Level 3 wine exam practice · Learning outcome 2
Spain and Portugal: practice questions
36 original multiple-choice questions on this chapter, each with an explanation. Five are below; the rest, plus timed mocks and written-answer drills with mark schemes, are in the app.
Sample questions
The white wines of Rías Baixas are made principally from:
- Albariño
- Verdejo
- Viura
- Godello
Answer: Albariño. Albariño, thick-skinned and aromatic, is the grape of Galicia's Atlantic coast, giving peach, citrus and a saline freshness. Verdejo is Rueda's grape, Viura is Rioja's, and Godello is grown inland in Galicia but is not the Rías Baixas variety.
Calatayud and Cariñena, in Aragón, are best known for:
- Good-value reds from old-vine Garnacha
- Sparkling wine made by the traditional method
- Aromatic dry whites from Albariño
- Botrytised sweet wines
Answer: Good-value reds from old-vine Garnacha. These high, dry, windy districts of the upper Ebro hold some of Spain's oldest Garnacha bush vines and sell concentrated, ripe reds for far less than Priorat charges for the same grape. Cariñena the region confusingly shares its name with the Carignan grape, which is a minor player there today.
Which Catalan region is Spain's main source of Cava and also makes still wines from varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay?
- Penedès
- Priorat
- Rías Baixas
- Jumilla
Answer: Penedès. Penedès, between Barcelona and Tarragona, grows the traditional Cava grapes in volume and was an early adopter of international varieties for still wines. Priorat is the slate-hill Garnacha region nearby, Rías Baixas is Galicia's Albariño country, and Jumilla is Monastrell territory in the south-east.
A customer wants a rich, ripe, easy-drinking Portuguese red at a good price. Which region should you suggest?
- Alentejo
- Vinho Verde
- Bairrada
- Dão
Answer: Alentejo. The Alentejo's warm climate and modern wineries produce exactly this style in volume. Vinho Verde is a light white region, Bairrada's Baga is tannic and austere when young, and the Dão's reds are elegant rather than rich.
A traditional Rioja matured for a long period in American oak typically shows:
- Vanilla, coconut and dill with dried red fruit and soft tannins
- Fresh blackcurrant and firm, unyielding tannins
- Lychee and rose aromas
- A pronounced petrol note
Answer: Vanilla, coconut and dill with dried red fruit and soft tannins. American oak gives sweeter, more obvious flavours than French, and years in barrel followed by bottle age soften the tannins and dry the fruit, producing the classic old-school Rioja profile. Fresh blackcurrant describes young Cabernet, lychee is Gewurztraminer and petrol is aged Riesling.