16 Wine Trivia Questions in Honor of National Trivia Day

National Trivia Day was Monday, January 4, but I just couldn’t pass up the chance to delve into some wine trivia as a way to celebrate the New Year.

Test your wine knowledge and see how many of the answers you know.

Amphora

1. When were the first wines produced?       

       

Around 6600 B.C.

2. In the ancient world, what type of vessel held wine?         

An amphora

3. How long does it take for a grapevine to produce grapes?

Three to five years 

4. How many grapevines make up an acre?  

Around 400

Grapevines

5. One ton of grapes will make how many cases of wine?    

 

Around 60 cases or 720 bottles

6. How many grapes are in a bottle of wine?

600 – 800 grapes

7. How much wine is in a single barrel?   

              

60 gallons, 25 cases or 300 bottles

Grapes

8. How many pounds of grapes does one bottle contain?     

About 2.8 lbs

9. A vintage wine is crafted from how many year’s harvests? 

One year

10. A non-vintage wine includes grapes from how many harvests? 

Two or more years blended together

Corkscrew Patent

11. When was the corkscrew first patented?

1795 in England

12. What temperature should white wine be served at? 

49-55º Fahrenheit

13. What temperature should red wine be served at?  

60-68º Fahrenheit

14. How many calories are in a 5 ounce glass of dry red wine?

About 110

15. What is the difference between a sparkling wine and Champagne?

Sparkling wine is any effervescent wine not grown in the Champagne region of France.

16. What are the top three U.S. states for wine consumption?        

California, New York, and Florida

Alright, you've earned a glass of wine.  Cheers to the New Year!

~ Joy

Making the Wine Industry more Sustainable

Spent an hour talking with Ron Hunt of All About Wine BlogTalkRadio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/allaboutwine, talking about Joy's JOY of Wine, and, yes - cemeteries ; D
Check out the link for the archived program!

Earth Day is a reminder for all of us to be more aware of how we use our resources on this planet, and to encourage environmental awareness around the world. Earth Day is celebrated every April 22^nd  in more than 192 countries.

If you’ve been involved with the hands-on workings of a vineyard or winery then you know that there are a lot of possibilities to make the process more ‘green’. A host of options are available including recycling and reusing, managing energy more efficiently, better soil and water supervision, and enhancing the ecosystem management. 

Many wineries are moving toward sustainable practices by utilizing the 3E’s of sustainability - Environmentally Sound – Economically Feasible – Socially Equitable. 

Sustainable practices help conserve the ecological balance in our world by avoiding the depletion of natural resources. It’s the equivalent of leaving a winery or vineyard in better condition for the next generation, than the land or building was when it was originally developed.  These conditions include better supervision of water management, paying attention to greenhouse gases, and reducing the effects of global warming on the vineyard and winery.

Wineries throughout the world are attempting to become more sustainable. In the state of

California, assistance is available through sustainable winegrowing programs.  The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org offers reports and workshops on how to make the winery and vineyard greener. There is also an online self-assessment tool

to determine where your winery falls on the sustainability scale.

SIP Certified http://www.sipcertified.org is another California program that works with vineyards, and consumers, to help them understand what it takes to become more sustainable.

This includes dealing with pollution levels, managing environmental waste, and finding different ways to protect and rejuvenate the world’s natural resources.

In the wine producing industry, sustainablity can be vineyard practices that conserve and use natural resources such as pest management, soil management, energy efficiency, and water management.

Controling vineyard pests is considered ‘green’ when using sheep to weed the vineyard, providing nesting boxes for birds that feed on vineyard pests, and by physically monitoring the vines for bugs, mold, and fungus.  

Sustainable water management can involve conserving water by using drip irrigation in the vineyard, and utilizing cover crops to help control the soil's water-retaining capacities.

 

Green energy management practices involve insulating wine tanks to conserve energy.  Wineries across the world are even learning how to harness solar energy and wind energy for their own use.

Winery buildings constructed according to the LEED green building program are another answer. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which provides builders with an outline for implementing green designs and construction practices, green building maintenance, and better operation ideas.  LEED buildings are certified as “green buildings” by independent third parties. Currently, over 130 countries recognize and use the LEED program.  In America, it is overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council, http://www.usgbc.org/leed.

