(Little tidbits about Wine and Local Paso
Wine Facts)
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What
famous couple spent their honeymoon in Paso Robles?
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a) |
Clark Gable and
Carole Lombard |
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b) |
Marilyn Monroe and
Joe DiMaggio |
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c) |
Humphy Bogart and
Lauren Bacall |
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d) |
None of the Above |
Answer: B. Marilyn Monroe and Joe
DiMaggio. Yes, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio spent
the first night of their honeymoon in the Clifton motel on
the south side of Paso. Joe and Marilyn were married
in San Francisco in January of 1954 and were in route to
Palm Springs. Matter of fact, although no longer a
motel, the building is still on the corner of 1st and
Spring.
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What is Chai?
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a) |
Tea, Indian Tea, or
Spiced Tea |
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b) |
Hebrew for Living |
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c) |
Wine Barrel Storage
Room |
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d) |
All of the Above |
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Answer: D. All of the Above The word Chai has
a lot of different meanings based upon the area of the world. In
Asia, Chai means Tea. It is more commonly used to describe spiced
tea or in India, a sweet, spiced tea and milk drink. In Hebrew it
means living. In the wine industry, the French usage for Barrel
Storage room.
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A rather common designation on
American wine labels is the word "Reserve". What does
this mean?
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a) |
Same as Estate |
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b) |
Only the top 10% of
Estate Grapes are used |
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c) |
"Reserve" this wine
for special occasions |
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d) |
Nothing |
Answer: D. Nothing. Although
in Europe the word Reserve has very strict legal definition,
in the US it can mean anything. Some wineries use it
to designate their best wines, Some to designate more
oak, and some slap the word on their worse junk
wine.
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White Zinfandel is referred to as the 3rd largest varietal
produced in the US. Most know it's not a different
grape, but the question is; what Napa winery created
the wine style we know as White Zinfandel today?
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a) |
Berringer |
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b) |
Meridian |
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c) |
Sutter Home |
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d) |
Charles Shaw
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Answer: C. Sutter Home.
White Zinfandel has been produced in California since the
1880's, but previously produced in a dry Rose style.
In the 1970's Sutter was a major producer of traditional
Zinfandel. Common in that process is the draining off
of a portion of the juice before fermentation to create a
richer more flavorful Zin. Often the byproduct excess
juice was fermented also. One time a fermentation got
"stuck" leaving a high residual sugar content wine.
White Zinfandel as we know today (either love or hate) was
created.
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The Champagne glass have undergone dramatic
changes in shape over the years. The Champagne flute is most
common today, but the historical champagne glass was a much wider,
shallower glass. The shape is said to be molded from the breasts
of a famous lady:
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a |
Queen Elizabeth |
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b |
Marie Antoinette |
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c |
Helen of Troy |
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d |
Cleopatra |
Answer: b or c, The original
Champagne glass was said to have been molded from the breasts of the
beautiful Helen of Troy. Later in historical time, Marie
Antoinette ordered that the champagne glass be remolded in the shape of
her own breasts. Larger.
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Paso Robles produces some
excellent Zinfandel. Now the question I'm sure
all have been wanting to know. What is the origin of
the Zinfandel grape?
a) Italy
b) Croatia
c) Spain
d) CreteAnswer:
(b) Croatia. Zinfandel was at one time thought to be indigenous to
California due to it's extensive plantings here. DNA analysis has
linked Zin to the primitivo grape Italy's Puglia region. Most
recent DNA analysis has determined that Zinfandel is a DNA match of the
Crljenak Kastelanski grape from Croatia. Primitivo is now
considered a clone of the Zinfandel/Crljenak Kastelanski grape.
I'm not aware of any Primitivo grown in the Paso area, but Mosby in
Santa Barbara County produces an excellent Primitivo from San Luis
Obispo fruit.
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The Paso Robles Region is well know for both
it's Bordeaux and Rhone wines. Bordeaux varietals account
for 60% of the Paso grape acreage. Which of the following is
NOT a Bordeaux varietal:
a) Malbec
b) Petit Verdot
c) Chardonnay
d) Sauvignon Blanc
Answer: (c) There are 8 grape varietals allowed to be used in
Bordeaux wine. Those are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet
Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Sauvigonon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle.
Chardonnay is a Burgundy grape
variety.
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Wine Glass = 6 oz
Bottle = 4 Glasses
Case = 12 bottles = 2.4 gallons
Barrel = 25 cases = 60 gallons
one ton of grapes yields 140 to 160 gallons
one acre of land yields 4 to 6 tons of grapes
So next time you
look at a vineyard think that each acre of grapes will become 45,000
glasses of wine.
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What is the state grape varietal of
California?
- Zinfandel
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Syrah
- Merlot
- Non of the Above
Answer: Non of the Above. California does not have a state
grape varietal. There was legislation recently proposed to make
Zinfandel the State Grape of California, but this was not approved.
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Who is the owner of the largest winery in
Paso Robles Wine Country?
- Fosters
- Jim Bean
- Delicato
- J LohrAnswer: Fosters.
Meridian is the largest winery operation in the Paso Area with 800,000
cases per year. Meridian is owned by Beringer-Blass who is then
owned by Fosters. Delicato buys a lot of fruit from the Paso area,
but I'm not aware of any winery ownership. Delicato has annual
production of 1.6M cases. Jim Bean is the owner
of Wildhorse. J Lohr is growing quickly and currently producing 740,000
cases per year. So if you answered J Lohr you may be
correct soon. Case production based upon information from Paso
Wine. Delicato production from Wine Business Monthly.
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What AVA (American Virticultural Area) is
York Mountain Winery Located?
- Paso Robles
- San Luis Obispo
- York Mountain
- Central CoastAnswer:
There are two correct answers, York Mountain and Central Coast. Most
people think of York Mountain as a Paso Robles wine,
technically, York Mountain is a separate AVA (one of the smallest).
The are two wineries located in the York Mountain AVA (York Mountain and
Stephens). San Luis Obispo is
not an AVA, wines can be identified by AVA, County, or State of grape
source. Central Coast AVA includes all counties from San Francisco Bay
to Santa Barbara.
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