Abbadia

The term for abbey, sometimes shortened to just badia. Buildings that were once abbeys have often been converted into renowned Italian wine estates, such as Tuscany’s Badia a Coltibuono.

Blue cheese generally makes most red wines taste richer and livelier.

Answer: False.

While I love blue cheese, I usually don’t have it with wine. Extremely salty and pungent, blue cheese’s aggressive, palate-coating flavors strip the flavor of virtually all dry red wines, making them taste insipid and washed out. Just about the only wine that can counterbalance a blue cheese’s forceful character is a powerhouse like Port. Because it is both sweet and fortified, Port has the intensity and body to stand up to blue cheese. The combination, in fact, has been considered a European classic for centuries.

Cailloux

The French term (pronounced KIGH-you) for stones or pebbles left behind by ancient rivers or glaciers. Although it can seem next to impossible, vineyards exist in soils composed mainly of such stones, including, in the… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed