Making Wine

Vasili “Bill” Angouras 90 years old passed away peacefully August 20, 2021. He has lived in Burlingame for more than 40 years. Vasili was born April 2, 1931 in Karteroli, Messini, Greece. He is preceded to death by his brother Dino and nephew Yiorgo Y. Aggouras.

He is survived by the loves of his life his wife of 61 years Theresa and daughter Katina (Steve) Crowe. He is also survived by his siblings Dimitri, Yianni, and Eleni as well as many nieces and nephews both in Greece and U.S.

He dedicated his life to his family and was proud of his Greek heritage. He enjoyed making wine, working in his garden and baking his own bread in his home made over (fourno). He also built furniture as a hobby. He was a jack-of-all-trades and also constructed homes.

Visitation from 4:00 p.m. with Trisagion services on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. at the Chapel of the Highlands, at the corner of El Camino Real at 194 Millwood Dr., Millbrae.

Funeral services on Thursday, September 2, 2021 11:00 a.m. at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church 900 Alameda, Belmont.

Donations preferred to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church SF in lieu of flowers.

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    Nine sparkling wines from the Traverse Wine Coast have garnered high ratings in the latest edition of Wine Enthusiast, one of the nation’s top wine magazines.

    Listed in the publication’s extensive Buying Guide, the highlighted sparkling wines were produced by Aurora Cellars, Good Harbor Vineyards, Soul Squeeze Cellars, Mawby Vineyards and Winery and Verterra Winery. All of the wineries are located on the Leelanau Peninsula, near Traverse City. The grapes used for Soul Squeeze’s high scorer — 2017 The Pearl Sparkling Rosé — were grown on Old Mission Peninsula.

    That bubbly, along with the Aurora NV Brut Rosé (Leelanau Peninsula), earned a 91 rating. A 100 is the highest rating. Scores between 90 and 93 are considered excellent. The other sparklers won ratings of 88 and above; scores between 87 and 89 are “often good value; well recommended.” Wines receiving ratings below 80 are not reviewed by the publication.

    “Juicy and bright, this is really easy and enjoyable, ending on a pithy lemon note,” Wine Enthusiast wrote in its review of Soul Squeeze’s sparkler. Aurora’s review was equally glowing: “Utterly charming and delicious, its vibrancy and energy are contagious.” 

    The ratings mark only the second time a group of Michigan wines with such scores have been published in a prestigious national magazine. In the summer of 2019, Wine Enthusiast rated nearly 100 wines from Michigan, primarily from producers around Traverse City. The reviews, mostly published online, accompanied a print article, “Michigan’s Wine Scene is Full of Potential.”  Sixty-five wines received ratings between 87-91 points. 

    Industry officials have noted these ratings are noteworthy because they place Michigan wines on par with those produced in other acclaimed wine-growing regions, including Washington, Oregon and Spain. 

    “Those of us in the state’s wine industry have long known about the quality of Michigan bubblies, but hopefully the attention of a well-respected publication like Wine Enthusiast will also pique the interest of consumers — both local and non-local — who had no idea what they’re missing,” said Cortney Casey, who, along with her husband, Shannon, owns Michigan By The Bottle, a retail shop and tasting room that sells only Michigan wines.

    While Casey, who is a sommelier, said she is always cautious about putting too much stock in ratings, she is excited about anything that helps solidify Michigan’s public perception as “the world-class wine region it truly is.”

“With the cooler climate in our region, Michigan wineries are able to grow grapes with higher acidity, which is critical for making the best sparkling wine,” said Casey, whose retail shops are located in Royal Oak, Shelby Township and Auburn Hills. “Mawby certainly paved the way for ultra-high quality sparklers in the state, and so many other Michigan wineries are coming on board with their own amazing bubblies. For a sparkling wine fanatic like myself, Michigan is a damn good place to live right now.”

    Four of the bubblies were produced by Aurora Cellars and Good Harbor Vineyards, both of which are part of Simpson Family Estates. Located on the Leelanau Peninsula, Simpson Family Estates is run by the third-generation of the Simpson family. They also own and operate Harbor Hill Fruit Farms, which offers custom crushing, vineyard services and mobile bottling. 

