Wine Quiz Quiz: Cool White Wines of Germany, Austria and Beyond Jul 31, 2020 1 of 10 RIGHT! WRONG! Many of Germany’s finest Riesling vineyards are located near which of these natural features, which help them absorb much-needed heat in a cool climate? Rivers, whose surfaces reflect sunlight and warmth toward steep cliffside vineyards Vast, dense, wet forests whose heat and humidity help to ripen grapes Mountaintops with melting ice caps that release latent heat Natural glass deposits that shine sunlight at vineyards with laser intensity Although Germany is still best known to many drinkers for its sweeter Riesling bottlings, more enophiles are discovering the country’s white wines labeled “Grosses Gewächs” ("GG"), which means they are required to be … Fermented and aged for at least two years in enormous wooden vats, some rivaling swimming pools in volume Dry, and produced from single vineyards that have the German equivalent of a grand cru designation White wines made from red grapes, particularly Spätburgunder Approved by a regional panel of tasters as being among the “grosses” wines of the vintage (a good thing) Fans of German Riesling may be familiar with kabinett, a term for typically dry or off-dry wines made in a lighter style. How did these whites get their furniture-like name? They were first produced to celebrate the release of the 1920 German silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Historically, they were considered the best wines made at a winery, and stored in a special “cabinet cellar” It's derived from the German translation of "Cabernet," as Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling were once thought to be related During the Riesling Wars, Mosel winemakers had to hide grapes in closets during raids by their Rhenish enemies, and vice versa In order to give their white wines more body, texture and complexity, producers in Germany and Austria have increasingly experimented with using which winemaking techniques in the cellar? Deep collagen absorption and tannin stirring The Charmat method and the Reverse Charmat method Isinglass filtration and micro-massaging Skin contact and lees aging Vineyards throughout Germany, Austria and Slovenia are often incredibly steep, rising from rivers and capitalizing on sun exposure. Because of this extreme topography, what must many winemakers do during harvest? They uproot entire vines and remove the grapes in the winery They harvest their grapes by hand, sometimes even using carabiners to keep their balance They use wind turbines to blow grapes off the vines and into nets below They train squadrons of small birds to pick grapes and drop them into nearby crates; the younger generation prefers drones Although it is most famous as the primary grape in most Tokaji dessert wines, Furmint also produces increasingly recognized minerally white wines in central European countries like Slovenia, Croatia and, most notably ... Andorra Lichtenstein Hungary Furginia Welschriesling, which is grown throughout Hungary, Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic and used to make ginger-accented, high-acid wines, is actually the same grape more commonly known as, simply, Riesling. True False Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s best known and most-planted white grape, produced throughout the country. What are some hallmark flavors of the wine? Citrus, green pepper and white pepper, with slightly herbal undertones Tangerine and mango, with unctuous, buttery undertones Strawberry, mint and star anise Soursop and orange plum Throughout Austria, winemakers are specializing in natural, biodynamic and skin-contact bottlings from the grape Morillon, a regional name for the variety better known as what, from Burgundy to Napa? Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay Pinot Gris Moral Lawn Blanc Most of Austria follows a wine classification similar to Germany’s Prädikatswein system of spätlese, auslese and so on, based on the ripeness level of grapes at harvest. But one region has its own method of classifying white wines qualitatively—as steinfeder, federspiel or smaragd—based on alcohol level, residual sugar and aging regimen. It is: Wachau Moravia Zubrowka Fredonia Next Results Your score is Retake this quiz