Are you a wine lover or just looking to polish up your tasting skills? Try our wine quiz and find out if you really know your wine!

We all love to wax lyrical about the joys of great wine, especially one that tastes so delicious you immediately want another glass.

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But do you know whether your favourite bottle of plonk takes its name from a grape variety or a region? Or how the wine may evolve over time? Or even which wine glass you should be serving it in?

Right or wrong, we think whatever you’re drinking should be a wonderful experience with flavours you long to experience again and again.

So, to help you up your wine game, read on and see if you pass our wine quiz…

Recommended: 12 wine terms to use if you want to pass as a wine expert.

Wine quiz – 10 questions to test your tipple knowledge

1. What’s the difference between New World and Old World?

Wine quiz question 1

New World refers to non-European producers: USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina, while Old World is France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and Greece.

2. An extra dry prosecco is a dry style of sparkling wine, right?

wine quiz - question 2

Wrong. In the prosecco production area in north-east Italy, extra dry is actually sweeter than brut, so if you like a dry style, look out for brut on the label.

3. What does vintage actually mean?

The year the grapes were harvested.

4. What’s the point of aerating wine?

Wine aerator for red wine aeration

Whether it’s a screwcap or cork, white or red, when the wine has contact with air it hugely increases the flavours and aromas, which may explain why the second glass usually tastes better than the first. So reach for a decanter if you have one, invest in an aerator, or pour the wine into a large glass and wait a few minutes for it to evolve.

5. How many grapes are permitted in a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape?

Wine quiz question 5

The most important and largest wine appellation (region) in the Southern Rhone, historically it used to be 13 grape varieties in the blend – each contributing to its structure, fragrance, freshness and ageing potential – but they’ve upped the ante and 18 varieties are now allowed.

6. Which grape variety is in a Champagne Blanc de Blancs?

wine quiz - question 6

This gorgeous fizz is made entirely from chardonnay.

7. What is a tasting of several vintages from the same estate called?

wine quiz - question 7 

A vertical tasting.

8. What’s the difference between a Pouilly-Fumé and Pouilly-Fuissé white wine?

They sound similar but are from two appellations (regions) in France. Pouilly-Fumé is in the Loire Valley and the wines are made from sauvignon blanc, while Pouilly-Fuissé is in Burgundy and the wines are made from chardonnay.

9. What’s the big deal about a magnum?

Magnum versus bottle

Double the pleasure with a magnum (1.5 litres) which is twice the size of a wine bottle (75cl) and not only does it look impressive, but it tastes better too. Both bottles have the same size neck and cork, so the air content is the same and consequently a magnum ages more slowly over a longer period of time. Considered the perfect size for ageing champagne, the result is a wine that’s far more complex.

10. Are you drinking out of the wrong glass?

Choose the correct wine glass

A fancy flute may look the part for your best bubbles, and a small crystal wine glass is always pretty to hold, but to get the most out of your wines, bigger is always best. The shape, thinness and measure of the glass affect the flavour, so always reach for a generous size with a large bowl so you can swirl the wine (again, a little aeration will work wonders), see it, smell it and savour a decent-sized sip.

Cheers – and we hope you enjoyed our wine quiz!

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