    “I would like to believe these ratings are going to make people pay more attention to this region,” said Taylor Simpson, who is sales, marketing and distribution manager for both Good Harbor Vineyards and Aurora Cellars. “This helps us get the word out about what we’re doing here in Michigan.”

    Simpson said she has encountered others in the industry, especially on the West Coast, who are often skeptical of Michigan as a wine region.

    “When you tell them you’re from Michigan, they scoff a little bit. They don’t take you seriously,” she said. “What we are doing here is serious. We know we are making high quality wine and can compete on the national and international level.”

Luke Pickelman, owner of Soul Squeeze Cellars, was thrilled to receive a 91 score for his sparkling rosé. It marked the first time the winery, which opened a tasting room in Lake Leelanau just two years ago, had submitted a wine for review. 

“I think it gives a lot of legitimacy and visibility to our region,” said Pickelman, who began making wine in 2016 and has vineyards on both the Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas. “Many wineries in this region are doing well in competitions. Michigan wine is for real. The rest of the nation and the world are going to start to realize that.”

Six of the nine noteworthy wines were produced under the hands of a single winemaker — Drew Perry — and his cellar crew. He and his team oversee the wines for Aurora Cellars, Good Harbor Vineyards, Soul Squeeze Cellars and Verterra Winery.

Perry, who graduated from Michigan State University’s Viticulture and Enology Program, said the recommended sparkling wines reflect an ever-evolving wine program.

“We are still shaping our style and every wine we make gets us closer to finding what we want to express and how we want to accomplish it,” said Perry, who cut his wine-making skills in Napa Valley and has been working at wineries in the Traverse City area since 2007.  “Sparkling wine can be as much about the process as it is the fruit. Our goal is to make sure we don’t make it about one or the other. I personally am trying to drive us toward wines that don’t shun varietal expression, but instead showcase vintage, variety, and production techniques.

“If I had to guess, I’d say that is what is being appreciated,” he added.

The magazine’s recognition of the Traverse Wine Coast, he said, comes not because wineries are “reinventing the wheel” but because they are refining skills in a region that has already accomplished a great deal. 

    “The area has stayed true to itself. It seems as if what we create is naturally becoming more appreciated on a larger scale,” Perry said. “As this industry grows we will be able to get our wines onto more dinner tables across more regions, nationally and internationally and that’s another opportunity to showcase what’s possible in our little corner of the world.”

Sparkling Winners

Aurora NV Brut Rosé, 91

Soul Squeeze 2017 The Pearl Sparkling Rosé (Old Mission Peninsula), 91

Bel Lago 2019 Brut Auxerrois (Leelanau Peninsula), 90

Good Harbor NV Benjamin’s Vineyard Blanc de Noirs (Leelanau Peninsula), 90

Mawby NV Talis Brut (Leelanau Peninsula), 90

Mawby NV Gold Brut (Leelanau Peninsula), 89

Verterra 2019 Sparkling Rosé (Leelanau Peninsula), 89

Good Harbor NV David’s Vineyard Blanc de Blanc (Leelanau Peninsula), 88

Good Harbor NV Norah’s Vineyard Brut (Leelanau Peninsula), 88

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Before pouring that bottle of 1972 wine into the hopper, to be incorporated as a tiny fraction of the 2021 wine, Stare, his daughter, Bell, and several others tasted the ancient white wine, to see how it had held up.

“You can actually tell what varietal it is,” said Wallace, who admitted that the oxidation level was just a bit high — not really a surprise for a 50-year-old white wine that was never intended to be aged this long.

However, the varietal flavors in the mid-palate and aftertaste were surprisingly interesting.

Wallace said the 2021 Fumé Blanc, when it finally is released, will be in a dramatic commemorative package that features a label that incorporates both the modern-day label as well as a depiction of the original 1972 label.

Dry Creek’s 1972 Fumé Blanc actually was the second wine the winery released. The first was a 1972 Chenin Blanc, another white wine that reflected Stare’s passion for whites of the Loire Valley.

