1: Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine Flashcards
What is the purpose of the SAT?
To describe a wine accurately and formulate a reasonable conclusion
What is the ideal tasting environment?
•Good natural lighting
•Odor free
•Sufficient space for notes/glassware/spittoons
How should one be prepared to taste?
•Clean palate
•Well hydrated
•Notebook or other form of note taking
•Suitable glassware
Why is it important to stay hydrated while tasting?
Nasal aroma passages can dry up due to dehydration and dehydration can occur due to loss of saliva when spitting out wine.
What is described as suitable glassware of the SAT?
An odorless and colorless ISO glass free of any residue
Why is the ISO glass an ideal glassware for tasting?
It has a rounded bowl to aid swirling to capture aromas and is small enough to use with a tasting sample.
What is a sufficient amount to be poured as a tasting sample?
5cl (50ml)
Most wines are considered clear..Why might a wine be considered “hazy?”
Particles suspended in the wine could indicate a fault.
What is intensity
How much color the wine has
How is the level of color intensity assessed in a wine?
By holding the glass at a 45 degree angle and looking from above to see how far the color extends from the core to the tim
When is a white wine considered pale or deep
•Pale = broad watery rim
•Deep = Pigment almost reaches the rim
When is a red wine considered pale or deep?
-pale= Lightly pigmented from rim to the core (visible stem)
-deep= Intensely pigmented up to the rim (non-visible stem)
What is color?
Red, blue, yellow, green, or brown balanced pigments found in a wine (separate of intensity)
White and rose’ wines are best assessed for color at the rim or at the core?
At the core due to the paleness of the wine.
Red wines are best assessed for color at the rim or at the core?
The color is best assessed at the rim due to the opaqueness of the core.
What is the most common color used when describing white wine?
Lemon
What is the color scale for white wines?
•Lemon
•Lemon green
•Gold (hint of orange/brown)
•Amber
•Brown
Assessing an amber , tawny or brown color in a white wine typically means what?
Either very old or deliberately oxidized
What is the color scale when assessing red wines?
•Purple
•Ruby
•Garnet
•Tawny
•Brown
What is the most common color when assessing a red wine?
Ruby
What is the color scale for rose’ wines?
•Pink
•Salmon (pink with hint of orange)
•Orange
What does TCA do to a wine?
Trichloroanisole
can impart a taint from the cork on the wine that smells of damp cardboard “corked”
What does reduction do to a wine?
Makes wine stink of rotting eggs, boiled cabbage or onions, or blocked drains.
It can add complexity and characters in small levels but is considered a fault
What does high levels of sulfur dioxide do to a wine?
Can make the wine smell of recently extinguished matches and is considered a fault
What is the opposite of reduction?
Oxidation.
Oxidation can be a fault due to?
Unwanted oxygen interacting with the wine in a failure of closure.
What does VA (volatile acidity) do to a wine at high levels?
Can give aromas of vinegar or nail polish
What type of yeast can give wine a plastic or animal aroma and is considered a fault in high levels?
Brettanomyces (Brett)
What is the scale of Intensity on the nose
•light (struggle to smell in glass with swirl)
•medium
•pronounced (smelt away from glass)
What are the 3 types of aromas and how are they produced?
•Primary (from grapes or fermentation)
•Secondary (oak, lees, or malolactic conversion)
•Tertiary (Bottle aging or oxidation)
When is a wine youthful?
Dominated by primary and secondary aromas.
When is a wine considered to be developing
Most aromas are primary and secondary but tertiary aromas are detected.
A Fully developed wine will have?
Predominant tertiary aromas/flavors even with some primary and secondary aromas/flavors still present
When does a wine become Tired/past it’s best?
When attractive aromas fade and unpleasant ones develop
What is the aim of a trained taster?
To assess the levels of individual components by reference to objective criteria.
When is a wine considered Dry?
When there are no sugar levels or that they are so low that they are not noticeable.
What is sweetness when tasting wine?
“The taste of sugars present in the wine.”
What is considered an off-dry wine?
A tiny amount of residual sugar
Medium-dry and Medium-sweet wines have?
A distinct amount of sugar but not typically sweet enough to pair with a dessert.
When a wine has sugar as a prominent feature it is considered?
Sweet
Luscious wines are?
Viscous and sticky sweet with the high levels of sugar in them.
What are the main acids in wine?
•Tartaric
•Malic (from grape juice)
•Lactic (converted from malic acid)
Where is acidity detected for most people and what sensation does it give?
The sides of the tongue and sharp tingling sensation that makes mouth water
Grapes ripened in cool conditions can tend to make a wine have higher?
Acidity
What are the 2 things to remember the most when it comes to acid and sugar in wine?
1.) High levels of sweetness and acid can mask one another
2.) Acidity serves as a balance to high sugar levels making it less obvious
What can create a sensation close to alcohol when tasting wine and how do you tell the difference?
•Acid
•The mouth watering feel
How do tannins make your mouth feel?
They cause the mouth to dry up and feel rough, especially on the gums of the front teeth
What is the difference between Ripe and Unripe tannins
•Ripe tannins contribute to textural richness while
•Unripe tannins tend to be more astringent
If the tannins are astringent ask?
“Does the body feel thin?”
If so, it is probably low in tannin
If the tannins are astringent ask?
“Does the body feel thin?”
If so, it is probably low in tannin
If the astringency is low in a wine ask?
“Is wine full bodied and mouth filling?” If so there is probably high tannins
What does alcohol contribute to a wine?
Body and texture
What do high and low alcohol levels feel like in a wine?
•High: Hot burning sensation
•Low: Watery unless high inSugar
What are the specific alcohol %s in wine?
•Low: Below 11% ABV
•Medium: 11-13.9% ABV
•High: 14%ABV and above
What are the alcohol levels for fortified wine?
Low: 15-16.4% ABV
Medium: 16.5-18.4%ABV
High: ** 18.5 and above**
What is Body?
The overall textural impression of a wine’s components working together “mouthfeel”
What is the main contributor to body?
Alcohol
__Is a set of scales with fruit and sugar on one side and acidity and tannins in the other?
Balance
Another word for intensity is?
Concentration
What is the first thing that needs to be considered when assessing readiness to drink?
If the wine is made in a style that may benefit from aging.
Drink now, not suitable for aging is given to a wine that?
Mainly shows primary and secondary aromas/flavors with light acid/tannin structur.
Drink now, not suitable for aging is given to a wine that?
Mainly shows primary and secondary aromas/flavors with light acid/tannin structur.
A too old wine will have
•Light tannin/acid
•Lost its freshness
•Should have been fruity
What components should a wine have to potentially benefit from aging?
•Firm acid/tannin structure
•Sufficient level of flavor concentration
What happens to a wine that benefits from aging?
•Move towards tertiary characteristics
•Tannins soften
•Alcohol level stays the same
•Acid and sugar change very little
When should you choose Can drink now, but has potential for aging?
Drinking pleasurably now, but will make positive improvements in a few years.
When should Too young be used?
It would be a waste to drink it now and taste much better with age (tannins ect)
If a wine has undergone an aging process but is close to its drinkable life span, it should be qualified as?
Drink now: not suitable for aging or further aging
