Wine is confusing.
And one of the reasons is that many countries and regions produce wine with labels that do not indicate what type of wine is actually in the bottle.
For example, there could be a picture of a castle on the label. Or a deer. Or a river. And very little else.
Do you need to speed up? Then take this corking quiz and find out what your wine’s weak points are. We have mixed 26 wine and wine-growing towns and areas in the following list. Do you know which is which? All the answers are at the bottom.
WHAT ARE THE GRAPES? AND WHAT ARE FAMOUS PLACES TO MAKE WINE?
Wine is confusing. And one of the reasons is that many countries and regions produce wine with labels that don’t say what type of wine is actually in the bottle.
1. Daisy flower. Will you make a final decision for the initial question?
2. barolo. It often leaves drinkers with cloudy wine.
3. Chablis. One of the world’s favorite wines. But is it a grape?
4. Chardonnay. A classic. But is it a town?
5. White Chenin. If you drink wine, you’ve probably tried Chenin Blanc.
6. merlot. A staple of any wine list.
7. champagne. Are you full of wine knowledge? If so, you will know.
8. Montalcino. Can you visit it? Or grow it?
9. Montepulciano. The sip happens.
10. Beaune. Discord’s Apple?
eleven. Maconese. Will you find it on a map?
12. Saint-Emilion. Is this the wine you want?
13. zinfandel. For some it is wine in a million.
14. Albarino. This leaves a vine and dandy feeling.
fifteen. Malbec. An option for millions of wine drinkers.
sixteen. Sancerre. A wine full of vines. But can you walk around Sancerre?
17. Riesling. Associated with gasoline aromas.
18. the Rioja. Can you uncork the answer for this one?
19. Tempranillo. It could easily be a town. Or could it be?
twenty. sirah. Are you grateful for this quiz?
twenty-one. Green Wine. We’re just trying to help you discover your potential.
22. Semillon. Is it a grape? A place? A Tolkien novel?
23. viognier. It sounds elegant.
24. Gewürztraminer. Whatever it is, it’s Germanic. The rest is up to you.
25. Pomardo. Would you enthusiastically accept the answer for this one?
26. Vosne-Romanée. With a name like that, it’s sure to be delicious.
Many wine bottles reveal very little and often simply contain a pretty image.
THE ANSWERS
1. Daisy flower – French town 25 km north of Bordeaux. Also a wine designation of origin (essentially a wine region).
2. barolo – a region of Piedmont, Italy. It is often confused with a grape.
3. Chablis – is a town in Burgundy, France, and a wine region. Very often it is confused with a grape.
4. Chardonnay – grape. And place. A trick question. Chardonnay is not only a grape variety, but also a Burgundian town within the Mâcon-Chardonnay denomination. The Chablis region, by the way, often uses Chardonnay grapes to make its white wine. So if you say you don’t like Chardonnay but you like Chablis, it doesn’t make much sense.
5. White Chenin – grape.
6. merlot – grape.
7. champagne – a wine-growing region in eastern France. Famous for its effervescence.
8. Montalcino – city in Tuscany, Italy.
9. Montepulciano – grape. (There is also a town in Tuscany with that name, but the two are not connected and grapes are not grown around it. I told you wine is confusing.)
10. Beaune – city in the Burgundy region.
eleven. METERaconnais – Burgundy wine region.
12. Saint-Emilion – town in Bordeaux, France.
13. zinfandel – grape.
14. Albarino – grape.
fifteen. Malbec – grape.
sixteen. Sancerre – French town. And known throughout the world for its aromatic white wine.
The beautiful wine village of Sancerre in the Loire Valley
17. Riesling – grape. It is often grown in the Alsace region of France and Germany.
18. the Rioja – Wine region of Spain. Commonly confused with a grape.
19. Tempranillo – grape.
twenty. sirah – grape.
twenty-one. Green Wine – Wine region of Portugal.
22. Semillon – grape.
23. viognier – grape.
24. Gewürztraminer – grape.
25. Pommard – French village in Burgundy. There is also Chateau de Pommard, an 18th-century wine estate.
26. Vosne-Romanée – a town and wine-growing area in France that produces some of the most expensive pinot noir wines in the world (made from pinot noir grapes, of course).