The above coordinates are not the coordinates
of the cache, although they are close.
I love port wine, especially vintages and aged tawnies. I also
love reading maps and looking at the street name themes of some of
the neighborhoods. In Pleasanton, there is a neighborhood with wine
varietal street names and, of all things, Vintage (Hills) and Tawny
Park, which are sort of linked by Touriga Drive. Whoever named the
streets seemed to know ports, as Touriga Nacional is thought to be
the preeminent grape variety for port production.
In this combination quiz and two part multi-cache, you will
learn a little about port and get to "sample" both tawny and
vintage.
The coordinates to the first stage of this multi-cache is
located at N 37° 39.ABC' W 121° 50.DEF'. Answer the
questions of the short quiz below to determine A through F.
A. True port can only be made from which country?
- France = 2
- Spain = 3
- Portugal = 4
- Australia = 5
- anywhere = 6
B. Port is made by
- using grapes that have been harvested late = 0
- using grapes that have been infected with botrytis = 1
- using grapes that have been frozen = 2
- fortifying with brandy = 3
- distilling = 4
C. Vintage port is the finest and most expensive of the
port styles. These ports should be bottled aged at least 10 to 15
years to reach optimal maturity and complexity. The best are full
of fresh fruit in flavor - black cherries, berries, cassis. Vintage
port is only produced from a single harvest of exceptional quality,
which occurs on the average of two to three times a decade, and
accounts for what percentage of the total port production?
- 1% = 0
- 2% = 1
- 5% = 2
- 10% = 3
D. Aged tawny ports are totally barrel aged. They tend to
lose most of their fruit and acquire a nutty and caramel character
in taste. A bottle of 20-year old tawny port consists of:
- port that is 20 years old = 8
- port that is a blend with an average of 20 years old = 9
E. How many years is vintage port barrel aged before
bottling?
- 1 year = 2
- 2 years = 3
- 5 years = 4
- 7 years = 5
F. The alcohol content of port is approximately:
The resulting coordinates will lead you to a sign at a
neighborhood park. At this sign,
P = the sum of all the digits of the one number on this
sign
R = the least significant digit (the digit furthest to the
right) of the one number on this sign
S = the number of letter A's plus the number of letter
O's
Walk around this park and find one of the signs with the park
rules and regulations (there are several in this park). The code
section that lists the rules and regulations is WX.YZ.
T = X - W
U = Z - X
The final cache is located at N 37° 39.SUY' W
121°5R.TSP'
The cache is in a decon container. Initial contents
included:
- BV ceramic wine tag
- Fonseca port cork
- Pocket corkscrew
- Grape eraser
- Susan B Anthony dollar
- Geocache note
- Logbook, pencil, and pencil sharpener
2/20/2006 update - The original cache has
been found by a non-cacher who is using the logbook as his personal
journal. The cache has been moved about 200' and replaced with a
hide a key container covered with camo tape. The equation for the
final coordinates and the hint has been updated to reflect this
change. The new cache now contains a logsheet and a few wine
charms.
