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WSET Diploma D4 - Sparkling Wines > 1. Standard options in sparkling winemaking > Flashcards

1. Standard options in sparkling winemaking Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the typical ABV of most sparkling base wines?

A

9-11%

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2
Q

Why is a low alcohol base wine necessary in wines undergoing secondary fermentation?

A

Secondary fermentation produces an additional 1-2%.

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3
Q

When does Chardonnay ripen?

A

Early in cool conditions.

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4
Q

When does Chardonnay bud?

A

Early.

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5
Q

What three weather and viticultural hazards is Chardonnay susceptible to?

A

1) Spring frost
2) Coulure
3) Millerandage

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6
Q

What three disease pressures is Chardonnay susceptible to?

A

1) Powdery mildew
2) Botrytis
3) Grapevine yellows

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7
Q

When does Pinot Noir ripen?

A

Early.

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8
Q

When does Pinot Noir bud?

A

Early

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9
Q

What two weather/viticultural hazards is Pinot Noir susceptible to?

A

1) Spring frosts
2) Coulure

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10
Q

What five disease pressures is Pinot Noir susceptible to?

A

1) Downy mildew
2) Powdery mildew
3) Botrytis
4) Fan leaf
5) Leaf roll

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11
Q

How does Chardonnay respond to autolysis?

A

By becoming creamy.

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12
Q

How does Xarel-lo respond to autolysis?

A

By becoming toasty and smoky.

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13
Q

Why is clean fruit a priority? (2)

A

1) The perception of off flavours from diseased fruit can be enhanced by effervenscence.
2) The enzyme laccase released by botrytis-infected grapes can cause oxidation

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14
Q

Why is whole-bunch pressing often practised for premium traditional method sparkling wines? 2 reasons.

A

1) It is one of the gentlest forms of pressing.
2) The stems create a network of channels through which the juice can flow easily, minimising the pressure required.

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15
Q

What is a drawback of whole-bunch pressing?

A

Fewer bunches can be loaded into the press at any one time compared with de-stemmed fruit.

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16
Q

What are two common types of press used in sparkling wine production?

A

1) Pneumatic
2) Basket press

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17
Q

What is the typical fermentation temperature range?

A

14-20 celcius.

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18
Q

Cultured yeasts are used in sparkling wine production because they can reliably ferment in environments with the following five conditions:

A

1) Low pH
2) High pressure
3) High alcohol
4) Low temperatures
5) Poor nutrient availability

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19
Q

What are two types of cultured yeast suited to use in traditional method sparkling wines?

A

1) LALVIN DV10
2) EC1118

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20
Q

Why are the buttery flavours found in still whites that have undergone MLC not typically found in sparkling wines that have?

A

Diacetyl is metabolised by the yeast during secondary fermentation.

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21
Q

What are the seven aims of assembalge?

A

1) Balance
2) Consistency
3) Style
4) Complexity
5) Fault minimisation
6) Volume
7) Price

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22
Q

Liqueur de tirage is a mixture of what five components?

A

1) Wine/must
2) Sugar
3) Cultured yeasts
4) Yeast nutrients
5) Clarifying agent

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23
Q

What two clarifying agents might be used?

A

1) Bentonite
2) Alginate

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24
Q

Why is a clarifying agent added with the liqueur de tirage?

A

To aid sediment flocculation.

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25
Q

What is a common amount of sugar added as part of liqueur de tirage?

A

24 g/L

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26
Q

24 g/L sucrose converts to approximately how much alcohol?

A

1.5%

27
Q

What is the French term to which secondary fermentation is commonly referred?

A

Prise de mousse/capturing the sparkle

28
Q

The CO2 converted from sugar in liqueur de tirage by yeast produces what approximate pressure?

A

6 atmospheres/a bar

29
Q

Once liqueur de tirage has been added how are bottles stored? (2)

A

1) Sur latte/horizontally
2) 10-12 celcius

30
Q

For approximately how long does secondary fermentation last?

A

4-6 weeks.

31
Q

After how long ageing on lees do autolytic characters become detectable?

A

15-18 months+

32
Q

The longer a wine is matured on lees, the faster its evolution once disgorged. Why?

A

The older a sparkling wine becomes, the less it can withstand the sudden shock of oxygen at disgorgement.

33
Q

What is a ‘pupitres’?

A

A timber riddling rack.

34
Q

How long does manual riddling take?

A

Up to eight weeks.

35
Q

How long does riddling with a gyropallete take?

A

3-4 days.

36
Q

Explain the six disgorgement steps.