“After I released that Chenin Blanc,” said Stare, “I went to Sacramento to see if Darrell Corti (then California’s premier wine merchant) was interested in it,” Stare recalled. “He asked me how much it was and I said it sold (at retail) for $3.25.

“And Darrell said, ‘No Chenin Blanc is worth that.’”

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Winery applications used to take six to eight months and cost about $75,000. Now they take a minimum of five years and cost at least $250,000, she said.

“We’re not real keen about starting all over again,” Oldford said.

A majority of the Board of Supervisors decided there’s no need to do so.

“Just think of all the debates we’ve had as a body about remote wineries, development in the watershed, what’s appropriate up there,” Supervisor Ryan Gregory said. “I think there’s an ideal, a picture we — at least I — have in my head and it’s of a project like this, something this size on the valley floor in a place it’s meant to be.”

Scarlett winery is to be located at 1052 Ponti Road. Applicant Sherratt Reicher and Alsace Company LTD can build a winery that can produce up to 30,000 gallons annually and have a total of about 4,900 annual tasting and event guests.

The Planning Commission approved the winery by a 4-1 vote on Jan. 15, 2020. Neighbors George and Nancy Montgomery filed the appeal. The county rejected another appeal filed by Save Ponti Road, citing failure to pay the associated costs in time.

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Originally Appeared Here

Carolyn Perkins and her husband, Tim, are members of the same church as Mary Lynn Gagnon and her husband, Gary. And at one point, Carolyn, who is a monarch butterfly propagator (if that’s a proper word to use) found out that Mary Lynn had written something about the butterfly species of which she is also fond of.

With this, Carolyn recently invited Mary Lynn and I – another lover of this butterfly – to her house to see her release some of those raised in her home the day they were ready to go. There is a short window of time after their growth in which they are to be given their freedom.

The morning this took place was wonderful and the releases were awesome. Carolyn would take one butterfly out of a protected and screened bag and hand them to us, one at a time. It was a warming experience for both Mary Lynn and I.

There were 11 released in Carolyn’s backyard after flying off the palms of our hands. One comfortable fellow remained perched on Mary Lynn’s hand for approximately 10 minutes, while the others flew off in short time.

Tom DiPinto

A column last week asked if anyone knew of the name of the fellow who sold groceries in the West End a few decades ago, and I received some informative responses to it. Barbara Sergio was among them to write and tell me this was her uncle, Tom DiPinto.

He sold groceries out of his reconverted bus, mainly in the West End. She added that some of his boxed grapes were purchased by those – I assume the Italians – for making wine. She also mentioned that this West End food icon married Lizette Orzo and they had a son named Victor.

Tom Voisvert on the Ouellette store

“I grew up on Arlington Street in the mid-50’s and early-60’s, and we had Ouellette’s Market at the corner of Concord and Fairfield Street. They cramped a whole lot of little stuff in a little store, a bit of everything. My mom would make a phone order to Mrs. Ouellette, then I would walk down to pick up two or three bags with my wagon.

“An early Pea Pod. A different time.”

Rewind 2001 (20 years ago)

The special license plate JLODO which is seen on a blue-colored Volvo around town, is an easy one to figure out. It belongs to John Lodovico.

When asked about its origin, John explained that he obtained the marker after he had his first car at age 17. His aunt, the late Margaret Lodovico, who was working at DMV at the time, provided him with the paperwork to obtain the plate.

Birthdays

Fran Myszkowski celebrates today with Dave Blandino doing so on Friday.

Dekoe

In a recent column I questioned the last name spelling of Peter Dekow, because I had seen it spelled two different ways. And with this, Peter sent me this interesting and informative email

“My parents didn’t like the spelling and pronunciation of Dekow. They were told legally it would cost them a lot of money. So they decided to change it to Dekoe (but not legally). [For the Deparment of] Motor Vehicle and the military – I had to revert back to Dekow. It was a pain.

“When I met Claudette and we decided to get married, I met with attorney George Calder and we had to go to court in Hartford, CT. I had to testify in front of a judge why I wanted it done. It was accepted and my name legally became Dekoe.

