Vin Mousseux

Sparkling wine, made either by SECONDARY FERMENTATION in bottle or in tank, or for inexpensive wines, the addition of carbon dioxide.

What was the most-planted white grape in the Napa Valley before Prohibition began in 1920?

A. Chenin Blanc

B. Sauvignon Blanc

C. Pinot Blanc

D. Riesling

Before Prohibition, many of the most important vintners in the Napa Valley were German. Immigrants such as Jacob Schram, Frederick Beringer, and Charles Krug forged the first wine industry in the Napa Valley using the grape they knew best: riesling. Even by the 1940s when Stony Hill Winery famously planted the largely unknown chardonnay grape in the Napa Valley, riesling plantings were four times greater than that variety. Vineyard acreage devoted to riesling declined precipitously throughout California in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but a new surge of excitement for the varietal means that plantings are once again on the upswing. Still, today, riesling plantings comprise just over 4000 acres in California; chardonnay, 95,000 acres.

Astringent

Astringent describes the dry, raspy mouthfeel of a wine with a considerable amount of unripe tannin. Astringency can also be provoked by certain foods, such as unripe walnuts or unripe persimmons. Excess astringency is unpleasant… Continue reading

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