Certified Sommelier Exam-Bordeaux Questions and
Answers.
What region produces the highest volume of wine in France? - Correct answer
Languedoc
What region produces the second highest volume of wine in France? - Correct answer
Bordeaux
What is France's largest wine appellation? - Correct answer Bordeaux
What is the total vineyard area of Bordeaux? - Correct answer 306,000
What types of wines are produced in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Red, white, rose,
sweet, sparkling
Who provided the framework for Medoc's eventual dominance and how? - Correct
answer The Dutch; creating a complex series of drainage channels throughout the area
making it suitable for viticulture in the mid-1600s
Who ruled Bordeaux from 1152-1453? - Correct answer England
What gave Bordeaux an advantage in international distribution? - Correct answer a
preexisting English thirst for Claret, supplanted by the important Dutch trade market
What happened as a result of the marshes of Bordeaux becoming habitable? - Correct
answer the wealthy noblesse de la robe followed, establishing the great châteaux
foremost in the modern wine market
What is the historical rise and commercial success of Bordeaux linked to and why? -
Correct answer the region's importance as a center of trade; Proximity to the Atlantic
Ocean
Traditionally, what were negotiates? - Correct answer they acted as one type of
intermediary, buying fruit or wine in barrel to age in their own cellars before selling the
bottled wine
What was the traditional significance of courtiers-brokers of wine-in Bordeaux? - Correct
answer they became a powerful force in the Medoc, supplying the châteaux with
financial backing while gaining total control over the actual trade wine
What is the modern significance of courtiers in Bordeaux? - Correct answer While the
negotiates faded in influence after WWII with the rising appeal of estate bottling the
courtiers maintain their authority over the trade and are responsible for the current
method of en primer sales
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, What are en primer sales? - Correct answer the yearly offering of Bordeaux wine as
futures
(T/F) In Bordeaux there is great disparity between the estates who have money, power,
and influence and those who do not. - Correct answer True
What is the climate of Bordeaux? - Correct answer Maritime, but more continental
toward St. Emilio and Petrol
What bodies of water act as moderating influences in Bordeaux and what do they
protect against? - Correct answer Atlantic Ocean and Gironde Estuary; Vines from
winter freezes and spring frosts
What are the seasons like in Bordeaux? - Correct answer winters are short, springtime
is usually damp, and summers can reach high temperatures
Mold and rot develop because of _____ in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Wet spring
season and humidity of the region
Springtime frost leads to ____ and ____ in Bordeaux which ____. - Correct answer
Colure; Millerand age; Reducing the eventual yield
What is the "Bordeaux mixture" and what is it used for? - Correct answer a mix of lime,
copper, sulfate, and water; Applied throughout region to avoid fungal problems
(T/F) The Bordeaux climate is not varied enough to produce wide vintage variation in
the finished wine. - Correct answer False
What type of wine(s) can standard Bordeaux AOP wines be? - Correct answer Red,
white, rose, and claret
What is claret? - Correct answer a darker, more aromatic style of rose that evokes the
original claret wines shipped to England in the middle ages
How are dry white wines labeled in the Standard Bordeaux AOP? - Correct answer Sec
What grapes (6) are allowed for Bordeaux AOP red wines? - Correct answer Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdict, Mable, Carmen ere
What is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Merlot
(T/F) Bordeaux does not practice assemblage-or blending. - Correct answer False
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Answers.
What region produces the highest volume of wine in France? - Correct answer
Languedoc
What region produces the second highest volume of wine in France? - Correct answer
Bordeaux
What is France's largest wine appellation? - Correct answer Bordeaux
What is the total vineyard area of Bordeaux? - Correct answer 306,000
What types of wines are produced in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Red, white, rose,
sweet, sparkling
Who provided the framework for Medoc's eventual dominance and how? - Correct
answer The Dutch; creating a complex series of drainage channels throughout the area
making it suitable for viticulture in the mid-1600s
Who ruled Bordeaux from 1152-1453? - Correct answer England
What gave Bordeaux an advantage in international distribution? - Correct answer a
preexisting English thirst for Claret, supplanted by the important Dutch trade market
What happened as a result of the marshes of Bordeaux becoming habitable? - Correct
answer the wealthy noblesse de la robe followed, establishing the great châteaux
foremost in the modern wine market
What is the historical rise and commercial success of Bordeaux linked to and why? -
Correct answer the region's importance as a center of trade; Proximity to the Atlantic
Ocean
Traditionally, what were negotiates? - Correct answer they acted as one type of
intermediary, buying fruit or wine in barrel to age in their own cellars before selling the
bottled wine
What was the traditional significance of courtiers-brokers of wine-in Bordeaux? - Correct
answer they became a powerful force in the Medoc, supplying the châteaux with
financial backing while gaining total control over the actual trade wine
What is the modern significance of courtiers in Bordeaux? - Correct answer While the
negotiates faded in influence after WWII with the rising appeal of estate bottling the
courtiers maintain their authority over the trade and are responsible for the current
method of en primer sales
P a g e 1 | 11
, What are en primer sales? - Correct answer the yearly offering of Bordeaux wine as
futures
(T/F) In Bordeaux there is great disparity between the estates who have money, power,
and influence and those who do not. - Correct answer True
What is the climate of Bordeaux? - Correct answer Maritime, but more continental
toward St. Emilio and Petrol
What bodies of water act as moderating influences in Bordeaux and what do they
protect against? - Correct answer Atlantic Ocean and Gironde Estuary; Vines from
winter freezes and spring frosts
What are the seasons like in Bordeaux? - Correct answer winters are short, springtime
is usually damp, and summers can reach high temperatures
Mold and rot develop because of _____ in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Wet spring
season and humidity of the region
Springtime frost leads to ____ and ____ in Bordeaux which ____. - Correct answer
Colure; Millerand age; Reducing the eventual yield
What is the "Bordeaux mixture" and what is it used for? - Correct answer a mix of lime,
copper, sulfate, and water; Applied throughout region to avoid fungal problems
(T/F) The Bordeaux climate is not varied enough to produce wide vintage variation in
the finished wine. - Correct answer False
What type of wine(s) can standard Bordeaux AOP wines be? - Correct answer Red,
white, rose, and claret
What is claret? - Correct answer a darker, more aromatic style of rose that evokes the
original claret wines shipped to England in the middle ages
How are dry white wines labeled in the Standard Bordeaux AOP? - Correct answer Sec
What grapes (6) are allowed for Bordeaux AOP red wines? - Correct answer Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdict, Mable, Carmen ere
What is the most widely planted grape in Bordeaux? - Correct answer Merlot
(T/F) Bordeaux does not practice assemblage-or blending. - Correct answer False
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