“I didn’t want my wife or children to go through the gymnastics with the name in legal/non legal transactions through life. Claudette and I have a son and a daughter [and] five grandchildren – I’m so thankful I made the move to get the name Dekoe legalized.”

Contact Bob Montgomery at bmontgomery@bristolpress.com or by calling 860-583-5132.

Posted in The Bristol Press, Bristol on Tuesday, 24 August 2021 16:36. Updated: Tuesday, 24 August 2021 16:42.
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Originally Appeared Here

18

2013 Castelnau de Suduiraut, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

A thoroughly delicious sweetie from Bordeaux

One of the first truly fine wines that I ever tasted, back in 1987, was 1983 Château Suduiraut, and one of the most memorable was the 1899 vintage I tasted a few years later. This estate has always been one of my favourite sweet-wine properties. The other day I had the great pleasure of Zooming with Suduiraut’s technical director, Pierre Montégut. We chatted about the dry white project here and we tasted the soon to be released 2020 Blanc Sec de Suduiraut. A plush vintage, this is a seriously attractive, dry wine that should certainly help to introduce yet more people to this epic estate. 

But it is the sweet wines that rock my boat and, alongside the stellar 2010 Château Suduiraut (£55, vinatis.co.uk), which is drinking perfectly now, we also looked at the “second label” Castelnau. I was delighted to hear that the fully mature 2013 vintage is alive and kicking in our market and so it is my featured wine this week. 

The 2013 was a difficult vintage, but it was also a very good one You have both botrytis (noble rot) and also passerillage (dried grapes) notes in this heady sweetie and, alongside the juicy, honeyed, orange-blossom theme, there is neat acidity balancing the 148g/litre sugar. This is a thoroughly delicious wine and I am certain that this cheeky half bottle will make you fall for this property, too.

£14.99, half bottle, reduced to £12.99 each in a “mix six”, majestic.co.uk; £15.50, exelwines.co.uk; £16.87, strictlywine.co.uk; £16.80, shelvedwine.com; £16.95, fintrywines.co.uk; £17.77, winepoole.co.uk; £17.99, handford.net.

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The fall season marks the start of the grape harvesting season in Sonoma wine country, and it’s one of the most exciting times to visit.

Bike rides with views of fiery fall foliage, grape stomping competitions, an accordion festival, and learning about winemaking are all reasons to visit California’s Sonoma County this September. The county is home to some of the oldest wineries in California and they produce world-famous wines. Autumn is a special time because it’s when vineyards harvest grapes and crush them to begin making wine.

8 West Wines: Harvest Hikes With The Winemaker

Guests of West Wines walk through its upper vineyard with the owner and winemaker Katarina Bonde. They’ll get to harvest Cabernet Sauvignon and learn how to test samples for pH and Brix (sugar levels). After finishing the hike, visitors enjoy a guided tasting.

• Dates: September 5th, 11th, and 18th
• Time: 9:45 am – 11:30 am
• Price: $35 per person
• Reservations: Via the West Wines website

7 Harvest Lunches At Jordan Winery

Despite the twists and turns of the season, from heavy rains to wildfires, the 2019 vintage will be remembered as a great year for Sonoma chardonnay. https://t.co/DkttcA8pmD

— Jordan Winery (@jordanwinery) August 18, 2021

Twenty years ago, Jordan Winery planted a tiny tomato patch. What started as a small project grew into a garden with more than 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables. Nearby, the winery also keeps chickens, goats, cows, and bees. The establishment produces olive oil as well as estate wines. All of this means that when guests sit down to partake in a harvest lunch, they are eating dishes made with the freshest, most exquisite ingredients.

