Wednesday Fun Day with Cabernet Franc
Wine Trivia: (answers at the bottom)
- Which U.S. president was born in his parents tavern?
A. George Washingtonfff
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Martin Van Buren
D. John Adams
2. The wine terms Old World and New World are defined by:
A. Geography
B. Travel plans of Christopher Columbus
C. Economics
D. Chemistry
3. Which top ten wine producing countries of the world country is now the number one importer of Bordeaux?
A. United States
C. South Africa
B. Italy
D. China
4. How many grapes does it take to make a standard bottle of wine?
A. 50 grapes, or about .75 of a pound
B. 500 grapes, or about 5 pounds
C. 200 grapes, or about 2.5 pounds
D. 1000 grapes, or about 10 pounds
5. Bordeaux wine is named for:
A: A river
B: Rich dudes
C: A bunch of grapes
D: A region
Poem of the Week:
The Vault
By Leah Beth Canon
I have a place
Where I store red wine.
Dusty bottles I turn slow paced
To prevent sediment in time.
Somewhere in my heart,
You’re that bottle of Cabernet
Turning a three-quartered work of art-
A place where you’ve always stayed.
Upon a wooden shelf
Where you can be seen from mind’s eye-
No one else knows- sacred stealth
Shhh…a hidden vault for you and I.
And I keep open the cellar door
For us to love again, once more.
Painting of the Week:
Le Jeune Degustateur (1725-1730) (The Young Wine Taster) by Philippe Mercier
Located at The Louvre Museum
Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) was born in Berlin and lived much of his adult life in England, where he was an artist for the Prince of Wales. He was classically trained in Berlin, Italy and France. Notice the triangular composition. The lightest parts of the painting pull the viewer’s eye to the eyes of the Wine Taster who is admiring the wine.
Movie of the Week:
Red Obsession (2013) is a good movie to see how a wine can reach an untapped market and become a household name. That was brilliant PR and marketing.
How do you know which is the best wine in the grocery store or wine shop. It’s a lot like love. It will be a wine that speaks to you. It’s a wine with your personal favorite flavors found in some unique grape you haven’t met yet, made in some place you haven’t heard of by a boutique artisan. How can you tell if a wine is a work of art? There’s no other bottle like it. It becomes part of the world of art collecting, such as the Speyer Bottle at the Historical Museum of Palatinate in Speyer, Germany. It’s one of a kind. Museum curators will not open it, even for research, as it is too valuable.
Song picks for the week to play:
Bordeaux (1983) by The Durutti Column with lyrics, “Love sent from Bordeaux”.
A Hole in the Bottle (2020) by Kelsea Ballerini
Answer to trivia questions:
1. C. Martin Van Buren, our 8th President and founder of the Democratic Party
2. A. Geography
3. D. China with 8 million gallons annually and rising.
4. C. 200 grapes, or about 2.5 pounds
5. D. Bordeaux is both a city and a region in southwest France. The name comes from bord meaning border and eau meaning water.
