Grape Growing and Labelling Terms Flashcards
What are the 4 stages of Grape formation/ripening?
Flowering
Fruit Set
Veraison
Ripening
What is Veraison?
The point at which the grapes start to lose their dark green color, starting the ripening process (white grapes turn gold and black grapes turn red then purple)
What 6 things does a vine need?
warmth, sunlight, carbon dioxide, water, nutrients
What is the process called in which the vine produces sugars?
Photosynthesis
Which parts of the grape contain tanins?
Stem, seeds, and skins (but in lower amounts than the stem and seeds)
What is botrytis?
A fungus that grows on the skin of ripe grapes causing noble rot. It makes tiny holes on the skin causing water inside the grape to evaporate and concentrating the flavours.
What are the ideal conditions so that botrytis doesn’t destroy grapes?
1) the fungus must grow on ripe grapes
2) the vineyard must have damp, misty mornings to allow fungus spread followed by warm, dry afternoons to limit fungus growth
When is the growing season?
April to Oct in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa in the South
What defines a cool growing climate?
Average growing season temperature of 16.5 C or below (62 F)
What defines a moderate growing climate?
Average growing season temperature between 16.5 and 18.5 C (62 - 65 F)
What defines a warm growing climate?
Average growing season temperature between 18.5 and 21 C (65 - 70 F)
True or False: Grenache can only successfully grow and ripen in areas with a warm climate.
True
What are the topical moderating influences on climate?
Rivers Slope Aspect Cloud Fog Mist Mountains Soil Air
General climate of an area is impacted by…
Latitude, Altitude, Seas
What are the day-to-day weather influences on grape production?
Temperature Sunlight Drought/Rain Hail Frost
When are grapes pruned?
While dormant in winter
True or False: A PDO is a GI?
True - GIs within the EU are broken down into PDOs (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGIs (Protected Geographical Indication)
What is a GI
A legally defined vinyard area within a country
True or False: Statement of origin is required on wine bottles.
True - although most wines come from GI’s not all do. But those who don’t must at least label the country or state/provence they come from.
True or False: GI’s outside the EU have very defined restrictions on how wine is grown and produced.
False. Unlike the EU, these GI’s have limited restrictions and many styles can come from a single GI, making it harder to understand style and quality.
What does PDO stand for?
Protected Designation of Origin
What does PGI stand for?
Protected Geographical Indication
What are the French PDOs?
Appellation d’origine protegee (AOP)
Appellation d’origine controlee (AOC)
What are the French PGIs?
Indication Geographique Protegee (IGP)
Vin de pays (VdP)
What are the Italian PDOs?
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC)
Denominazion di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG)
What are the Italian PGIs?
Indicatizione Geografica Tipica (IGT)
Vino da Tavola (although this isn’t listed in the book)
What are the Spanish PDOs?
Denominacion de Origen (DO)
Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCa)
What is the Spanish PGI?
Vino de la Tierra
What are the German PDOs?
Qualitatswein
Pradikatswein
What is the German PGI?
Landwein
True or False: the term vieilles vignes is legally defined to denote vines of a certain age
False - this is not a legally designed concept so can be misleading on labels
True or False: A wine from Australia labeled 2016 will be half a year older than a wine labeled 2016 from California
True - the Australian 2016 harvest would have happened in April and the Californian in Oct
True or False: The term Vendages Tardives can only be used in Burgundy
False - only in the Alsace
What does Vendages Tardives mean?
Late Harvest
What does a wine labeled ‘Chateau’ mean?
Indicates that the wine has been made from grapes grown on the producer’s land/estate rather than being made from bought-in grapes
What are the 6 categories of Pradikatswein in Germany? How are they ranked? Which 2 categories are affected by botrytis?
Kabinett
Spatlese
Auslese
Beerenauslese - botrytis
Trockenbeerenauslese - botrytis
Eisewein
They are ranked in order of sugar levels. K, S, and A can be sweet or dry whereas B, T, and E are always sweet. In order to qualify for Pradikatswein the wines must meet a minimum sugar level and come from one of Germany’s 13 regions only.
Which grape varieties are more susceptible to botrytis?
Riesling
Chenin Blanc
Semillon
Furmint
What are the 4 Spanish age labeling terms?
Joven - young, fruit (no minimum aging requirements), typically released the year following the vintage
Crianza - aged for the shortest period, must be aged in oak barrels prior to release
Reserva - must be aged for extended periods of time in both oak and bottles. means cooked/dried fruit flavors and complex layers of primary, secondary, and tertiary flavors
Gran Reserva - aged for the longest and have the most pronounced secondary and tertiary flavors
In Italy, what does the term Classico mean?
wine has been made from grapes grown in the historic centre of a region; often located in the hilliest part; typically produce wines that are more contrated in flavor
In Italy, what does the term Reserva mean?
Indicates a DOC or DOCG wine that has been aged for at least a set number of months before release
Vendage Tardives is a term that can only be used on wines from what region? What does it mean?
Alsace, Late Harvest
