C1 - Systematic Approach To Tasting Wine - Micky - completed Flashcards
Appearance
List the three levels of wine intensity
Pale - Medium - Deep
Appearance - Colour
List the 5 levels of colour intensity of
White Wine
Lemon-green, Lemon, Gold, Amber, Brown
Note: Lemon is the most common colour for White Wine
Appearance - Colour
List the 3 levels of colour intensity of
Rosé Wine
Pink - Salmon - Orange
Appearance - Colour
List the 5 levels of colour intensity of
Red Wine
Purple - Ruby - Garnet - Tawny - Brown
Note: Ruby is the most common colour for Red Wine
Appearance - Other
What other possible observations are there for wine?
e.g. Legs/tears, deposit, pétillance, bubbles
Nose - Intensity
List 5 levels of wine intensity
Light - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - Pronounced
Nose - Aroma Characteristics
List the (up to) 3 levels of Aroma
e.g. Primary, Secondary, Tertiary
Nose - Development
List the 4 levels of wine development
Youthful - Developing - Fully Developed - Tired/past its best
Palate - Sweetness
List 6 levels of Sweetness
Dry - Off-Dry - Medium Dry - Medium Sweet - Sweet - Luscious
Palate - Acidity
List the 5 levels of acidity
Low - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - High
Palate - Tannin
List the 5 levels of Tannin
Low - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - High
Palate - Alcohol
List the 3 levels of Alcohol
Low - Medium - High
Palate - Body
List the 5 levels of wine body
Light - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - Full
Palate - Flavour Intensity
List the 5 levels of Flavour Intensity
Light - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - Pronounced
Palate - Flavour Characteristics
Name the 3 levels of flavour characteristics
e.g. Primary, Secondary, Tertiary
Palate - Finish
List the 5 levels of taste finish
Short - Medium(-) - Medium - Medium(+) - Long
Conclusions - Assessment of Quality
List the 6 levels of wine quality
Faulty - Poor - Acceptable - Good - Very Good - Outstanding
Conclusions - Assessment of Quality
List the 4 levels of Readiness for drinking / Potential for ageing
Too Young
Can drink now but has potential for ageing
Drink now: Not suitable for ageing or further ageing
Too Old
What is the acronym for assessing the Quality level of a wine?
Balance
Length
Intensity
Complexity
With BLIC what would these score? 1/4 2/4 3/4 4/4
1/4 Acceptable quality 2/4 Good quality 3/4 Very good quality 4/4 Outstanding quality Always include the word 'quality'
If you decide the quality of a wine is just ‘acceptable’ what should you write up in the aroma / tasting notes?
Write ‘simple’
If a red wine has tertiary notes what words might you write for both aroma and taste to describe it?
leather, meaty,
What colour are ‘most’ dry white wines?
Lemon
How many Aroma notes should you try to list?
7 at least
What’s the purpose of SAT?
- A teaching aid.
- an assessment tool.
For the WSET qualification
What’re the skills to develop through SAT?
- ability to describe a wine accurately
2. ability to make reasonable conclusion base on these descriptions.
What’re the category headings of the section “Conclusion”?
- Level of quality
2. Level of readiness for drinking/potential for ageing
The SAT is supported by which document?
the Wine-Lexicon
List the common wine faults
- TCA (Trichloroanisole)
- Reduction
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
- Oxidation
- Out of condition
- Volatile Acid (VA)
- Brettanomyces (Brett)
What are requirements of an ideal tasting environment?
- good natural lighting
- odour free
- Enough space for glass and your notes
- spittoon
How to prepare yourself for tasting?
- taste free (e.g. from tooth paste, hindering strong taste food
- well hydrated
- notebook to write down your notes
- suitable glassware
An ideal wine glass should be…
- odourless
- color less
- no residue
- 2 features of the shape:
- rounded bowl (for aid swirling)
- sloping walls (for capturing aromas)
- Sampling size: 5 cL
What are the categories to look for in Appearance?
- Clarity
- Intensity
- Colour
- Other observations
What are the categories to look for in Nose?
- Condition
- Intensity
- Aroma characteristics
- Development
percentages of alcohol in Still Wine, from low to high
below 11% abv 11-13.9% abv, 14% abv and above
percentages of alcohol in Fortified Wine, from low to high
15-16.4% abv, 16.5-18.4% abv, 18.5% abv and above
The differences between acidity and alcohol in palate
> mouth watery -> acidity
> viscous, thick -> alcohol
List and describe the scale used for “Mousse”
delicate - creamy - aggressive
o Aggressive – explode in palate, lose bubbles quickly
o Creamy – enough to provide sparkle in palate
o Delicate – very soft and fine bubbles. Due to over ageing
What’re the 3 main acids in wine?
- Tartaric acid
- Malic acid
- Lactic acid
When detecting acidity, what happens if you’re dehydrated
mouth water less
Grapes ripen in cool area tends to….
higher acidity
High acidity and sweetness will…
mask each other
Where’s tannin come from while making wine
Extracted from the skin of grapes during fermentation
Unripe tannin taste more…
aggressively astringent
Ripe tannin taste more…
more textural richness
List two examples of Tannin is not equal to Bodied
- High astringent but light bodied -> low tannin e.g. basic quality of Pinot Noir
- Low astringent but full bodied -> high tannin e.g. Australian Shiraz
What components can make you feel a fuller body?
> alcohol = fuller body
riped tannin = fuller body
flavor intensity = fuller body
What flavours you may taste in palate but not in nose due to warmth in mouth?
earthy, spicy, toasty…
When assessing “Balance” of a wine, what questions should you ask?
- How is the overall balance achieved?
- How well balanced is this wine?
