Fundamentals: Winemaking, Wine Law Flashcards
Who is Arnald de Villonova (Arnaud de Villeneuve)?
This physician/alchemist resided in Montpellier in 1285 when he discovered the art of “mutage.”
This discovery launched a huge trade in vins doux naturels some 400 years before this winemaking technique was employed in the Douro Valley of Portugal to make port.
What is mutage?
This is the process of adding spirit to must to obtain a stable sweet wine.
It was first employed to make vins doux naturels in France. It was later used to make port.
How did Spain benefit from phylloxera?
French winemakers emigrated & settled in areas throughout northern Spain (Rioja, Navarra, Ribera del Duero, Cataluna) and brought with them their grape varieties and new winemaking machinery & methods (including 225L oak barrels).
What are tinajas?
These are clay jars that were historically used for the fermentation of grape must.
They were also used for wine storage.
There is a resurgence with these clay jars among natural winemakers who believe the vessel helps wines express their true character.
What are the various storage vessels for wine in Spain?
- tinajas
- wooden barrels
- pigskin bags lined with resin
- stainless steel tanks
What type of barrels are commonly used for aging wines in Spain?
- American oak: most popular from 1970s to the 1990s; was favored for imparting strong flavors into the wine (vanilla) and for being cheaper; works especially well with Tempranillo
- French oak: now in favor
- Hungarian oak: now in favor
What is vino tinto?
Red wine
Name the aging designations commonly used in Spain, as well as the traditional aging terms rarely in use.
Common aging terms:
* Crianza
* Reserva
* Gran Reserva
Traditional aging terms:
* Noble
* Anejo
* Viejo
What are the aging requirements for wines that undergo the traditional aging designations: Noble, Anejo & Viejo.
- Noble: min. 18 months in wooden cask
- Anejo (Mature): min. 24 months in wooden cask
- Viejo (Old): min. 36 months in wooden cask
What are the aging requirements for vino tinto under each specific designation?
Time in Barrel:
* Joven: None
* Crianza: 6 months
* Reserva: 12 months
* Gran Reserva: 18 months
Time Before Release:
* Joven: 1st year following harvest
* Crianza: 24 months
* Reserva: 36 months
* Gran Reserva: 60 months
What are the aging requirements for vino blanco under each specific designation?
Time in Barrel:
* Joven: None
* Crianza: 6 months
* Reserva: 6 months
* Gran Reserva: 6 months
Time Before Release:
* Joven: 1st year following harvest
* Crianza: 18 months
* Reserva: 24 months
* Gran Reserva: 48 months
Errata 2022
Tradionally, how did Spain’s warmer climates balance red wines with very high alcohol content?
The solution was to add white grapes to balance acidity.
Today, temperature-controlled tanks & modern equipment alleviate the need to blend white grapes w/ red.
What is vino blanco?
White wine
Why was Verdejo used to craft rancio-styled wines?
This variety is prone to oxidation.
But advancements in wine production methods allows winemakers to make fresh, fruit-forward wines with this grape.
What is vino rosado?
Rose wine
What rose wine producing methods are used in Spain?
- direct press: This process is popular in northern & northwestern Spain.
- saignee
How does direct press work?
In this process of making rosado wines, grapes are stacked on top of each other & gravity expresses the juice.
The resulting wines are both fresh & fragrant.
How does saignee work?
In this rose producing method (“bleeding” the tank), red grapes are crushed & placed in stainless steel tanks; the skins & juices macerate until the desired color has been achieved (usually 2-24 hours dependnig on the grape).
Name the primary grape varieties used in the production of vino rosado.
Primary:
* Garnacha/Garnatxa
* Tempranillo
Others being used:
* Bobal
* Mencia
* Monastrell
* Prieto Picudo
* Trepat
What is vino espumoso?
Sparkling wine
What method is used to produce cava wines?
metodo tradicional
Name the grapes used to produce cava.
Cava blanco:
* Macabeo
* Xarel-lo
* Parellada
Cava rosado:
* Garnacha Tinta
* Trepat
How are vino espumoso produced outside the official DO Cava boundaries labeled?
Vinos Espumosos de Calidad (Quality Sparkling Wines)
Describe the metodo tradicional process.
