CMS Wine Evaluation Flashcards
List the 5 criteria of deductive tasting.
Sensory Evaluation
1. Sight
2. Nose
3. Palate
Theoretical Deduction
4. Initial conclusion
5. Final conclusion
- Clarity / Visible Sediment.
Is the wine clear or does it have any solid matter?
Solids indicate non-filtered, aged wine, or youthful,highly extracted wine
Clear, hazy, turbid
Name types of sediment in wines.
Red wine - color pigment and tannin precipitate with age, soln: decant
White wine - visible tartrates, sometimes on cork, soln: filtration and cold stabilization
- Concentration of color.
Intensity or depth of the wine’s color
White wine: age (light & bright to gold, amber, brown), barrel use, Botrytis, grape variety, oxidation (deepening color)
Red white: grape variety, color extraction, age (deep to dull & brown)
Pale, medium, deep
- Color.
Impacted by age, grape variety, storage conditions (oxidation or heat)
White: straw, yellow, gold, amber
Red: purple, ruby, garnet, tawny
Rose: pink, salmon, copper, brown
- Secondary color and hues.
Indication of age, climate, and grape variety
White wine: silver, green, copper/brassy
Red wine: ruby, garnet, orange, brown, blue
- Rim variation.
Color difference between the wine at its core and its edge.
Age - youthful red (bright pink & fuchsia) to aged (more variation)
- Color extraction and staining.
Intense extraction of color or staining on the glass
May indicate warm climate, highly pigmented grape variety, or winemaking choices
None, light, medium, heavy (only mention if seen)
- Tearing.
“legs” created by alcohol and/or residual sugar in the wine reacting with the oxygen in the air to create surface tension or tears on the glass
Alcohol indicator, not viscosity
Light, medium, heavy
- Gas bubbles.
Excess CO2 may indicate a flaw, bottled too soon after fermentation at cool temps and/or bottled under screwcap
Only mention if seen
- Nose - clean or flawed
TCA/corked - wet cardboard, old newspaper
Oxidation - muted & dried aromas
Maderization - cooked
Acetic Acid (VA) - vinegar
Ethyl Acetate (VA) - nail polish remover
Excess Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - struck match, wet wool
Brettanomyces - Band-Aids, barnyard
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) & mercaptan - onion, rubber, rotten eggs
- Intensity of aroma.
Powerful or subtle on first sniff
Low, moderate, high
- Age assessment.
Youthful - young, bright, primary fresh fruit aroma
Developing - beginning to show signs of age
Vinous - sign of age & oxidation, dried fruit or nutty
- Describing fruit aromas.
White wine:
Citrus - lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange, tangerine
Apple / pear - green, red, or yellow
Stone fruit - peach, nectarine, apricot
Tropical - pineapple, mango, papaya, passion fruit
Melon - cantaloupe, honeydew
Red wine:
Red fruit - cherry, raspberry, red plum, cranberry, strawberry, pomegranate
Black fruit - blackberry, black cherry, black plum, blackcurrant
Blue fruit - blueberry, boysenberry
- Fruit condition or character.
Ripe, fresh, tart, baked, stewed or cooked, dried, dessicated, bruised, jammy, candied
- Non-fruit character.
Grape or winemaking-related
Floral
White wine - yellow (daisy), white (baby’s breath, jasmine, honeysuckle)
Red wine - red (roses), purple (lilac, violet)
Fresh or dried
Vegetal
White wine - bell pepper, jalapeno
Red wine - bell pepper, jalapeno
Herbal or green
White wine - freshly cut grass
Red wine - oregano, sage, thyme
Spices
White wine - white peppercorn
Red wine - black peppercorn
Animal or barnyard
Petrol - fuel or gasoline
Fermentation - ML, carbonic maceration, lees contact
Botrytis - honey, ginger, saffron, mushroom
Leather or tobacco
- Earth & mineral character.
Earth - forest floor, compost, mushroom, truffle, potting soil, freshly turned earth
Mineral - wet stone, limestone, chalk, slate, flint
- Wood or oak.
Influenced by size, toast, and age of barrel and type of oak
Cedar, toast, smoke, dried baking spices, cinnamon/ clove/ allspice/ nutmeg, caramel, vanilla, dill, coconut, sawdust, cedar
Aromas of French and American oak.
French oak - subtle - vanilla bean, dried baking spices, cedar, sawdust
American oak - stronger - caramel, vanilla extract, dill, dried herbs, coconut, sawdust
Describe Old World vs New World aromas and flavors.
Old World - dominance of earth or mineral character, non-fruit, becomes tart on the finish
New World - dominance of fruit character, stays ripe or gets riper on the finish
- Palate - evaluate and describe flavor elements.
Confirm or add differences from smells on the nose.
Fruit flavor, fruit character, non-fruit flavor, earth, mineral, oak indicators
- Structure and other elements on the palate.
Sweetness & dryness - presence or lack of residual sugar, Bone dry/ Dry/ Off-dry/ Medium-sweet/ Sweet/ Lusciously sweet
Phenolic bitterness (white wine) - skin contact (rare), Yes/ No
Tannin (red wine) - astringency or bitterness, Low / M-/ Medium / M+/ High
Acidity - focus on salivary glands and finish, refreshing, tart, or flabby, Low / M-/ Medium / M+/ High
Alcohol - sensed as heat in nose, throat, and chest, Low / M-/ Medium / M+/ High
Body - feeling of weight on the palate, due to alcohol and glycerin, Light/ Medium/ Full
Texture - feel of the wine on the palate, Lean/ Round/ Creamy/ Rich/ Other
Balance - does any attribute dominate?
Length or finish - how long does the flavor linger, does it change, tart/ bitter/ astringent/ smooth/ silky, Short/ M-/ Medium/ M+/ Long
Complexity - number or aromas and interaction, Low/ M-/ Medium/ M+/ High
What are tasting markers?
Specific tasting notes that classic grape varieties and wine styles exhibit
Ex. Chablis - N: chalk, T: bone dry, lime peel, white flowers, mineral, M+ acidity
- Initial conclusion.
Possible grape varieties, Old World/ New World, climate, possible countries, age range