To make winery facilities more sustainable also involves conserving and recycling materials used there.  Returning bulk containers such as plastic barrels and shipping boxes to their suppliers for reuse cuts down on waste. Wineries could also recycle their bottles, corks, cardboard boxes, and wooden barrels.   

Wineries and wine shops can begin to go green by enacting socially responsible business practices. This includes purchasing supplies that are environmentally friendly.  Gift cards could be made from wood and still have a magnetic strip, signature panel and scratch-off bar code. Brochures can be made available by using snap tags and business cards exchanged through a QR (quick response) code that consumers can shoot with their smart phones.

For tasting room and wine shop sustainability, eliminate paper and packaging waste. Instead of paper or plastic bags for wine purchases, cloth wine bag carriers can be sold and customers encouraged to reuse them during their next visit.  Paper receipts can be replaced with electronic receipts.  Tasting notes can be written on white boards in tasting rooms.  If customers want to access the notes, they could find them on the winery web site, or by using their smart phones.

But it's not only wineries and wine shops that can help make the wine industry greener, consumers can also pitch in. 

Each year, U.S. consumers purchase over 300-million cases of wine – that adds up to over 3.5 billion wine bottles!  But only 30% of those bottles are recycled. Check with your local winery to see if they have a wine bottle recycling program in place.  Some wineries will even offer incentives such as free tastings, or a percentage off wine purchases when you bring back your used wine bottles.

Recycling glass bottles at home varies by community.  Wine and beer bottles are considered to be container glass and may be recycled in certain areas.  Check with your department of sanitation and find out more about local recycling guidelines.

Corks are also recyclable.  Some wine shops and wineries already have programs in place. Check with your local wine business to find out.  If not, you can mail your corks to one of these recycling programs:

ReCork @ http://recork.org

Yemm & Hart Green Materials @ http://www.yemmhart.com/news+/winecorkrecycling.htm

Cork Forest Conservation Alliance @ http://www.corkforest.org/cork_reharvest.php

There are hundreds of ways the wine industry and the wine consumer can help reduce waste and maintain our natural resources.  If we all do our part, we can build a more sustainable wine industry, and leave the world a better place for the next generation of wine lovers.

~ Joy

What You Can Learn at an In-Store Wine Tasting

It’s Saturday afternoon at your local supermarket and you discover that there is an in-store wine tasting.  Do you walk on past?  (Too many people lined up for “free drinks.”)  Do you stop and try a couple, just for fun?  Or, do you decide to take a few minutes and see if you can learn something from this serendipitous event?

I’ve poured wine at a lot of in-store tastings, and it’s true, you get a few people just wanting to ‘run the bar.’  But you also get those who really want to learn more about the wines, and even some who want to know what they can pair with it for dinner that night.

Of course, one of the reasons that person is standing behind the sample bar is to convince you to purchase a bottle of the displayed wines.  But it’s also a great chance for you to learn something more about wine in general, and the proffered wines in particular. You might even find one or two to take home.

If you want to increase your knowledge about wine – never pass up an in-store tasting.  With that said, when you ask questions, be prepared for the demonstrator to tell you they don’t have a clue about the wines they are pouring.  It’s sad but true, some presenters have been hired to be a pretty or handsome face behind the sample bar.  If that’s what you encounter, by all means try the wines; just be prepared to do some research on your own if you want to know more.

To start, you can always read the bottle label and see if the wine matches the description given.  Just don’t be too hasty to judge a wine completely based on the label description. Those plastic demo cups are NOT helping you to establish a tasting profile.

If you encounter someone who does know something about the wines, or an actual winery representative, take advantage of the situation and learn what you can. 

If the in-store tasting is featuring one brand of wine, you may find that the person pouring is from that winery.  Here is the person to tell you all about their wines.  They will know some pretty amazing facts, and they can tell you what to serve with it that will make it sing. 

This is also a great opportunity to learn more about the winery.  You'll sample only a few of their wines at an in-store demo.  If you like those, chances are you would like others that they offer.  Maybe its time to plan a trip out to the winery and do a real tasting.

If the in-store tasting offers several wines made from the same grape – get ready for a whirlwind lesson in wine.  Comparing five Merlots crafted by different wineries can be amazing!  In these short few minutes, you can learn how oak affects a wine's taste compared next to one that is not oaked.  You may notice the difference in winemakers’ styles, and discover characteristics you do or do not like when compared to others.  Different regions and terrior can become evident when several of the same types of wines are tasted together.

