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In the 1980s, the California-based wine consulting and management company of Gomberg, Fredrickson & Associates established a hierarchy of wines according to price. The hierarchy includes four levels of premium wine—Popular Premium ($3-$7), Mid Premium ($7-$10), Super Premium ($10-$14), and Ultra Premium ($14-$25).

Which of the following grape varieties is not white?

A. Koshu

B. Blauburgunder

C. Hárslevelű

D. Zibibbo

Blauburgunder (blauw-ber-GUN-der) is the German name for pinot noir (yes, Germany and Austria both make pinot noir). Koshu (KO-shoe) is a widely planted Japanese variety. Legend has it that the grape is a cross of a native wild Japanese grape with a vinifera variety that was brought from Eastern Europe to Japan by way of China approximately a thousand years ago. Hárslevelű (HARSH-leh-veh-loo) is an aromatic Hungarian grape that lends a smooth spicy character to the renowned botrytized sweet wine Tokay Aszú. Zibibbo (Zee-BEE-boh) is the Sicilian name for the ancient variety muscat of Alexandria and the source of several famous Sicilian dessert wines.

“And as the best melodies reverberate within us long after the piece has cadenced, the greatest wines live far past their finish, their expression so clear that they give us the power to taste them eternally.”

—Bryce Wiatrak
for Vinous, On Music and Wine

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