• Dates: Thursdays to Mondays, September 2nd through September 30th
• Time: 12 pm – 2 pm
• Price: $110
• Reservations: Via the Jordan Vineyard and Winery website

related: Best In Michigan For Wine Lovers: Youngblood Vineyard And Winery

6 Harvest Season Crushpad Tours at Dutton Estate

Fall is a busy time for vineyards. Workers labor from dawn to dusk cutting grape clusters. Next comes the crushing. This is when winemakers mash the fruit–long ago this was done by stomping on them, but now wineries like Dutton Estate have special machinery. Wine enthusiasts can tour the crush pad at Dutton to see harvest activity in real life. Anyone who reserves a tasting experience on Wednesday at 12 am or 12:30 am, or Saturday at 11 am or 11:30 am can arrive early to see how workers crush grapes to prepare them for the fermenting process. Dutton’s wine tasting experiences include Cheese & Charcuterie Pairings ($45), Chocolate & Red Wine Pairing ($35), Garden Wine Tasting ($25), or Grape to Glass ($70).

• Dates: Wednesdays and Saturdays from September 11th to
• Time: Saturdays from 10:30 am to 11 am and Wednesdays from 11:30 am to 12 pm
• Price: Complimentary with tasting experiences
• Reservations: Via the Dutton Estate website

5 Sonoma County Art Trails

OPEN STUDIO FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18: Join us in celebrating the wrap-up of Sonoma County Art Trails with a special exhibit from participating artists! Festivities run from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. with live jazz, complimentary wine and snacks, and conversation with local artists and makers. pic.twitter.com/owFdUdr6oj

— Fulton Crossing (@FultonCrossing) October 13, 2019

Over the course of two weekends, 121 Sonoma County artists open their studios to the public. The selection process is rigorous and a jury of 5 chooses the contributing artists. Visitors on the Art Trail will find the studios by following blue signs. The organizers recommend starting by viewing the preview exhibition at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Each of the participating artists contributed a piece to the show and guests can get additional information and maps before meeting the artists.

• Dates: September 18th – 19th and 25th – 26th
• Time: 10 am – 5 pm
• Price: Free

4 Emeritus Harvest Trail

Visitors take a self-guided tour, following the same journey as grapes on this trail. First, they witness the harvest teams as they cut clusters from the vine. Then, guests visit the crush pad. The vineyard sets up stations along the way so that visitors can enjoy light bites and Emeritus wines. At different points, trail followers get to meet the vineyard, winemaking, and tasting room teams.

• Date: October 25th
• Times: 11:30 am or 1:30 pm
• Price: $50
• Reservations: Via Eventbrite

related: Finger Lake Vineyards, Part I: The Best Wine Trails Around Keuka & Cayuga Lakes

3 Sonoma County Harvest Fair

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair attracts people from around the world for its Grand Tasting, World Championship Grape Stomp, and winemaking and brewing contests. This year, the organizers have postponed the Grand Tasting until 2022. The annual event allows ticket holders to taste wines from more than 100 Sonoma County wineries over two days. The Grand Tasting is a bucket-list event for wine lovers, so plan to visit in autumn of 2022.

• Dates: Grand Tasting postponed until 2022

2 Asti Tour De Vine

Edgar Chaparro via Unsplash

Cyclists ride on uncrowded roads through the gorgeous Alexander Valley. They’ll have privileged views of fall vineyard foliage and the Russian River. There’s a ride for everyone–beginners can choose the 25 km ride while more advanced cyclists may pick 50 km or 100 km paths. Some even opt for the 100-mile Rockpile Rumble. There are stations with water and healthy snacks along the way. The rides take participants to the Historic Mt. Carmel Church where they enjoy lunch and wine.

• Date: October 9th
• Time: 8 am – 11 am
• Price: $85 per adult, $40 per student, $35 per additional lunch ticket for family and friends

Registration: Via Active

1 Cotati Accordion Festival

THE COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVAL IS HAPPENING, LIVE, ON SEPTEMBER 25 & 26 🎶
The hours will be 9:30am to 8:00pm both days. There will be music, dancing, food, beer, wine and fun.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
EARLY BIRD pricinghttps://t.co/bcuDoPMvhJ

— CotatiFest (@cotatifest) June 17, 2021

There aren’t many places where people can attend accordion festivals, but Sonoma is one of them. This year is the 30th annual Cotati Accordion Festival. More than 40 bands and accordion players will perform on seven stages.

