Vitis

The genus of the plant kingdom to which grapevines belong. Within the genus Vitis there are some sixty separate species. The most famous species—and the only one to have originated in Europe—is VITIS VINIFERA, which includes all of the well-known wine grapes, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and so on (and accounts for virtually all of the wines made today). Most species of vines, however, originated in North America. These include VITIS LABRUSCA, Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis berlandieri, among others.

Marsala, the historic sweet fortified wine from Sicily, comes in three colors.

Answer: True.

Marsala comes in just three colors—oro ("golden"), ambra ("amber"), and rubino ("ruby"), although rubino is extremely rare. Each type can be made at three levels of sweetness: fairly dry (secco, 4% residual sugar), noticeably sweet (semisecco, 4-10% residual sugar), and very sweet (dolce, over 10% residual sugar). All Marsala is fortified to 17-18% alcohol. Despite numerous cheap supermarket examples, Marsala can be extremely delicious when made by a first-rate producer, like De Bartoli.

720

Approximate number of bottles of wine that can be made from one ton of grapes. The number is only approximate because different grape varieties have grapes of different sizes and therefore different amounts of pulp… Continue reading

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