If you find that you like the wine, but didn’t fall in love with it – give it another try.  At in-store tastings, keep in mind that the reds have not had a chance to breathe and the whites may be inadequately chilled. Take a bottle home, treat it right, and give it a chance to shine.

An in-store tasting is not the place to make a quick and final decision on a wine.  Think of it more like speed dating - its an opportunity to see if you make a connection, if you could spend some time with it, and if you want to take it home and become more involved…

~ Joy

First Blog-a-versary

This week marks the first blog-a-versary for Joy’s JOY of Wine.  It’s been a year that has passed very quickly, but I’ve enjoyed it immensely!

I began this blog as a way to share my passion for wine.  Having owned a winery for over ten years, and worked in the industry for a few more, I wanted to find a way to share some of what I’ve learned about wine with other like-minded enthusiasts.

But wine blogging is not for the faint-of-heart!  What began as a novel idea in the early years of this century has grown tremendously.  In 2009, less than 800 wine blogs were said to exist and almost 600 of those were written in English.  Today, you can find wine blogs being written across the globe, in French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Japanese, German, Indonesian, a plethora of languages – all sharing information and a love of wine.

Wine blogging has become so popular; it has its own awards.  The Wine Blog Awards http://wineblogawards.org are awarded each year in various categories for excellence in wine blogging.

There is also a wine bloggers conference held each year. Since 2008, the Wine Bloggers’ Conference http://winebloggersconference.org has been held in several US cities.  This year it will be held in Penticton, BC from June 6^th through the 8th.

Both events were created with the assistance of long-time wine blogger Tom Wark who writes Fermentation, The Daily Wine Blog http://fermentationwineblog.com; one I “grew up” reading.

Wine blogs are written throughout the world by industry publications, wine professionals, wineries, wine shops, and consumers. 

But while there are numerous wine blogs, they are not all the same. Different genres offer different insights and observations into the world of wine. One of the most influential of all wine blogs is Vinography http://www.vinography.com where Adler Yarrow shares his thoughts and explorations into the world of wine.

According to research compiled by Liz Thach for the 5th International Academy of Wine Business Research Conference in 2010, at least a third of the wine blogs out there are written solely to review wines. One of the best is Ken’s Wine Guide http://kenswineguide.com written by Ken Hoggins.

Other wine blogs may be more industry-related, dealing with wine and wine business such as Wine Business Monthly http://www.winebusiness.com, and The Gray Report http://blog.wblakegray.com written by W. Blake Gray and winner of the 2012 Best Industry blog.

A popular blogging twosome deals with food and wine.  This type of blog can offer wine and food pairing suggestions, recipes on how to prepare certain wine-friendly foods, and even propose restaurants that offer a particular type of food and wines that will go well with it.  Most are local/regionally orientated.  Check out Food & Wine magazine for suggestions http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs.

Wine blogs may also be about certain regions or a specific country. Wine Terriors www.wineterroirs.com written by French photographer, Bertrand Celce takes a look at the French wine regions. On the Wine Trail in Italy http://acevola.blogspot.com by Alphoso Cevola is another great one.

Wine blogs can also be written by wineries as a way to tell about the wines they have available, to offer tasting notes, and keep readers up-to-date on events happening at that specific winery. The 2012 Wine Blog winner in this category was Jordan Winery, http://blog.jordanwinery.com.

Or, by the winemakers themselves who describe their vineyard practices, winemaking process, and give details on their latest releases. John M. Kelly does a wonderful job with Notes from the Winemaker http://www.winemakernotesblog.com

And then there are the wine blogs that attempt to inform and educate readers about wine, its culture, and its history. The most popular in this category is Dr Vino http://www.drvino.com, written by Tyler Colman.  (This is the niche that I have happily written Joys JOY of Wine for.)

So many people have shared comments with me on Facebook and LinkedIn.  That has helped me to keep adjusting and researching what you’ve said you’d like to know more about.

So as I begin this second year blogging about wine, its culture and educational aspects, I’d like to say Thank You for reading, joining, following, and liking Joy’s JOY of Wine.  You can keep up with my latest on 
Blogger @ http://joysjoyofwine.blogspot.com

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/JoysJoyofWine

Twitter @ https://twitter.com/vnogrl

Now, let’s raise a glass to another year’s adventures into the world of wine!  Enjoy!!

~ Joy