Welcome to the Weekly Wine Quiz! This week, I’m going easier on you (last week’s question was a tough one…). But not that much easier!
Standard disclaimer: I supply the quiz question, but *not* quiz answer right away. You supply your best guess as to that answer in the comments, and then tune back in later in the comments section for the official answer. You are of course encouraged to have courage and not cheat via the magic of Google.
Island Of Bows… And Barrels?
True or False: Wine-making in Japan (sometimes called the Island of Bows given the shape of the islands that make up that nation, which incidentally is the name of a very cool album of new-age music combining Native American flute and traditional Japanese instruments… ok, whatever…) dates back only to the 20th Century?
- A. True
- B. False
- C. I give up, pass the Sake
Cheers – and good luck!
Can I say both A & C?
Masi – Sure, what the hell, go ahead! :)
Well Sake (or Rice Wine), has been produced in Japan for thousands of years. But I don't think they truly embraced grape-based wine making until fairly recently. And now they are one of the biggest consumers of wine. So.. true?
Thanks, Meara. I should make it clear that we are talking about grape wine here, not Sake. (sorry for any confusion!)
C – No hesitation.
Dusty – I like the way that you think!
It's time for the Official Wine Quiz Answer:
B. False
Japan now grows wine grapes in 23 prefectures, but its modern wine-making history dates back to the 19th century in Katsunuma. Before that, evidence suggests that grapevines came to Japan as early as the 6th Century (along with Buddhism, and the Kanji writing system, from China).