• Dates: September 25th – 26th
• Time: 9:30 am until the evening
• Price: $21 for one day and $29 for two days (buy ahead of time online for a discount)
• Reservation: Via the Cotati Accordion Festival website

next: This Is What It’s Like To Spend A Day On The Napa Valley Wine Train

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Seattle is known for being a “tech city,” but Molly Ringe quickly learned that world was not for her.

“I love talking and interacting with people,” she said. “I left IT quickly. It was not my thing.”

Ringe has been in the wine community for most of her life, and after leaving tech, she went back to being a bartender, wine buyer and traveling. But a breast cancer diagnosis at 30 years old in 2001 would change everything — she was told she couldn’t drink conventional wine anymore.

“I started diving into why, and learned about all the things that are in conventional wine, especially here in the U.S. I was pretty distraught,” she said. “My livelihood was buying and selling wine at restaurants and fine dining.”

This led Ringe to natural wine — something she learned about while traveling in Europe. It allowed her to drink wine again.

“Finding it was possible […] was life-changing for me,” she said.

After nearly two decades in the natural wine community, she would ultimately end up opening her own natural wine store, Molly’s Bottle Shop, in 2019. Fast forward nearly two years and a pandemic later, Ringe now has two locations, one in Sunset Hill and one in West Seattle.

“This is my baby,” she said.

While Molly’s Bottle Shop could be simply described as a place to buy or taste wine, Ringe has created a place for the community to gather, connect and support local in a time when it was desperately needed.

So…what exactly is natural wine?

“Basically it’s wine that’s grown organically, mostly biodynamically, and it’s that – they pick the grapes, they let the grapes ferment and put it in a bottle,” said Ringe, noting this a very, very simplistic description of a movement that’s been around for thousands of years.

“I took a lot of classes, went to Washington State University and started learning about what was in not just the vineyards but the wine themselves,” she continued. “We as consumers buy into this idea that wine is natural, we pick the grapes and we make wine and we don’t understand that there’s over 100 allowed additives in making wine.”

While some are not as bad, many are harmful — which was why Ringe said her doctor told her she could no longer drink it after her cancer diagnosis.

She’s a big advocate for verifying the wines her shop carries through travel and research to make sure they abide by the following standards:

• Nothing in – nothing out = wine that is very literally made-in-the-vineyard
• Absolutely no herbicides, fertilizers or pesticides in the vineyard
• Only native yeast
• No additives in the winery

This is not only important to her personally but also to her shop’s credibility and the people who come to her for wine.

“I have a lot of customers, now friends, who couldn’t drink wine anymore. They were sad, right? They are now thankful. I’ve had people cry and hug me because they didn’t know they could drink wine again,” she said.

The opportunity to open Molly’s Bottle Shop quite literally almost came to Ringe in a perfect little package. She was working at Baker’s when she saw a For Rent sign in the window of the cute space next door. She knew the person trying to get out of the lease, she knew the person who owned the property and she’d always wanted to open a wine bar. The answer was easy.

“I opened it up on a credit card and savings account, and it was just so well received in the beginning,” Ringe said. “And then pandemic, and we pivoted as much as we could, and the community literally wrapped around me so powerfully that it was really intense and super cool.”

When the pandemic hit, they quickly got a store online and started delivering. They ended up getting approval for an outdoor pavilion where people could come and wine taste. They started hosting small events again (outdoors, of course) featuring local artists and artisans. They even have a wine and book club.

Molly’s Bottle Shop is much more than a bottle shop.

“[People] could hang out here in the pavilion, I had heaters, they could bundle up and have a glass of wine and meet their neighbors and have a conversation safe distance. It really turned into a community center,” Ringe said. “I want people to come here in five years and see the same faces. I want to be the place where nobody quits […] I want it to continue to be what it is.”

The Sunset Hill neighborhood is very community-driven, as well. Like how Ringe curates the natural wine list at Baker’s next door, for example. As we talked in the pavilion on a sunny afternoon in July for this interview, a handful of people stopped by to chat with Ringe about the new truck they bought or their latest art installation or just to say “Hi” and give her a hug.

“I was joking with someone that my new hashtag is going to be #communitynotcompetition,” she said. “I think that is so important. We are all so much better with the power of community.”

