Archive for the 'wine quizzes' Category

Bluff the reader – tasting note edition

It’s time for bluff the reader! To those at Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, bear in mind that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. One of these tasting notes and author combinations below is true, the others are false. Hit the comments with the right answer!

A) “Acrid aroma of seared steak, hot metal and welding fumes.” -Gary Vaynerchuk’s description of a cabernet franc from Gary, Indiana.

B) “Imagine having to choose between your ideal fantasy sexual partner and this wine–-and you choose [the wine]! That’s how good it is.” -Antonio Galloni on the $2,500-a-bottle Krug Clos d’Ambonnay.

C) “Usefully light. Not heavy. Not tired. Go for it! In private, of course.” -Jancis Robinson on Gallo Family Vineyard Moscato.

D) “Tastes like the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus.” -HoseMaster of Wine in a roundup tasting of California sauvignon blancs.

Answers to follow…

This week in wine! Palin, college students, perfume, Long Duk Dong

What a crazy week in wine news! You’d think it was April Fool’s week. Spot which one of these stories did NOT happen this week:

A) The French government has proposed making wine tastings available in college cafeterias. “Why is there sex education and not viticultural education? You can learn wine too,” said the author of the study. Jean-Robert Pitte former director of the Sorbonne and author of Bordeaux-Burgundy said it will show students that it wine is “a pleasure, good for their health and part of their national heritage.”

B) With Mother’s Day soon approaching, cult winery Colgin Cellars has launched a new perfume. Partnering with Strange Invisible Perfumes, the new perfume is inspired by Colgin Cellar IX vineyardand the winery in Napa valley. The perfume echoes the lavender, wild sage and roses found on the IX Estate, the vineyard’s unique terroir, the cellar’s earthy embrace, and select notes found within the wines themselves. Described as “Brambly. Floral. Stirring,” the perfume is comprised of organic, wildcrafted and biodynamic essences set in a base of 100% organic, beverage-grade grape alcohol. It is priced at $320 for 0.25 oz.

C) In Las Vegas, Sarah Palin, gave the keynote speech at the annual convention of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association. In her discourse on entrepreneurship, deregulation and Congressional election prospects, she thanked George W. Bush for keeping the country safe, spoke of America’s need to use less foreign oil, but neglected to discuss the three-tier system of liquor distribution. However, she did say that she is happy she is not working in a restaurant and bar like she did in college.

D) Actor Gedde Watanabe, best known for his role as Long Duk Dong in the 1984 film Sixteen Candles, is the latest to introduce a celebrity wine. “After trying to bury this character for inappropriate stereotypes for nearly three decades, I’ve decided to cash in,” he said. His Chateau Longuedoc Dong will be released this spring . The syrah will have the line “Oh sexy, girlfriend!” on the label; the Pinot will say “No more yanky my wanky!”

Correctly pick which one is the spoof in the comments below and win our admiration and a free six-month subscription to this web site!

Trivia: Vin de dessert, Burgundy style

I attended the Wine Media Guild lunch last week of the wines of Aloxe-Corton. Unfortunately I got there a little late, so I can’t offer a comprehensive roundup.

But Patrick Séré, the speaker and jolly etymologist, did have a bit of trivia. He said that in the 19th century in Burgundy that the best, dry white wines were called “vin de dessert.” Why? Comments are open.

UPDATE 11/19: Read more…

Against vintages: who said it?

“This is good, this year is bad. If we bottle it, we consider the product good.”

Which vintage-hating vintner said this?

A. Fred Franzia, owner of Two Buck Chuck
B. Jess Jackson, Kendall-Jackson
C. Baron Elie de Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild
D. Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Chateau Margaux

Wine quiz winners

The quiz is over! Long live the quiz!

Mark in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was selected at random as the winner of the Oxford Companion to Wine! All hail Mark’s wine geekdom! Chris Craig! from the UK won the second book prize. We are still working out whether elves can bring books to England.

Thanks for all of your participation in the quiz this time around. Clearly it was too easy for all you sharp wine enthusiasts this time since it had the highest success ratio by far of any quiz to date (see the answers here or head to the wine quiz archive if you are still jonseing). But still your chances of winning either prize were much better than the lottery.

Sign up for the free monthly email list to keep posted on future quizzes. Happy reading Mark and Chris! We look forward to your tasting notes book reports.

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Year-end wine quiz

Perplexed about a wine gift this year? Win one of two of the best wine books of 2006 in the Dr. Vino year end wine quiz!

The six questions include mice, other galaxies, deceased world leaders, James Bond, the Bush twins–and, oh yes, wine! Knock back this half-a-case of questions and qualify to wine one of the prizes

* The Oxford Companion to Wine, third edition, hailed by Slate as “the most useful wine book ever” and is a welcome addition to the bookshelf of any wine geek. List price $65.

* The Wines of France: The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers, hailed by Eric Asimov as a book that “embraces France region by region, offering opinionated reviews of producers and concise demystifications of the French nomenclature that bedevils American consumers.”

The quiz closes on Monday December 18. Winners will be notified December 19 and little elves will whisk the prizes to the winners later that week.

Surf on over and get started!
www.drvino.com/winequizend2006.php

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Quiz wrap-up


No that’s not Andy, the quiz winner, dumping his new liquid assets. That’s a hint for question #8 (granted, it’s Diddy in the photo).

Congratulations to Andy in St. Paul, MN who won the half-a-case of wine in the Labor Day quiz! He’s promised to share his tasting notes with us.

And congrats to Susan in Chicago who won the second prize, Perfect Pairings, by Evan Goldstein.

Thank you to the several hundred people who showed off their wine smarts. And thanks to those blogs and sites who linked to the quiz!

You can still take the quiz–or cut straight to the answers–but the prizes are now gone.

Stay tuned for the next one!

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Free wine, last call!

Win a half-a-case of wine (better than none!) in the quiz–ends tonight!

http://www.drvino.com/winequiz2006.php

And don’t forget to join me tonight for tapas and vino starting at 6:30 PM. Alas, no free wine though. So take the quiz!

Bar Carrera
175 Second Ave @ 11th
Review here
Map here

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