A

1) Bottles are stored sur pointe so the lees remain in the neck.
2) Bottles are cooled to 7 celcius.
3) Necks are immersed in a bath of frozen brine.
4) The bottle is inverted and crown cap removed releasing the plug.
5) Liqueur d’expedition is added.
6) The bottle is sealed.

37
Q

What is liqueur d’expedition?

A

A mixture of wine and sugar or RCGM.

38
Q

What is the role of dosage?

A

To balance the acidity, particularly of young wines.

39
Q

Why might wines that are older at disgorgement require a lower dosage?

A

The perception of acidity rounds out with age requiring a lower dosage to soften.

40
Q

What is the Maillard reaction?

A

When the sugar in liqueur d’expedition reacts with compounds formed during yeast autolysis to create roasted, toasted vanilla aromas.

41
Q

Why was the tank method developed?

A

To avoid the cost of manual riddling.

42
Q

Besides cost, what two other advantages are there to the transfer method?

A

1) It reduces bottle-to-bottle variation.
2) It’s easier to make final adjustments to the wine.

43
Q

When is transfer method used in Champagne aka transversage?

A

To fill 37.5cl and 300cl bottles that are difficult to riddle.

44
Q

What is transversage?

A

The process by which small- and large-format bottles of sparkling wine are filled.

Using the traditional method of sparkling winemaking, standard 750ml bottles are riddled and then disgorged into a pressurized tank. Dosage is added and then the sparkling wine is transferred into other size bottles.

45
Q

Explain the transfer method. (5)

A

1) Wine is chilled to 0 celcius.
2) The bottles are opened by a transfer machine and emptied into a pressurised receiving tank.
3) The wine is sweetened.
4) SO2 is added.
5) Sterile filtration is carried out prior to bottling.

46
Q

How might the back label distinguish a transfer method wine from traditional method?

A

‘Fermented in bottle’ rather than ‘fermented in this bottle’.

47
Q

Explain the ancestral method.

A

Partly fermented must is put into bottles and the remaining sugar is converted into alcohol and CO2.

48
Q

Is dosage added to ancestral method wines?

A

No.

49
Q

What three other names is the tank method also known?

A

1) Cuve Close
2) Charmat
3) Martinotti

50
Q

At what temperature range does the first fermentation take place during the tank method?

A

16-18 celcius.

51
Q

Explain the tank method in three steps.

A

1) Liqueur de tirage is added and a second fermentation takes place in pressurised tanks.
2) The second fermentation is arrested once the desired pressure and r/s has been reached.
3) Wine might be removed from lees or remain.

52
Q

Explain the two additional steps of the tank method if a lees-matured attribute is desired.

A

1) Temperature is reduced to 2-4 celcius.
2) Paddles within the tank stir the lees to maximise contact.

53
Q

What is a disadvantage of lees maturing wine during the tank method?

A

The economic advantages are lost because the tanks are tired up for months.

54
Q

Once fermentation or lees contact is complete, what six winemaking steps take place as part of the tank method?

A

1) Cold stabilisation
2) Centrifugation or filtration
3) Sugar, SO2 adjustments
4) Sterile filtration
5) Wine is chilled to -2 celcius
6) Bottled with a counter-pressure filler

55
Q

What is a counter-pressure filler?

A

A system where the bottle is filled with CO2 then the chilled wine replaces the CO2, which prevents the entrance of oxygen/loss of CO2.

56
Q

What is the Asti method?

A

A variation of the tank method that produces sparkling wine in a single fermentation.

57
Q

Explain the Asti method.

A

1) CO2 is allowed to escape during the first stages of fermentation in tank.
2) Part way through the valve is sealed to retain CO2.
3) Once the desired r/s and pressure is obtained, fermentation is stopped by rapidly chilling the wine and filtering it under pressure to remove yeast.

58
Q

What is the carbonation method?

A

The injection of CO2 under pressure.

59
Q

The EU labelling terms for sweetness in sparkling wines permits a +/- tolerance of how many g/L r/s?

A

3 g/L

60
Q

What is the typical composition of a sparkling wine cork?

A

A 31mm diameter agglomerate cork onto which two disks of natural cork have been glued.

61
Q

The average inside neck diameter of a sparkling wine bottle is how wide?

A

18-21mm.

62
Q

What other method of closure might be used?

A

Crown seal/cap.

63
Q

Wines made from press juice tend to be faster maturing. Why?

A

Press fractions contain less juice and so contain less acid. Acid contributes to ageability and is found in greater concentration in free-run and first-press juice.

WSET Diploma D4 - Sparkling Wines (24 decks)

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