Still wines are blended into a cuvee which is bottled with the licor de tiraje (a mixture of yeast & sugar) to initiate a second fermentation. After fermentation is complete, the bottles are ages for a minimum of 9 months by law, although in practice, many spend even more time on the lees.
Subsequently the bottles are shaken, turned, and slowly shifted into a vertical position in order to collect the dead yeast cells into the neck of the bottle in a process called remuage/riddling.
Many small wineries in Spain still perform this task by hand due to cost considerations or tradition, but mechanization has become mainstream for larger-sized producers.
What is the Spanish girasol?
This was the first functional gyropalette created and used in Spain in the 1970s.
This machine consisted of a palete holding 504 bottles that sat within a hexagonal frame. Workers manually worked levers to shake & shift the machine in order to riddle the bottles within.
The French gyropalette was developed later and was fully computer-automated.
What is Vino Generosos?
Fortified wine
Name the only 3 grapes authorized for sherry production.
- Palomino (dominant; 95% of plantings)
- Pedro Ximenez: used to craft sweeter styles
- Moscatel: used to craft sweeter styles
What is destilado?
This is a distilled wine, usually made from the Airen grape from La Mancha, used to fortify sherry wine.
How is sherry aged?
- matured in 600L American oak casks
- partially filled to roughly 5/6th capacity
- some age underneath a blanket of film yeasts called flor, which controls oxidation
- other sherries are allowed direct contact with air
What is a solera?
This is a system of admixing younger wines with older wines.
No more than 33% of a finished sherry is ever bottled at one time in order to assure the perpetuity of the solera.
Through fractionalized blendings, each solera maintains its integrity, house style & patina of age.
Aging in this system is for a min. of 2 years, but most see considerably more time.
Name the 2 official aging designations for sherry.
- VOS (Vinum Optimum Signatum): signifying an age of at least 20 years
- VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum): requires min. 30 years in cask
How variable are the styles of sherry?
- from less oxidative to more oxidative
- from dry to sweet
What is vino dulce?
Sweet wine
Where in Spain is vino dulce produced?
- Malaga DO: Moscatel-based; some of Spain’s most sought after
- Jerez: sweet sherry using Moscatel & Pedro Ximenez grapes
- Navarra: Moscatel is used to produce late-harvest wines
- Alicante: sweet wines produced from sun-dried Moscatel grapes that is aged in oak
- Alicante: Fondillon; made from overripe, almost raisinated, Monastrell grapes; aged min. 10 years in solera
- Islas Canarias: air-dried Malvasia in a range of sweetness & oxidative styles
- Ribeiro/Rioja/Cataluna/Islas Baleares: experimenting
When did a Royal Decree define the origin of Rioja wines?
1902
When was a Consejo Regulador (Regulating Council) created in Rioja?
1926
What was the purpose of creating the Consejo Regulador in Rioja?
- control the use of the name “Rioja” on bottles
- mandate the use of a special bottle seal
When did the Wine Statute of Spain officially create the Denominacion de Origen/Denomination of Origin (DO) system?
1932
Which DO’s were awarded in the first official Denominaciones de Origen?
- Rioja
- Jerez-Xeres-Sherry
- Malaga
- Tarragona
- Priorato (Priorat)
- Panades (Penedes)
- Alella
- Alicante
- Valencia
- Utiel (Utiel-Requena)
- Cheste (now part of DO Valencia)
- Valdepenas
- Carinena
- Rueda
- Rivero (Ribeiro)
- Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda
- Malvasia-Sitges (now part of DO Penedes)
- Noblejas (now part of DO La Mancha)
- Conca de Barbera
What is the Statute on Vineyard, Wine & Alcohol Regulations?
This statue was introduced in 1970 as a further law to the Denominacion de Origen. It applies to multiple aspects of viniculture in the crafting of quality wine, including production methods, distribution, & sale
What is the Instituto Nacional de Denominaciones de Origen?
This law was created with the task of regulating & monitoring all of the DOs.
Although each Consejo Regulador reports to the National Institute, they are given a great deal of autonomy in monitoring their own regulations.
When was the criteria for Denominaciones de Origen Calificada (DOCa) created?
1988
What quality designations were established by the European Union? When?
1) Wines with geographical origin
* Denominacion de Origen Protegida (DOP)/ Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)
* Vino de Indicacion Geografica Protegida (IGP)/Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)
2) Wines without geographical origin
* Vino/Wine
Established 2008
How does the Spanish wine quality pyramid compare to the EU requirements?
