Cru

Translated in English as “growth,” the word cru can mean a vineyard or an estate, usually a superior one, that has been classified geographically or by reputation. A classified cru is known as a cru classé. Within any given classification (such as those in Bordeaux and Burgundy), there are Premiers Crus (first growths), Grands Crus (great growths), and so on. The word is the past participle of the French verb croître, meaning to grow.

Each Thanksgiving holiday, the President of the United States spares the life of a turkey. Which President informally began the tradition of pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving?

A. Alexander Hamilton

B. Harry S. Truman

C. John F. Kennedy

D. George Washington

The tradition began with President John F. Kennedy, even though President Truman is often thought to have been the creator of the tradition after crates of live turkeys were sent to the White House in protest of “poultry free Thursdays” (which, in 1947 post World War II, the government encouraged). Alexander Hamilton, currently off-the-charts in popularity thanks to the Broadway musical Hamilton (tickets are $1000 each by the way), was not a president. And George Washington probably dined on too many turkeys to be in a position of pardoning them.

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Average date in August that three Napa Valley sparkling wine houses—Schramsberg, Domaine Carneros, and Mumm—predict their 2018 harvest will begin. The grapes used for these wines are of course early-ripening varieties (think chardonnay and pinot… Continue reading

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