Wine Trivia (answers at the bottom)
Luncheon of the Boating Party is Located at The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.
- In the painting Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1880, the friends, after rowing on the warm Sienne River, stop at a café at the Maison Fournaise. Post-Napoleon and phylloxera, the wine industry suffered a setback in quality. Tavel area vineyards began growing grapes that didn’t require aging. Common breads were regulated by the government and thus Artisan breads were born. Wines from Tavel and Bergerac were meant to be easy drinking to pair with the breads and cheese as a meal. Assuming the wine that they were drinking was from Tavel, what were they drinking?
A. Merlot
B. Malbec
C. Grenache-Cinsault Blend
D. Pinot Noir
- When the wine sommelier or steward pours you a taste of wine in your glass when you ordered a glass, the server is determining what?
A. To see how much of the wine you would like poured
B. To see if it’s what you ordered
C. To determine if you like it
D. To see if you think there’s something wrong with it
- Which of the following smells come from oak barrels?
A. Butter and Crem Brule
B. Vanilla and Allspice
C. Apple and Gooseberry
D. Blackberry and cherry
4. How much alcohol does the average American consume annually (from the WHO data – Global Status Report on Alcohol)?
A. about 5 liters, or about 6 bottles
B. about 10 liters, or about 13 bottles
C. about 15 liters, or about 20 bottles
B. about 25 liters, or about 33 bottles
5. Goblet, Guyut, Geneva, Lyre and Basket are all types of what?
A. Vine training
B. Wine glass styles
C. Ancient wines
D. Wine drinking games
Poem of the Week
A Drinking Song
Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.
-William Butler Yeats
What I’m reading:
Don Quixote (1605) Miguel de Cervantes
In one scene, while drinking wine with goatherders, he explains that knights were created to protect the purity of virgins.”
There’s a ballet Don Quixote. There are a lot of great scenes on YouTube by The Royal Ballet.
Movie of the week:
Normally, I want to encourage people to see movies with really great wine scenes to help them understand more about wine. But today, I think it’s apropos to see Man From La Manch (1972) with Peter O’Toole. On YouTube you can see The Impossible Dream Scene. Man of La Mancha (1972) – The Impossible Dream Scene (6/9) | Movieclips – YouTube
“The mission of each true knight is duty. Nay. It’s privilege to dream the impossible dream.”
If you have a goal or a dream. Go for it. If you don’t try, you’ll never know what might have been. My dream, in addition to having a beautiful vineyard and garden called Copper Grapes, is to help make direct to consumer wine a freedom for all people.
Song of the week:
Drinking Class (2014) by Lee Brice
“I belong to the drinking class
Monday through Friday, man we bust our backs
If you’re one of us, raise your glass
I belong to the drinking class.”
Answers to Wine Trivia
- C. Tavel’s grapes primarily consist of Grenache and Cinsault with some Syrah and Mourvèdre. The café’s house wine would have been exceptionally light, with raspberry and strawberry notes with hints of bubble gum. King Phillip IV travelled through Tavel and enjoyed it, so much so, that when he was offered a glass, drank the glass without getting off of his horse and proclaimed, “Tavel is the only good wine in the world.” Incidentally, this is the wine that Ernest Hemingway primarily consumed.
- D. to see if there’s something wrong with it.
- B. Vanilla and Allspice come from natural vanillin in the oak. Different types of oak impart different flavors.
- A. The average American only consumes a total of 5 liters of alcohol annually, with 50% of that being beer! Colder states out drink states like Nevada, where alcohol is free in the casinos. That puts us between 48th and 55th place worldwide ranking (fluctuates with the economy). Come on America! We can do better! France is in 18th place. Spain is the leading producer of grapes in the world and is in 28th place. Even Canada beats us with their 40th place. That’s pathetic. The Pope makes up for the average population. He enjoys about 56 liters a year. I’m not sure if these numbers are entirely accurate. It doesn’t account for wine that is produced but not sold.
- Training Systems
