Aromatised Wines Flashcards
The long history of using aromatized wines for drinking or cocktail production is the focus of this deck, which looks at the various styles within this category.
What is Americano?
An Aromatized Wine that must be made using wormwood and gentian - can be yellow or red.
An aromatized wine from Bordeaux, France?
Lillet
Aromatized wine made with quinine?
Quinquina Wine
Aromatized Wine sweetness level: Extra Dry?
Less than 30 g/L.
Aromatized Wine sweetness level: Semi-Dry?
Ranges from 50 g/L to less than 90 g/L.
Aromatized Wine sweetness level: Semi-sweet?
Ranges from 90 g/L to less than 130 g/L.
Aromatized Wine sweetness level: Sweet?
130 g/L or more
Aromatized Wine sweetness level: Dry?
Less than 50 g/L.
Aromatized Wines are referred to legally in the US as?
Aperitif Wines
Base for Vermouth made in Jerez, Spain?
Sherry, since Jerez is the home of Sherry wines.
Benefits of using neutral alcohol to fortify wines?
Does not add any flavor or textures, and does not dilute the product’s flavor as less volume is needed.
What is Blanco/Bianco Vermouth?
Type of white Vermouth in Italy with a sweeter style.
What is Bonal?
Quinine-based Aromatized Wine from France that includes gentian and has a bracing bitterness.
What is Byrrh?
Quinine-based Aromatized Wine from France that uses a rich red mistelle with sweet spices and citrus.
Can artificial sweeteners be used to sweeten aromatized wines?
No
The character of Gentian?
Damp-leaf, earthy, and vegetal aromas>
The character of Quinine?
Not too aromatic, but it is spicy and drying.
The character of Wormwood?
Distinctive herbaceous aroma and bitter taste.
Characteristics of Vermouth?
- Fortified and aromatized wine
- Taste comes from wormwood
Characteristics of Americano?
Flavors from gentian and wormwood, colored yellow or red.
Characteristics of Bitter Aromatized Wines?
Fortified and Aromatized, with a distinctive bitter flavor - plus other certain attributes per style.
Characteristics of Bitter Vino?
Main flavoring with gentian, colored either red or yellow.
Describe Cocchi Americano Rosa:
Americano Aromatized Wine from northwest Italy made using a red wine base.
Definition of Vermouth in the US:
An Aperitif Wine that has the taste, aroma, and attributes of Vermouth.
What is Fortification?
The process of adding neutral alcohol spirit to a grape juice either before or during fermentation in order to keep natural sugars from fermenting.
How can botanicals be used in the production of aromatized wines?
Either by macerating directly in the wine or by using the botanicals to make a flavored spirit that is then blended with the wine.
How does a producer make the final aromatized wine?
By blending the wine with flavored spirits and then fortifying with distilled alcohol.
How many styles of Lillet are there?
Three: White, Rosé, and Red - each made from the respective style of wine.
In winemaking, when does fermentation stop?
When the yeast consumes all of the sugar in the juice - both for red and white wine.
Legal alcohol content of Aromatized Wines in the EU?
14.5% to 22% abv
The main ingredient of Quinquina and Chinato wines?
Quinine
The minimum alcohol content of Aperitif Wines in the US?
15% abv
What is Mistelle?
The product created by the addition of alcohol to unfermented grape juice.
What is Noilly Prat?
French vermouth made near the Mediterranean using a blend of oxidatively aged dry white wines and mistelles.
The principal role of fortifying Artomatized Wines?
To help keep the wines stable.
Quinine is derived from?
The bark of the cinchona tree.
Quinquina Wine flavoring?
Quinine
Required ingredient for all Vermouth?
Wormwood
The product created by the addition of alcohol to unfermented grape juice?
Mistelle
The process of adding a neutral alcohol spirit to an unfermented or partially fermented grape-must?
Fortification
The two broad styles of Aromatized Wines found in the EU?
- Wines that have been Flavored only
- Wines that have been Flavored and Fortified
The type of base wine used for many aromatized wines?
White wines with low aroma intensity.
Three types of Bitter Aromatized Wines:
- Quinquina Wine
- Bitter Vino
- Americano
Today, what is aromatized wine primarily used for?
By bartenders for the addition to cocktails of flavor, as well as sometimes color, bitterness, and sweetness
True / False:
Aromatized wines are rarely truly dry
True
They almost always come in a range of sweetness levels but generally do contain some sweetness.
True / False:
Many aromatized wines are colored with caramel coloring.
True
Many red vermouths are made with caramel coloring and a white base wine.
True / False:
Nearly all aromatized wines are sweetened.
True
Even dry vermouth is sweetened to a certain degree.
True / False:
Producers of Aromatized Wines are required to use neutral spirit for fortification.
False - for both the US and the EU.
True / False:
Red wines are pressed off the skins prior to fermentation.
