South West

Question 1

How many grapes are permitted in South West?

Answer 1

300

120 grapes are indigenous

Question 2

What is the overall climate of South West?

Answer 2

Continental

Question 3

What geographical feature borders the east of the South West region?

Answer 3

Massif Central

Question 4

The majority of South West’s vineyards lie where?

Answer 4

The Aquitaine Basin

Question 5

Why did wine production stagnate in South-West in the 19th and 20th centuries?

Answer 5

Two world wars
Blocked by Bordeaux
Downy Mildew
Phylloxera

Question 6

What was the main export hub for South West wine?

Answer 6

Bordeaux

Question 7

What are the most famous AOCs of the Dordogne/Bergerac sub-region?

Answer 7

Bergerac
Monbazillac

Question 8

The Tarn and Lot are tributaries of what River?

Answer 8

Garonne

Question 9

What are the famous AOCs of the Garonne, Tarn, and Lot sub-region?

Answer 9

Cahors
Gaillac

Question 10

What are the most famous AOCs of the Pyrenees sub-region?

Answer 10

Madiran
Jurançon

Question 11

Which of the 3 South West sub-regions is the most spread out?

Answer 11

Garonne, Tarn, and Lot

Question 12

Merlot is a cross between what two grapes?

Answer 12

Cabernet Franc
Magdeleine Noire

Question 13

What native South West grape is the principal grape of Madiran?

Answer 13

Tannat

Question 14

What technique was introduced in Madiran in order to soften the hard tannins of Tannat?

Answer 14

Micro-oxygenation

Question 15

What is the French word for micro-oxygenation?

Answer 15

Micro-bullage

Question 16

What is a parent grape of both Merlot and Côt?

Answer 16

Magdeleine Noire des Charentes

Question 17

What is the largest dessert wine appellation by size and volume in France?

Answer 17

Monbazillac

Question 18

What are the primary grapes of Monbazillac?

Answer 18

Sauv Blanc
Sémillon
Muscadelle
Sauv Gris

Question 19

What are the main soils of Bergerac?

Answer 19

Clay and limestone

Question 20

Which river flows through Bergerac AOC?

Answer 20

Dordogne

Question 21

What white grape is popular for dry and sweet white wines in Gaillac?

Answer 21

Len de l’El / Loin de l’Oeil

Question 22

What grape is important for sparking wines produced in Gaillac?

Answer 22

Mauzac Blanc

Question 23

What are the secondary white grapes used for dry wine in Garonne/Tarn/Lot?

Answer 23

Saint-Côme
Fel

Question 24

Wines from Fronton AOC must be made from 50% of what grape? (But are often 100%)

Answer 24

Negrette

Question 25

Which two native South West grapes have found success in New World vineyards?

Answer 25

Côt (Malbec) in Argentina Tannat in Uruguay

Question 26

What is the origin of the term **Gascony**?

Answer 26

The Vascones, a pre-Roman tribe from which modern day Basque culture originated

Question 27

What is the most important IGP in the South West?

Answer 27

Côtes de Gascogne (second in production only to Pays d’Oc)

Question 28

What was the most planted grape in SW before phylloxera?

Answer 28

Côt

Question 29

Which sub-region of SW has Mediterranean influences?

Answer 29

Garonne, Tarn and Lot

Question 30

What is *boulbène*?

Answer 30

Sandy clay soils found in the SW AOCs of Fronton and Buzet

Question 31

Which AOC makes red and rosé wines from Négrette?

Answer 31

Fronton

Question 32

Which appellation of SW may use the term SGN?

Answer 32

Monbazillac

Question 33

What is *méthode gaillacoise*?

Answer 33

A term used in Gaillac for sparkling wine made in the ancestral method

Question 34

Bergerac produces what style of wine?

Answer 34

Dry white, red, and rosé

Question 35

Which SW region is affected by the Foehn winds?

Answer 35

Pyrenees

Question 36

What is passillerage?

Answer 36

The act of twisting the stalks of grape bunches to stop the flow of sap; this dessicates the grapes and concentrates the sugars

Question 37

What AOC is the largest dessert wine producer by size and volume in France?

Answer 37

Monbazillac

Question 38

What are the two styles of sweet wines made in Gaillac?

Answer 38

Vendages Tardives Doux

Question 39

Madiran lies of the left back of what river?

Answer 39

Ardour

Question 40

What are the 3 types of sparkling wines made in Gaillac?

Answer 40

Methode ancestrale Traditional method Blanc Sec Perlé

Question 41

What is the local Jurançon name for *galets*?

Answer 41

Poudingues

Question 42

What are the two primary red grapes of Irouléguy?

Answer 42

Tannat Cab Franc

Question 43

What are the two most important grapes of Jurançon?

Answer 43

Petit Manseng Gros Manseng

Question 44

Gaillac Primeur wines are made using what vinification method technique?

Answer 44

Semi-carbonic maceration

Question 45

What does “liquoreux” refer to?

Answer 45

Sweet wines made from botrytized grapes

Question 46

What is micro oxygenation and who developed the technique?

Answer 46

Patrick Ducourau developed the technique in Madiran to tame tannins. Minute amounts of oxygen are bubbled through must or wine