- How well integrated are each of the wine’s components (alcohol, aromas…) ?
Conclusion - What is the meaning of each rating in Quality Level?
Outstanding = hit all four criteria Very good = hit 3 of 4 Good = hit 2 of 4 Acceptable = hit 1 of 4 Poor = none
Readiness for drinking - Describe “Too old”
Too old = - freshness, fruitiness, - acid or tannin; negative changes dominate
Readiness for drinking - Describe “Drink now”
Drink now: not suitable for ageing = + aromas and flavor, - acid or tannin; quality declined, reaching its end of life.
Readiness for drinking - Describe “Can drink now but has potential for ageing”
Can drink now but has potential for ageing = + flavor aroma + structure; + improve in the next few years
Readiness for drinking - Describe “Too young”
Too young = similar to above; a waste to drink now. E.g. wine with strong tannin need time to soften.
What are the categories to look for in Palate?
- Sweetness
- Acidity
- Tannin
- Alcohol
- Body
- Mousse
- Flavor intensity and characteristics
- Finish
“Colour” is all about the balance of which five colours?
red, yellow, green, brown, blue
What are the three descriptive elements of SAT?
Appearance
Nose
Palate
SAT format hierarchy
Section (e.g. Appearance)
- > Category heading (e.g. Clarity)
- –> Terms (e.g. clear)
In which Section of SAT, you’re restricted use the specific terms as they appear listed.
The “Conclusion” section
what are the structural components of wine
sugar, acidity, tannin and alcohol
The five point scale in SAT doesn’t mean it’s divided into five equal part
“high” and “low” are also a range.
Why it is important to keep yourself hydrated during tasting
dehydration may cause your nasal aroma receptors to become dry, lose sensitivity to aroma.
What cause a wine looks “hazy”
particles suspended in the wine
The colour intensity of a white wine that has a broad watery rim should be described as….
“Pale”
Appearance - Other Observations:
- if you observe CO2 spritz or petillance, what is that mean?
this can be evidence of a fault i.e. refermentation or malolartic fermentation in the bottle.
Appearance - Other Observations:
- Legs are also called….
Tears
the differences in character and complexity of the _______ account for much of the difference between basic quality and very fine wines.
aromas
describe the aromas found in TCA tainted wine
- damped cardboard
- fruit flavours muted
- the wine appear less fresh
describe the aromas found in “reduction”
- stinky
- like rotten eggs, boiled cabbage
- boiled onion
- blocked drains
describe the aromas found in SO2
- smell of a recently distinguished matches
- at low level, it can mask the fruitiness of a wine
describe the appearance and aromas found in “oxidation”
- the wine will appear deeper colour and more brown
- aromas of toffee, honey, caramel or coffee
- lack freshness and fruitiness
describe the aromas found in “out of condition”
- lost it’s vibrancy and freshness
- taste dull and stale
describe the aromas found in high level of “volatile acid (VA)”
- vinegar
- nail polish remover
describe the aromas found in “Brettanomyces (Brett)”
- plastic
- animal aromas
- sticking plasters
- hot vinyl
- smoked meat
- leather or sweaty horses
where are the tertiary aromas come from?
- oxidation during the process of ageing e.g. contact with oak -> coffee, toffee, caramel…
- protected from action of oxygen -> petrol, honey or mushroom
Development -
If a wine is dominated by primary or secondary aromas, OR the oak is not fully integrated, it can be described as _________.
youthful
Development -
If most of the aromas in a wine are still pri. or sec. but some tertiary aromas are detected, it can be described as _________.
developing
Development -
If the predominant aromas are tertiary, it can be described as _________.
fully developed
Development -
when the wine’s attractive aromas faded, unpleasant aromas start to develop, it can be described as _________.
tired/past its best
development is a measure of the balance between ________, _______ and _______?
primary, secondary and tertiary aromas
what kind of wines will change quickly from youthful to tired/past its best in matter of a few months
rose, most inexpensive whites, most inexpensive red
examples of wine that have been aged for a long time, when it comes to the market, tertiary aromas predominate and fully developed?
age indicated Towny Port, all Sherries and Rioja reservas.
describe the secondary aromas extracted from oak
vanilla, toast, creamy, buttery from malolactic fermentation.
yeasty, biscuity aromas from lees contact or autolysis.
Palate
- examples of effect of one component can interfere with the impression made by another:
- alcohol and fruit, add the perception of sweetness
- acidity can mask sweetness
define each level of “sweetness” in palate
dry - no sugar detected by the tongue
off-dry - tiny amount of sugar detactable
medium-dry - distinct presence of sugar, not sweet enough to pair with dessert
medium-sweet - distinct presence of sugar, level of sugar are higher than “medium-dry”
sweet - presence of sugar predominant (Sauternes, Port)
luscious - level of sugar are notably more viscous, with a sticky and sweet sensation after swallowing or spitting.
What special occasions need to remember when judging the level of acidity?
- high level of acidity and sweetness can mask each other.
- alcohol can create a burning sensation similar to acidity
- always use the mouth-watering effect to judge level of acidity
describe “low acidity” and “high acidity”
low acidity - feel broad, round and soft
high acidity - especially mouth-watering
describe the palate of high and low level of alcohol
high level
- it more viscous than water
- seem heavier in the mouth
low level
- a bit watery, unless there is another component i.e. sugar to give the wine body.
What components can make you feel the body of wine is harsher, thinner and lighter?
low level of astringent tannin
When discussing quality, a wine’s intensity also called…
concentration
Are all premium wines complex?
No, simplicity is not always negative. e.g. Icewines express clarity and purity is good wine.
when accessing ‘readiness for drinking’ what’s is the first thing to consider?
Is the wine made in a style that can be benefit from ageing at all
