Level 3 wine exam practice · Learning outcome 3
Sparkling wines: practice questions
60 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
A customer wants a Champagne with a richer, toastier, more developed character than a standard non-vintage Brut. Which should you suggest?
- A vintage Champagne or prestige cuvée with long lees ageing
- A young Extra Dry
- A Blanc de Blancs released after the minimum ageing
- A Demi-Sec
Answer: A vintage Champagne or prestige cuvée with long lees ageing. Toasty, biscuity depth comes from extended time on the lees, which vintage wines and prestige cuvées receive. A young Blanc de Blancs is typically the lightest, most citrus-driven style, and sweetness is not what the customer asked for.
Which of these sparkling-wine sweetness terms indicates a sweeter wine than Brut?
- Extra Dry
- Brut Nature
- Extra Brut
- Zero dosage
Answer: Extra Dry. The scale runs from Brut Nature and Extra Brut, the driest, through Brut, then Extra Dry, Sec and Demi-Sec, to Doux, the sweetest. Extra Dry is the trap: despite the name it carries more sugar than Brut and is common for Prosecco.
Why do sparkling wines need a heavier bottle and a wired cork?
- The dissolved carbon dioxide creates high pressure inside the bottle, which the glass must withstand and the cork must be held against
- To make the wine age faster
- Because the law requires it for all white wines
- To keep light out of the wine
Answer: The dissolved carbon dioxide creates high pressure inside the bottle, which the glass must withstand and the cork must be held against. A traditional-method bottle holds several times atmospheric pressure, enough to blow out an ordinary cork or crack a thin bottle; the thick glass, the mushroom cork and the wire cage are all engineered for that pressure. Lighter bottles are used for lower-pressure styles such as some Prosecco.
Why are Champagne's chalk soils considered an asset?
- Chalk drains freely yet holds a reserve of water for the vine, and its pale surface reflects light and warmth in a cool climate
- Chalk is highly fertile and encourages vigorous growth
- Chalk gives the wine its bubbles
- Chalk prevents frost
Answer: Chalk drains freely yet holds a reserve of water for the vine, and its pale surface reflects light and warmth in a cool climate. The porous chalk keeps the roots neither waterlogged nor parched, a balance that matters in a region with regular rain, and it stores heat that helps ripening. The cellars cut into the same chalk give the cool, constant conditions in which the wine ages.
Cap Classique is:
- South Africa's term for sparkling wine made by the traditional method, typically from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sometimes Chenin Blanc
- A South African fortified wine
- A tank-method sparkling wine from the Cape
- A sweet sparkling Muscat
Answer: South Africa's term for sparkling wine made by the traditional method, typically from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sometimes Chenin Blanc. The Cape Classique producers adopted the name to signal Champagne-method quality without using Champagne's protected name. Robertson, with its limestone, and the cooler coastal regions supply much of the base wine.