D.

While De Niro has invested in many restaurants–Nobu, Rubicon, and Tribeca Grill, hotels and a spirits brand, VDKA 6100, he has never pursued a wine brand.  A. As a kid, Wayne Gretzky watched his grandfather make his own wine.  Today, “The Great One” presides over Wayne Gretzky Estates, producing wine from the Niagara Peninsula and Okanagan wine regions, as well as Canadian whiskies.  B. Dubbed “Liz’s Fizz” by the London press, the Queen’s sparkling wine is made from 7 acres of classic Champagne grapes on the monarch’s estate outside Windsor Castle.  C. A blend of syrah, merlot, grenache and cabernet sauvignon from California’s Santa Ynez Valley, Fergalicious is the most high-profile offering from Ferguson Crest winery, a collaboration between Fergie and her father Pat Ferguson.

B.

Rotundone (row-TUND-own) just might make you think someone had surreptitiously ground up some black pepper into your glass. The compound—often (but not always) found in the syrahs of France’s Rhône Valley and the shirazes of Australia—is the exact same compound that exists in peppercorns.  It can be found in grapes themselves and survives the fermentation process. Syrah/shiraz is of course famous/notorious for the black and/or white pepper aroma and flavor, but rotundone can also occasionally be found in pinot noir, gamay, durif, schioppettino and the white grape grüner veltliner, among others. The compound was discovered by the Australian Wine Research Institute in 2005.

A.

The artist/scientist/inventor Leonardo da Vinci was a great lover of wine. In 1498, he accepted a small vineyard from Ludivoco Sforza, the Duke of Milan, as payment for “The Last Supper” which da Vinci painted for the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. (The vineyard was destroyed by a fire that resulted from bombing during World War II). And what grapes grew in da Vinci’s vineyard?  In 2009, Italian viticulturists and geneticists excavated the site, and based on the DNA of extant roots, determined that it was malvasia di candia, an aromatic white variety, which of course is still grown in Italy today.

A.

Chardonnay is derived from the medieval Latin word cardonnacum, meaning “place of thistles.” Thistle is chardon in French. There is a small village in the Mâconnais region of southern Burgundy called Chardonnay.

B.

Variety refers to a grape. A vineyard, for example, might be planted with the variety cabernet sauvignon. A varietal refers to the wine made from a given variety. So, in a wine shop, you can buy a bottle of the varietal cabernet sauvignon which is made from the variety cabernet sauvignon.

C.

Juhfark (YOU-fark) is a Hungarian white grape variety, most notably grown in the volcanic wine region of Somló in northwest Hungary. The name in Hungarian means sheep’s tail, referring to the elongated, cylindrical shape of the clusters. The wine itself is often made with skin-contact and has a complex flavor.

C.

Pierre. The term “Dom” is an honorific title for a monk. The word comes from the Latin dominus meaning “master.”

C.

When the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) recently surveyed 2000 Britons, 29% believed that the famous French sweet wine Sauternes was “a type of orange.” Twenty percent of respondents thought it was a beach resort. And seven percent thought it was a plant. It appears that wine education is not quite yet a fait accompli.

C.

Cru Beaujolais refers to wines from ten distinguished villages. (Interestingly enough, in most of the rest of France, the word cru refers to a vineyard.) Most of these villages are in the north of the region on steep granite hills. Cru wines are deeper, denser, more structured and more age-worthy than regular Beaujolais. The ten Cru are: St.-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly. Although Beaujolais Nouveau will be released next Thursday, we recommend you drink the far better Cru Beaujolais to celebrate the region.

D.

The style of Sherry known as Oloroso takes its name from the word oloroso which means “intensely aromatic” in Spanish. Olorosos are long-aged Sherries that have been carefully exposed to oxygen. This darkens the wine to a rich, deep mahogany and imparts a flavor ten orders of magnitude more nutty than nuts themselves. Olorosos are potent and full-bodied Sherries with an unctuous feel on the palate. Try one from Lustau, Gonzales Byass or Hidalgo.

