Wines of Bordeaux Trivia Quiz

Answer: 700 million bottles

The amount of wine produced will vary slightly from vintage to vintage; 700 million bottles is typical for an average year. Bordeaux contains over 8,000 properties, known as "chateaux," distributed across 60 regions known as "appellations." The quality of the wines varies greatly; only a handful of appellations produce the famous wines that sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars a bottle.

Answer: 2,000 years

The Romans are believed to have introduced viticulture to the Bordeaux region in the first century AD. The Roman historian, Gaius Plinius Secundus, or Pliny the Elder, makes mention of vineyards here in the year 71 AD. The Romans called the area Burdigala; the first vines were probably planted to supply the Romans legions occupying the area with wine.

Answer: False

According to "The World Atlas of Wine," six times as much red wine is produced in Bordeaux as white wine.

Answer: Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the grape used to produce the luscious red wines of Burgundy, and it is also used in the production of the great sparkling wines of Champagne. The grape varieties allowed for red wine production in Bordeaux include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere. Merlot is the most widely planted varietal, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Semillon is the most widely planted white wine grape, followed closely by Sauvignon Blanc. Other white wine grapes allowed include Muscadelle, Ugni Blanc, Columbard, Merlot Blanc, Ondenc and Mauzac.

Answer: Chateau Latour

All of these are fine wines; Leoville-Las-Cases and Durfort-Vivens are second growths. Chateau Petrus is the most famous wine of Pomerol, a region outside of the Medoc; its wines have never been officially classified. The first growths in the classification of 1855 were Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, and Chateau Haut-Brion. Chateau Haut-Brion, like Petrus, is located outside the Medoc, but its wines were so famous they included it anyway.

In 1973, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was "promoted" from second growth to first growth status.

Otherwise, no significant changes have been made to the original classification. Some wines have maintained their quality, or have actually improved; others are no longer producing great wine. One note of caution: there are dozens of wines called Chateau Latour, and many more that have the word "Latour" in their name.

The famous Chateau Latour is from the village of Pauillac. The 2010 vintage of Chateau Latour was released at a price of over $1000 a bottle! So if you see a bottle of "Chateau Latour" at your local liquor store for $20, you've either found the bargain of the century, or (more likely) it's one of the lesser wines with the same name.

Answer: False

They are carefully cellared, but red Bordeaux is a wine that demands long aging to show its best. Wines are usually released for sale a year or two after the vintage date, but even the most modest wines require five or more years of "bottle age" before they are ready to drink.

The best wines require a decade or more. Great Bordeaux can last a century. The time that the wine is at its peak varies greatly from vintage to vintage, and from property to property, so before buying an older wine, it's best to consult a vintage chart, or an online site like cellartracker.com.

The wines from the 1945 and 1961 vintages are still drinking wonderfully well; a wine from 1997 may well be past its prime. As a rule of thumb, the better the vintage, the longer it takes the wine to mature, and the longer it will last.

Answer: Sauternes

Chablis is a dry white wine from Burgundy; Muscadet is another dry white from the Loire. Saumur is also from the Loire region, and may be red, white or rose, still or sparkling, dry or sweet. Of the choices listed, only Sauternes is produced in Bordeaux.

Sauternes is made primarily from Semillon grapes, with a little Sauvignon Blanc, and sometimes a bit of Muscadelle. In order to produce Sauternes, the grapes have to be attacked by a fungus called Botrytis,or "noble rot" ; the fungus dries out the grapes, stimulates the production of glycerin, and concentrates the naturally occurring sugars within the shriveled grapes. It also imparts a unique, honey-like flavor. The result is a thick, syrupy, very fragrant wine with a high alcohol content and lots of residual sugar.

The conditions for the proper development of "noble rot" only occur during certain vintages; some years no Sauternes is produced at all. It is very expensive to produce, since the grapes must be picked one at a time over a period of many weeks, and yields are very low. As a result, Sauternes tends to be very expensive, and is often sold in half bottles. The most famous property is Chateau d'Yquem. Sauternes can last virtually forever; bottles over 200 years old have often been opened and found to be not only drinkable, but still delicious.

Answer: Chateau Mouton-Rothschild

Every year since 1945, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild has commissioned an artist to design a wine label for that year's vintage. The list of artists who have designed a Mouton label reads like a "Who's Who" of the art world: Jean Cocteau, Georges Braque, Henry Moore, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Marc Chagall, just to name a few. So if you want to own an original Picasso (1973), Dali (1958), or Miro (1969), just head on down to your local wine merchant.

Some of the more unusual people to design a label are director John Huston (1982), and HRH Charles, Prince of Wales (2004).

Answer: 2000

Since 1995, Bordeaux has been blessed with an unusual number of good vintage years. 2000, 2005 and 2009 are all considered to be outstanding. 1991 was such a horrible year that some chateaux did not produce any wine at all. 1997 and 2002 are considered by most people to be below average vintages.

It's important to remember, however, that some properties manage to produce good wines even in "bad" years, and not every wine produced in a "good" year will be outstanding. Furthermore, the wine of a well-regarded chateau produced in a less than desirable vintage may still outshine the product of an obscure property's best year.

There's also the age factor to consider; the wine of an off-year that is ready to drink can taste better than the wine of an outstanding vintage that is opened too soon, When in doubt, consult a vintage chart. One of the best is Robert Parker's, which can be found online and downloaded for free.

Answer: Mouton Cadet

Beaujolais is a light red wine produced near the city of Lyon; Blue Nun is a white German wine; and Mateus is a rose wine from Portugal.

The 1930 vintage in Bordeaux was so terrible that Philippe de Rothschild, the owner of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, felt that most of the wine produced was unworthy of bearing the prestigious Mouton-Rothschild name. He created a second label for the inferior wine, and called it "Mouton Cadet," which means something like "Junior Mouton." To his surprise, the wine proved very popular. The 1931 and 1932 vintages were also poor, so the experiment was repeated. Demand for the wine became so great that eventually grapes from other properties were purchased to produce it in greater quantities. After World War II the brand was introduced into the United States and Great Britain, and its popularity continued to increase. Originally offered only as a red wine, it now boasts white and rose varieties, and there is even a Mouton Cadet "Reserve," which purports to be of higher quality than the standard offering. In a typical year, 15 million bottles of Mouton Cadet are sold worldwide. It is a very basic Bordeaux, but its quality and relatively low price have sustained its popularity. Because it's a blended wine, the quality is consistent from year to year. It's a good place to start if you are interested in learning about Bordeaux wines. Incidentally, Mouton Cadet no longer contains any wine sourced from Chateau Mouton-Rothschild; in 1994 the estate introduced a new label called "Le Petit Mouton" for its second wine.