The DB Covid Quiz: 19 questions for wine lovers in lockdown

Worried that you’re grey matter is, well, going a little greyer, or just looking for something to liven up the lockdown experience? Well, take the first of our Covid quizzes, featuring 19 quick-fire, wine-related questions.

With the pubs shut db has developed it’s own drinks-related quiz

See below for all 19 questions, which, as part of our first quiz, cover a range of topics concerning db style wine facts – so expect lots of industry stats and celebrities (more Covid quizzes will follow on particular areas of the wine sector).

Also, in an effort to minimise the suspense, you can see the answers on the following pages.

1. Which country produces the most wine in the world?

2. What is the most expensive single bottle of wine ever sold at auction?

3. Who is the biggest producer of wine in the world?

4. Who is the biggest vineyard owner in the world?

5. What is the world’s best-selling wine brand?

6. How many bottles of Champagne did British statesman Sir Winston Churchill drink on a daily basis?

7. Which famous English singer has a wine estate in Tuscany?

8. What British chat show host has a Prosecco?

9. What wine-producing countries does Sir Ian Botham source from to make his wine brand?

10. How many hectares are there in Champagne?

11. How many styles of wine are made in Tokaj?

12. What is the name of the terpene responsible for the pepper aroma in wine?

13. What is the world’s most planted grape variety?

14. How many million hectolitres of wine were produced in 2019 to the nearest million?

15. How many million hectolitres of wine were consumed in 2019 to the nearest million?

16. What is the estimated volume decline in wine sales in Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic?

17. Approximately how many bottles were produced in Prosecco in 2019?

18. What is the per capita wine consumption in the UK?

19. What beer brand suspended production due to the virus?

The DB Covid Quiz: General wine knowledge – the answers

1. Which country produces the most wine in the world?

Italy, which produced 47,500mhl of wine in 2019 according to the OIV, followed by France (42,000mhl), Spain (33,500mhl), the US (24,300mhl) and Argentina (13,000mhl) – just ahead of Australia and Chile with 12,000mhl and 11,900mhl respectively.

2. What is the most expensive single bottle of wine ever sold at auction?

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC), Romanée-Conti, 1945

A bottle of the above wine sold by Sotheby’s in New York in October 2018 made $558,000 (£424,000). It was in fact part of a pair of such wines from this legendary vintage in Burgundy, with the other one fetching US$496,000 (£377,000).

3. Who is the biggest producer of wine in the world?

E & J Gallo, which is responsible for almost 3% of world production, or around 80 million cases of wine annually – that’s close to a billion bottles. Others in the top five include Constellation, The Wine Group, Treasury Wine Estates and Concha y Toro.

4. Who is the biggest vineyard owner in the world?

The Bronco Wine Company with a claimed 45,000 acres (18,200ha), followed by Concha y Toro and Treasure Wine Estates, with each owning around the same amount, which is approximately 10,700 hectares.

5. What is the world’s best-selling wine brand?

Barefoot – owned by Gallo – which sells around 22.5m cases annually.

You can see the list of the 10 biggest global wine brands here.

And the list of the 10 ‘most powerful’ here.

6. How many bottles of Champagne did British statesman Sir Winston Churchill drink on a daily basis?

Two, or 42,000 in his lifetime. Meanwhile, he smoked over 250,000 cigars.

7. Which famous English singer has a wine estate in Tuscany?

Sting and his wife Trudie Styler bought Il Palagio, which includes a hilltop villa, along with 350 hectares of farmland, vineyards and forest back in 1999.

8. What British chat show host has a Prosecco?

Graham Norton – along with a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, and you can read more about his wine exploits here.

9. What countries does English cricketer Ian Botham source from to make his wine brand?

Australia, New Zealand, plus Argentina (thank you Jack for pointing that out), and the UK – having partnered last year with Kent-based Hush Heath Estate.

L-r: Richard Balfour-Lynn from Hush Heath, Sir Ian Botham and db editor-in-chief Patrick Schmitt MW

10. How many hectares are there in Champagne?

According to the Comité Champagne, the region’s production area currently stands at 33,762 hectares although its planted area is slightly higher, totalling 34,305ha – for more information, click here. 

11. How many styles of wine are made in Tokaj?

Six in total, which are: Dry Tokaji, Aszu, Eszencia, Szamorodni, Forditas and Maslas

12. What is the name of the terpene responsible for the pepper aroma in wine?

Rotundone.

13. What is the world’s most planted grape variety?

Cabernet Sauvignon. Since 1990 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have more than doubled their share of hectares under vine, making them the top two cultivated varieties in the world.

In the same period, Tempranillo and Chardonnay have more than trebled their areas of cultivation to move into fourth and fifth place, while Syrah has jumped from 35th place to sixth and Garnacha has slid from second to seventh place.

14. How many million hectolitres of wine were produced in 2019 to the nearest million?

Wine production fell last year to 259mhl, but this must be viewed against the historically high 2018 levels. It can therefore be seen as a year which brought production down to average levels. Most countries in Europe experienced a decrease compared with 2018 with the notable exceptions of Russia and the Ukraine. Production in the US, Asia and South America also decreased. South Africa noted an increase, but this again must be seen in relation to the low volume achieved in 2018. Both Australia and New Zealand also posted a decline.

15. How many million hectolitres of wine were consumed in 2019 to the nearest million?

World wine consumption increased by 0.1% to 244mhl in 2019, while export volume and value also rose by 1.7% (to 105.8mhl) and 0.9% (to €31.8 billion) respectively. You can read more about global wine production and consumption here.

16. What is the estimated volume decline in wine sales in Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic?

30-35%. Director of the OIV, Pau Roca, said last month that some wine producers are facing conditions similar to a post-war environment, as he warned that there could be a potential reduction in sales in Europe of 35% in volume and more than 50% in value.

Meanwhile, MEP Eric Andrieu has warned that one billion litres of wine made in Europe could disappear due to the pandemic.

17. Approximately how many bottles were produced in Prosecco in 2018?

Prosecco produced almost 600 million bottles of fizz from the 2018 harvest, making the region nearly two times the scale of Champagne.

18. What is the per capita wine consumption in the UK?

Adults in Britain consume an average of 9.7 litres of alcohol a year – which is the equivalent of 108 bottles of wine (or 427 pints of 4% ABV beer), making the UK the booziest nation in the Western world.

19. What beer brand suspended production due to the virus?

Corona, following the decision by its brewer, AB InBev’s Grupo Modelo, to temporarily halt production of the brand in Mexico in line with government orders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Constellation Brands, which has distributed Corona in the US since 2013, said the unfortunate name of the beer had not dampened sales during the coronavirus lockdowns, despite reports that people were avoiding the brand during the pandemic.