False
Red wines are generally pressed after fermentation so that the juice has time to extract as much color and flavor from the skins.
True / False:
White grapes are pressed immediately after picking in order to keep the skins from coming in contact with the juice.
True
Skin contact for whites is generally not desired as the skins have compounds that can discolor or add tannin, which can affect the delicate nuances of the white wine.
Type of base wine used for Vermouth di Torino?
Moscato
Type of vessel commonly used for the maturation of base wines?
Old oak vessels of various sizes.
Typical style of Aromatized Wine used by bartenders?
Fortified and Flavored
What is Vermouth de Chambéry?
Vermouth made using a less aromatic white wine known for having a fruity, floral aroma from the botanical ingredients.
What are the two most obvious factors affecting the style of aromatized wines?
- Choice of the base wine
- Botanical recipe
What are two simple ways to sweeten a wine?
- Using the natural sweetness in the grape juice and either stopping fermentation before it is complete or not letting it happen at all
- In either case, a neutral alcohol spirit may be added to the juice to halt the yeast activity
What can a white wine provide in the production of aromatized wine?
Two things:
- Essentially a blank canvas to showcase the botanicals used for flavoring, although some wines do have a natural fruitiness that needs to be accounted for in the final blend
- Acidity - used to balance the sweetness
What can be done to help maintain freshness in an opened bottle of aromatized wine?
Put in the refrigerator in order to slow deterioration.
What can be done with a tincture or distillate to increase complexity in the product?
Age the tincture or distillate to increase flavors and/or texture.
What can brown or caramelized sugars add to an Aromatized Wine?
Can add…
- flavor
- sweetness
- as well as supporting bitterness
What can happen to sweetened wines without fortification?
The presence of sugar can cause fermentation to occur in the bottle. ABV over 15% typically helps prevent this.
What can impact the level of perceived bitterness or aroma a core botanical may have in an Aromatized Wine?
- Sugar Level
- Amount of the core botanical used
- Other botanical ingredients
What do Quinquina / Chinato style wines from France often include?
Mistelle as part of the base wine, and as such these can be very individualistic in style and branding.
What does macerating botanicals in wine accomplish?
The infusion of flavors and sometimes color into the wine.
What does the addition of Mistelle to an Aromatized Wine do?
Contributes sweetness as well as grape aromas/flavors.
What does the addition of white sugar generally add to an Aromatized Wine?
Sweetness only.
What happens with most aromatized wines after blending of ingredients?
They are allowed to rest in inert vessels - for a few weeks or longer, depending on the style and producer - some can rest for years, in fact.
What is Mistelle used for?
The production of some aromatized wines in France (often for sweetness).
What is often the case with many recipes for beverages flavored with botanicals?
The recipes can be complex and often kept a secret.
What is optional for Aromatized Wines in the EU?
- Adding color
- Adding sweetness
- Fortification
What is the brand Byrrh aged in, why, and for how long?
Large oak vessels called Foudres, to develop complexity, for several years.
What is used to color many Americanos?
Vivid red coloring.
What may the winemaker choose to store the wines in after fermentation?
Typically either oak vessels or stainless steel tanks.
What style of base wine do Moscato grapes offer?
Notably floral and fruity wines.
What three countries are the historical heartland of aromatized wines?
- North-west Italy >
- Alpine and Mediterranean France >
- North-east Spain
What type of product is used for the fortification of aromatized wines?
Typically neutral alcohol is used.
What was the addition of botanicals to wine originally used or intended for?
Drinks to be enjoyed in their own right.
What would no addition of sugar to an Aromatized wine achieve?
An almost undrinkable beverage due to too much bitterness.
When should a bottle of aromatized wine be consumed?
Within about two weeks of opening - it is similar to regular wine despite having a higher alcohol content.
Where are aromatized wines made, today?
Around the world by a growing number of enthusiastic producers.
Where does balance come from in an Aromatized Wine?
Balance is achieved through…
- the amount of sweetness working against the bitter components of the botanicals
- a producer will work to make these elements work in harmony
Where does Chinato often originate?
Italy, made from Barolo wine in Piedmont - Barolo Chinato.
Where does Lillet originate?
Bordeaux region of France.
Which are sweeter - red or white vermouths?
Red Vermouth is almost always more heavily sweetened.
Why are Aromatized Wines sometimes referred to as Aperitifs?
There is a bitter element in many that make them refreshing and a palate cleanser - perfect to have before a meal.
Why are oak flavors not desired in the production of Aromatized Wines?
They could easily cover or overwhelm delicate botanical aromas and flavors.
Why are old oak vessels commonly used for the maturation of base wines?
They allow for the interplay of oxygen with the wine, while not adding new oak flavors.
Why are tinctures utilized by smaller producers?
Because they do not incur the added cost of a still.
In the EU, what color can Americano be?
Yellow or Red
In the EU, what must Vermouth be flavored with?
Wormwood