Molly’s Bottle Shop in Sunset Hill may only be about 200 square feet, but it makes a mighty impact. Ringe hopes the space stays and flourishes so she can continue introducing people to new kinds of wine and fostering long-lasting connections with her customers — or, as she likes to put it, her friends.

“There is nothing personal. Wine is subjective. It is completely up to you,” she said. “Let’s have this journey together. Let’s be open-minded.”

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THE brainboxes behind the questions on Mastermind have come up with 60 teasers exclusively for Sun readers.

The long-running BBC2 quiz show returns on Monday with Clive Myrie, 56, making his debut as host.

2

Test your brains with our 60 question Mastermind quiz

And today we are giving YOU a chance to see how you might fare in the famous black chair.

Have you got what it takes to perform under pressure after hearing the familiar theme?

Try our general knowledge questions below, picked by the programme’s makers. Answers below . . . no peeking.

1. The name of what type of radiation is often abbreviated to UV?
2. Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie have all been members of which group?
3. What name is given to the assembly of cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church who meet to elect a new pope?
4. What is the name for the male part of a flowering plant that consists of a filament and an anther?
5. Who was the god of love in Greek mythology and the equivalent of the Roman god Cupid?
6. Omaha is the largest city in which US state?
7. Diarist James Boswell dedicated his Life Of Samuel Johnson to which celebrated English portrait painter?
8. The common pipistrelle is one of the smallest and most numerous native British species of what mammal?
9. Which country topped the medals table at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning 39 golds?
10. What five-day festival, celebrated in late October or November by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, takes its name from the Sanskrit for a row of lights?
11. Sir Ronald Ross won a Nobel Prize in 1902 for his work on what disease, spread by mosquitoes?
12. Who became the first performer to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice when the Irish entry Hold Me Now triumphed in 1987?
13. The word Bajan is a local name for an inhabitant of which Caribbean island?
14. What word for a shade of red is the French for “cherry”?
15. What corrosive acid was once known as “oil of vitriol”?
16. What is the name of the classic Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables deep-fried in batter and served with a dipping sauce?
17. Which future British king had ten children by his mistress, the actress Dorothea Jordan?
18. What multi-coloured diamond pattern, often seen on knitted socks, is based on the tartan of a branch of Scotland’s Campbell clan?
19. The Impressionist art movement took its name from the 1872 painting Impression, Sunrise by which French artist?
20. What is the name of the dome-shaped muscular structure that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity?
21. In which film does James Bond, played by Timothy Dalton, for the second time, hunt down the drugs baron Franz Sanchez?
22. The carambola fruit has what alternative name, a reference to its shape when it is cut into slices?
23. In the 1770s, which English naval captain commanded the first ship known to have crossed the Antarctic Circle?
24. The adjective “olfactory” relates to which of the traditional five senses?
25. What musical note, sometimes known as a half-note, is half as long as a semibreve?
26. In which TV series does Jodie Comer play a professional murderer called Villanelle?
27. What birds, closely resembling swallows, spend almost all of their life on the wing, feeding, drinking, mating and sleeping in the air?
28. In 2016, who became the first woman and the youngest person to be First Minister of Northern Ireland, serving in the post until 2017 and again from 2020 until 2021?
29. What denomination of Russian coin is worth one hundredth of a rouble?
30. What is the stage name of the American singer Montero Lamar Hill, who topped the UK singles chart with Old Town Road in 2019 and Montero (Call Me by Your Name) in 2021?
31. What is the term for the process in which a raw pastry case gets lined with greaseproof paper weighted down with dried beans and partly cooked before the filling is added?
32. Which town near Cannes is renowned for producing fragrances for the perfume industry and flavourings for food manufacturers?
33. Which Romantic poet was the father of the mathematician Ada Lovelace?
34. What is the common name for trees of the genus Quercus?
35. What nationality is Youn Yuh-jung who, in 2021, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in immigration film Minari?
36. Sir Richard Owen, best known for his studies of fossilised creatures, is credited with coining what word in 1841?
37. Which Olympic sport was originally known as aquatic football?
38. Which jazz trumpeter’s nickname “Satchmo” was short for Satchel Mouth?
39. The BCG vaccine is given to people to protect against which infectious disease?
40. In the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley in July 2021, which defender scored for England in the second minute of normal time?
41. Which singer, born Mary O’Brien, had success in the Sixties with the songs You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me and Son Of A Preacher Man?
42. Which island, the second largest in the Caribbean, is divided into the Republic of Haiti in the west and the Dominican Republic in the east.
43. What phobia is a fear of being enclosed or stuck in confined spaces?
44. What is the name of the author and illustrator, known for her creations Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort, who was Children’s Laureate from 2017 until 2019?
45. In plants such as the rubber tree, what is the name of the milky white fluid that oozes from cuts in the bark and coagulates when exposed to air?
46. Which Ghanaian diplomat served as Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006?
47. What is the name of the Italian brandy distilled from the skins, pips and stalks left over from making wine?
48. What nick-name of a tenth century king of Denmark is used for a common technology standard that enables short-range wireless communication between electronic devices?
49. In the 1942 film Casablanca, what song does Dooley Wilson play after Ilsa Lund’s often-misquoted request to: “Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake”?
50. The World Economic Forum is held every January at which Swiss ski resort?
51. The hormones insulin and glucagon are manufactured in which organ of the human body?
52. Which French fashion designer created silhouettes called the A-line, the H-line and the Y-line in the Fifties?
53. In South Asian cuisine, a dish with the word “palak” in its name contains what vegetable?
54. The Kariba Dam, which supplies hydro-electric power to Zimbabwe and Zambia, stands on which African river?
55. The words of the Christm­as carol Silent Night were originally written in what language?
56. The young of what animal is known as a leveret?
57. What is the name of the electrical device used in an emergency to restore normal rhythms to the heart?
58. When the new polymer Bank of England £5 note was introduced in 2016, whose portrait replaced that of the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry?
59. The name of what creamy sauce comes from the French word for “Dutch”?
60. In AD 14, who succeeded his stepfather Augustus to be the second Roman emperor?

