How well are your servers trained? Here are questions that
everyone serving wine in your operation should know the
answers to, preferably before they are permitted on the
floor. (Answers and reasons why each question is important
follow.)
1. Sulfites in wine refers to:
a. the smell of a burning match
b. a spoilage problem
c. a naturally derived preservative
d. a type of sediment found on the bottom side of a cork
2. Cork stoppers are used on wine bottles
because:
a. they are cheaper than anything else
b. they add flavor to the wine
c. they allow wine to aerate slowly as it ages
d. they are impermeable, elastic, durable, and readily available
3. Rank these countries, one through
four, in order of their total wine production (one being
most, four least):
a. USA
b Australia
c. Italy
d. Spain
4. A 750 milliliter bottle holds how
many ounces of wine:
a. 26.2
b. 24.8
c. 24
d. 25.4
5. "Old Vine(s)" on a wine
label refers to:
a. a legal term meaning vines over 21 years of age
b. vineyards affected by phylloxera
c. vines used to make a late harvest wine
d. a non-regulated term, referring to the relative age of
the vines from which the wine was made
6. "Acid" in wine is:
a. responsible for the crisp taste of dry table wines
b. the result of a bad vintage
c. the same as bitter
d. only found in white wines
7. Tannin, as in "a tannic wine",
refers to:
a. the taste or smell of leather
b. full body (a full bodied wine)
c. an off flavor or taste
d. a slightly bitter and astringent compound, found in nearly
all red wines, contributing to ageing potential
8. Tartrate crystals found on the wine-soaked
end of the cork or as a sediment-like deposit in wine is
the result of:
a. leaving a wine bottle standing up too long
b. broken glass, which probably got in the bottle on the
bottling line
c. mineral salts in wine which precipitate out of solution
d. sugar in wine which precipitates out of solution
9. What happens to a wine that is allowed
"to breathe"?
a. it ages longer in the bottle
b. it automatically tastes $20 better
c. it is simply being aerated, in hopes of uplifting or
developing its aroma, taste, and/or balance
d. none of the above
10. Which of these is usually the heaviest
or more tannic wine?
a. Merlot
b. Grignolino
c. Cabernet Sauvignon
d. Kabinett