The Spanish wine quality pyramid is more specific regarding quality & geographic origin.
As a result, the majority of wineries in Spain choose to label their wines according to traditional Spanish nomenclature.
What does “designation of origin” denote in Spanish wine production?
This designation denotes the name of a region or a specific place where the wines produced exhibit the quality & characteristics of the particular geographical environment from which they originate.
Grapes used must be sourced entirely from this area & production must take place w/in the cited geographic region.
List the 5 quality wine designations in Spain from highest to lowest.
- Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa/DOQ)
- Denominacion de Origen (DO)
- Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica (VC)
- Vino de Pago (VP)
- Vino de la Tierra (VT)
What are the requirements a region must meet to be eligible for Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa/DOQ)?
- region must have had DO status for min. 10 years
- wine must be produced & bottled w/in the region
- wines must cost a least double that of the national average for DO wines
What quality standards must a wine meet to hold the Denominacion de Origen (DO) distinction?
- authorized varieties
- production levels
- winemaking methods
- aging times
- the production area must have been recognized as a quality wine area for a min. 5 years
How many Denominaciones de Origen (DO) does Spain have as of 2019?
68
What is the purpose of Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica (VC)?
This designation was created in 2003 for quality wines produced in a geographical region that do not fit into a particular DO. It is a stepping stone to DO status; a region within this designation must spend a min. 5 years under it prior to applying for promotion to DO status.
What are the requirements of a region using Vino de Calidad con Indicacion Geografica (VC)?
- wines are produced w/in a particular region
- grapes used are grown in the same area
- quality/reputation of grapes/wine are due to the geographical environment of that area
How does the Vino de Pago (VP) classification categorize quality?
This classification is applied to wines produced by single estates. These wines typically represent highly-esteemed estates which have a unique soil or mesoclimate.
What are the requirements of wines produced under Vino de Pago (VP)?
- grapes must be grown under the distinctive conditions representative of the area
- must be produced/bottled w/in the estate
How does Vino de Pago (VP) differ from other classification designations?
In this designation, each Pago (estate) has the ability to set its own rules, including:
* authorized grapes
* viticulture
* vinification
* aging methods
This allows more flexibility for winemakers who have felt constrained by traditional DO restrictions.
As of 2019, how many estates are there with the Vino de Pago (VP) designation?
19
Name the Spanish classification designations that would fall under the EU’s IGP/PGI status.
- Vino de la Tierra (VT)
- Vino/Wine
What are the requirements of IGP/PGI wines under EU regulations?
- production must take place w/in the region
- min. 85% of the grapes used must be sourced from w/in the geographical area
What does Vino de la Tierra mean?
“country wines”
What are the requirements of wines labeled Vino de la Tierra (VT)?
- must come from a particular area
- must possess identifiable local characteristics
- must meet min. abv
- must exhibit variety typicity
These wines are made in a more relaxed viticultural & vinicultural standard than those from the DO/DOCa appellations. Some vinemakers opt for this over DO/DOCa due to its greater flexibility.
As of 2019, how many Vino de la Tierra (VT) are there?
42
Wines produced under the Vino/Wine designation are permitted to mention what information on the label?
- Country of origin
- grape variety
- harvest year
What was the previous name of the Vino/Wine designation?
Vino de Mesa (Table Wine)
What wines fall into the Vino/Wine designation?
- bottlings from unclassified vineyards
- wines made from grapes not authorized by other growing areas
- many winemakers intentionally declassify their wines as Vino de Espana in order to increase their flexibility in blending options & in the utiliztion of non-traditional winemaking techniques
What information must be present on a wine label in accordance with EU requirements?
- Name of the quality wine designation: EU nomenclature (PDO: PGI or IGP) or traditional Spanish terminology may be used (DOCa/DOQ, DO, VC, VPCa/VPQ, VP, or VT)
- Name of the region/appellation
- Actual alcholic strength by volume
- Country of origin
- Name of the bottler/producer; imported wines must have the name of the importer
- Volume (stated in liters, centiliters, or milliliters)
- Wine name (optional)
- Vintage year (optional)
- Aging classification (in applicable)(optional)
Note: sugar content must be listed for sparkling wines.
Note: wineries may opt to include the name of one or more grape varieties on the label.
