Components of Wine Flashcards
What is Alcohol mean in wine?
Alcohol in wine should be in balance with other components, because too much makes the wine tastes “hot”. Perceptions of “heat” may diminish with age as other flavors develop.
Wines high in alcohol may have a perceived hint of sweetness because of the glycerine they contain.
What is Residual Sugar?
Sweetness (sugar) vs. Dryness is simple but often misunderstood concept- Sweetness means the presence of perceptible residual sugar (RS). It has nothing to do with fruitiness, only sugar level. Red wines are almost always dry, but even int eh dry wine category some wines are dryer than others. New world reds often have a touch more RS than do old world reds.
What does oak do to a wine?
Not all wines are aged in oak, but the ones that are always leave indications that they were aged in barracks. Two major types of oak used (or three…Slovenian oak) are American and French. Each having their own signature. Oak barrels usually leave behind some traces of toasted-ness, vanilla and baking spices.
What are tannins in wine?
Tannins are tiny, solid particles that come from grape skins, seeds and stalks- as well as exposure to wood (generally oak). Tasters need to evaluate both the quality and quantity of tannins. Tannins are found in all red wines, playing a leading role. While with wines have very little tannin because they are not fermented on the skins.
What is acidity in wine?
The main acid in wine is tartaric acid. (grapes are higher in tartaric acid than other fruits). The hard taste of tartaric acid is accompanied by the green apple taste of malic acid and the citrus taste of citric acid. Gluconic act occurs mostly when rotten or oxidized grapes are included in a wine. While all of these acids occur naturally in the grape, there are the other acids that occur because of fermentation, Lactic acid has a sour cream taste, while succinct acid has a tart, fruity taste, and acetic acid is vinegary. Acidity keeps a wine fresh as it ages and provides balance to the fruit and alcohol components.
What is carbon dioxide in wine?
When judging bubbles look for size, (tiny is better) and the number of CORDONS- or streams (more is better)
Some wines may have an “effervescent” quality to them such as Vinho Verde and Gavis from Peadmonte.
What is texture in wine?
The impressions of a wine’s texture on the palate may be expressed as “velvet” or “satin” for wines with a smooth or rich mouth feel, but without harsh alcohol or tannic sensations. “Loose-knit” might refer to a wine whose taste components are not individually well-defined and do not combine to make a balanced wine.
What is the “rim” on a glass of wine?
The rim refers to the top section of the wine in the glass where the wine meets the air and the side of the glass. You might say that an older red wine has a brick-ish “rim”.
What is “browning”
Browning occurs “in the bottle” with red wines. It is the outcome of the slow oxidation process that happens in bottle where pigment and sediment fall out or “rest” in the bottle resulting in sediment.
What does it mean when a wine is referred to as “star bright”
Star bright is referring to the clarity of the wine. Many in experienced wine drinkers prefer to see this kind of clarity in wine, because that is the way that white wine is “supposed to look”
What do “legs” or “tears” indicate in a wine?
These rivulets result from higher levels of alcohol in the wine and hint at the degree of the wines power.
What is perlage?
Perlage are the small streams of bubbles that one may see in champagne or other sparkling wines. It is a good indicator that the smaller and finer the perlage the finer the wine is.
What is mousse?
Mousse is the accumulation of bubbles or foam/head at the top of a glass of sparkling wine. A fine mousse is an indicator of a fine wine.
What does it mean when a wine is “closed” or “dumb”?
It means that the wine has a substantial lack of smell or a “closed nose”
What is the difference between aroma and bouquet?
The smell of a young wine is called the AROMA. It is an accumulation of primary and secondary smells.
Primary smells are those of the grape itself i.e. an experienced taster can smell lycée in a glass and know that a wine is Gewürztraminer and not Muscadet.
Secondary smells are those of the fermentation process. For example the smell of lactic acid or a creamy characteristic is an indicator that the wine has undergone malolactic fermentation.
The BOUQUET is an accumulation of tertiary smells of the wine. Bouquet os the product of the aging process of the alcohols, acids, esters, enzymes and other chemical compounds in the wine, both in cask and in the bottle.