B.

Many of the top vineyards of the Willamette Valley in Oregon are named after women who have been inspirations in the industry. Helen, Louise, Jessie and Eileen and Marjorie are all vineyards that belong to Cristom. Nancy’s vineyard honors Nancy Ponzi of Ponzi, and Elizabeth’s is named after David Adelsheim’s daughter.   

C.

In fact, China has 148,263 acres (60,000 hectares) of cabernet sauvignon, about 20% more than the number two country France with 118,611 acres (48,000 hectares). Chile came in third at 106,255 acres/43,000 hectares and the U.S was fourth with 101,313 acres/41,000 hectares. OK, we’ll stop the list here since the next country is behind by 40%. Source: 2017 OIV (International Organization for Vine and Wine) Report.

C.

The name Champagne was first used in the sixth century and is derived from campagnia remensis, a Latin term for the countryside around the city of Reims. There is only one appellation in Champagne—Champagne—but the region encompasses five main vineyard areas: Montagne de Reims,  Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, Côte de Sézanne, and Côte des Bar (also known as Aube).

C.

The Napa Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) was established in 1981 and was the first AVA in California. Like all AVAs, it is governed by federal regulations set forth by the Tax & Trade Bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. Those regulations stipulate that if an AVA is listed on a wine label, 85% of the grapes used for that wine must come from that AVA.

A.

Ok, we know it’s supposed to be a wine quiz, but who doesn’t like an occasional beer (question)? In any case, for the survey, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch surveyed 1,000 millennials in the U.S. and the U.K. Of those surveyed, 27% said they were ditching beer. And the number one reason? Because “it makes you fat.” Millennials appear to be cutting back on alcoholic beverages of all kinds, with beer being hit harder than either spirits or wine.

D.

OK, we just made up Rioja Centro. Rioja is divided into three subregions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental (formerly known as Rioja Baja). What are generally considered to be the finest tempranillo grapes come from the Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa which, being higher and farther north and west, toward the Atlantic, experience a cooler climate. The land then slopes downward to the warmer, lower, drier Rioja Baja in the southeast—the only part of Rioja that experiences a more Mediterranean climate. Grapes there (often garnacha in addition to tempranillo) make wines that tend to be higher in alcohol and lower in acidity.

D.

When analyzing wine, professionals often split aromas/flavors into three categories: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary aromas and flavors come from the grape itself or natural factors in the vineyard. Pinot noir, for example, often displays the primary aromas/flavors of red cherries, strawberries, and a certain earthiness. Secondary aromas and flavors come from winemaking. The smell and flavor of oak in chardonnay is a secondary aroma/flavor that results from fermentation or aging in oak barrels. Similarly, the aroma and flavor of bread dough in Champagne is a secondary aroma/flavor that results from long aging on lees. Tertiary aromas and flavors are those that come from time. After, say, ten years, a great cabernet sauvignon no longer smells or tastes simply of cassis or other primary aromas/flavors. It takes on almost impossible-to-describe aromas and flavors that result from molecules in wine coalescing over time into whole new compounds.

C.

Yes, red Sancerre exists and it’s made from pinot noir. Although, most Sancerre today is made from sauvignon blanc grapes, that was not always the case. Before the phylloxera epidemic in the 19^th century, the leading grapes in Sancerre were chasselas (a white grape also grown in Switzerland) and pinot noir. After phylloxera, growers replanted with sauvignon blanc (a high vigor variety) and by the 1930s, it was the area’s dominant grape. Pinot noir was also replanted after phylloxera, and today is experiencing a resurgence in Sancerre.

A.

Mount Vulture, located in Basilicata (the “instep” of the Italian boot), is an extinct volcano on whose slopes the best aglianico grapes are grown for aglianico del Vulture DOCG wine. Mount Etna is in Sicily, Mount Vesuvius is in Campania, and Mount Cavo is in Lazio.