Welcome to the Weekly Wine Quiz, holiday shoppers!
As always, I supply the quiz question but not the answer – not right away, anyway. YOU provide your best guess as to the correct answer in the comments section. Then, you can tune in later today when I will reveal the official correct answer (usually along with some other interesting related trivia tidbits) in the comments, to see if you’ve achieved bragging rights about your wine smarties over your friends. Since the weather outside is getting mildly frightful (at least where I live), this week we’ll enter the frosty world of ice wine…
Ice Ice Baby: It’s known that ice wines were produced in Franconia, Germany in the late 1700s. But evidence suggests that ice wines might have been made as far back as what time-frame?
- A. 1st Century AD
- B. 3rd Century AD
- C. 9th Century AD
- D. The 1100s
Cheers – and good luck!
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Comments
pbilling13
A. 1st century AD
1WineDude
Thanks, p!
George Sliney
1st century AD. Romans liked Ice Wine!
1WineDude
Thanks, George. I knew I liked those Romans for some reason… :)
Dusty
Why not, 1st century AD!
1WineDude
Dusty – why not! Well, unless that's the incorrect answer, that might be why not, actually… :)
Beth
1st Century AD. Pliny the Elder and Martial both wrote about leaving grapes on the vine until after the first frost.
1WineDude
Thanks, Beth!
lashawn
the 1st century
1WineDude
Thanks, Lashawn.
1WineDude
And here 'tis, your official Wine Quiz Answer:
A. 1st Century AD
NO fooling you scholars this week!
While the first *post-Roman* icewine was likely made in Franconia in Germany in 1794, evidence suggests that some form of ice wine (in terms of wine being made from frozen grapes) was produced as far back as the 1st Century, AD. For example, writings attributed to Pliny the Elder (go Beth! :), who lived during that time, indicate that certain grape varieties should not be harvested before the first frost of the season had occurred.
Cheers!