Ancient simple-tasting Provençal variety today used in blends throughout the south of France in the white wines of appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes-du-Rhône, Corbières, Minervois, and Bandol.

Sherry is fortified, oxidized, and maderized.

Answer: False.

Sherry is fortified and undergoes some controlled oxidation. But Sherry is not maderized. Maderization means the wine was intentionally heated. The wine that is fortified, oxidized, and maderized, not to mention sometimes aged for decades, is Madeira. Arguably the world’s longest-lived wine, Madeira at its best is a wine of such spellbinding complexity it’s almost hard to fathom. Great Madeiras do not sit in your glass; they scream with tangy deliciousness. Madeira comes from a small cluster of steeply rugged volcanic islands, the largest and most important of which is also called Madeira—from ilha da madeira, “island of the woods.” Although Madeira and its tiny sister islands are geographically part of Africa (about 310 miles off the Moroccan coast), they are nonetheless a province of Portugal (about 620 miles to the northeast).

The Emperor’s Wine

Falernian was the Château Pétrus of ancient Rome—so sought after that you practically had to be the emperor of Rome to get a taste. Made from grapes grown in just three vineyards on Monte Massico,… Continue reading

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