General Trivia Flashcards
Where was Chaptalization invented? By whom?
France, by Jean-Antoine Chaptal
Who were most responsible for draining Bordeaux?
Conrad Gaussen in the area around the town of Bordeaux
Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater in the Medoc (Lesparre-Medoc)
What factors determine the level of grape sorting at the winery?
Quality of the wine
Quality of the vintage
How are grapes for low quality wines typically sorted?
They aren’t routinely sorted.
How are grapes for high quality wines sorted?
First at harvest by the pickers, then either by hand on a moving/vibrating belt or by optical sorting machine.
What effect does vintage have on maceration lengths?
Poorer vintages require shorter macerations due to the lower quality of the fruit
What is a lieu-dit?
A specific, named piece of vineyard land within a Climat. While Climats are formalized by AOC legislation, lieux-dits are simply named in the centralized land register.
What is a climat?
A vineyard area defined by AOC legislation.
What choices must a grower make when selecting clones to plant?
Clones tend to vary in yield, disease tolerance, ripening speed, and aromatics.
Choosing one clone can produce a more uniform wine profile, but makes the vineyard more susceptible to disease.
What is a hectare?
A square area measuring 100 meters by 100 meters, equalling 10,000 meters (10 kilometers)
Why do some growers plant at higher densities?
It is believed that higher planting densities encourage competition among grapevines. According to them, more vines competing for the same resources produces smaller, concentrated berries.
What is remontage?
A process of pumping wine on top of a grape must during fermentation. It aerates the wine, helps to extract color, and regulates the fermentation temperature while keeping the yeast in the skins nourished.
What is pigéage?
The process of punching down and breaking up a grape must during fermentation. It helps to introduce oxygen, reduce the development of sulfuric compounds, extract color, and maintain the fermentation temperature.
What are the advantages of hand harvesting grapes?
- Grapes can be sorted in the vineyard
- There is less stress on the grapes (especially in early morning)
- Whole bunch pressing is softer and releases less phenolics
- More juice is produced at lower pressures due to the presence of stems
What are the disadvantages of hand harvesting grapes?
- A large, well trained workforce is required to harvest and select correctly
- Labor is difficult to find in many winemaking countries
- Labor may not be available at the prime picking hours
- Hand harvesting is slower and more expensive
- Whole bunch pressing is more time consuming as the stems take up more room