2

Clive Myrie will present the iconic BBC quiz showCredit: PA

How many did you pass on?

1. Ultraviolet
2. Fleetwood Mac
3. Conclave
4. Stamen
5. Eros
6. Nebraska
7. Sir Joshua Reynolds
8. Bat 
9. United States
10. Diwali
11. Malaria
12. Johnny Logan
13. Barbados
14. Cerise
15. Sulphuric acid
16. Tempura
17. William IV
18. Argyle
19. Claude Monet
20. Diaphragm
21. Licence To Kill
22. Star fruit
23. James Cook
24. Smell
25. Minim
26. Killing Eve
27. Swifts
28. Arlene Foster
29. Kopek
30. Lil Nas X
31. Baking Blind
32. Grasse
33. Lord Byron
34. Oak
35. South Korean
36. Dinosaur
37. Water polo
38. Louis Armstrong
39. Tuberculosis (TB)
40. Luke Shaw
41. Dusty Springfield
42. Hispaniola
43. Claustrophobia
44. Lauren Child
45. Latex
46. Kofi Annan
47. Grappa
48. Bluetooth
49. As Time Goes By
50. Davos
51. Pancreas
52. Christian Dior
53. Spinach
54. Zambezi
55. German
56. Hare
57. Defibrillator
58. Winston Churchill
59. Hollandaise
60. Tiberius

Newsreader Lucrezia Millarini wins BBC’s Celebrity Mastermind

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Town & Country

The 12 Best Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets to Send For Any Occasion

Whether you’re looking for the perfect corporate gift to send out to colleagues and clients, a crowd-pleasing way to send your thanks or well-wishes, or something tasty to sate the hard-to-shop-for names on your list, it’s tough to go wrong with a delicious collection of wine and cheese. No matter if you’re buying for a group or satisfying a single snacker, each and every one of these curated wine and cheese collections is certain to delight. Filled with smoked gouda, summer sausage, crackers, cheese straws, and chocolate treats, not to mention a rich Italian red made with Sicily’s signature grape, the nero d’avola, it was practically made for a cozy night in.

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