Grape Types Flashcards
Are Chardonnays generally dry or sweet?
Dry
Which grape is probably the best known in the world?
Chardonnay
What flavours does one find in Chardonnays grown in a cooler climate?
Green fruits (apple)
Citrus notes and high acidity
Characteristic in Chablis and Champagne from France.
What flavours are found in Chardonnay produced in warmer climates?
Stone fruit (peach) Tropical fruits ( pineapple, banana) Often found in new world Chardonnays
Chardonnays tend to be ____ bodied.
Full bodied with a rich creamy texture.
Are Chardonnays often Oaked?
Many of the best Chardonnays spend some time in oak barrels developing flavours of spice and vanilla.
Describe most Sav blancs.
intense fruity and light-medium bodied with refreshing acidity. They are almost always dry.
What flavours are common in Sav blancs?
Can have strong aromas of green fruit, citrus (grapefruit, lime) and herbaceous notes (cut grass, green bell pepper, asparagus).
Name some popular Sav Blancs.
New Zealand Sav blancs
Sancerre & Pouilly fume from France
Characteristics of Rieslings
Range from dry through to sweet and light to medium bodied but above all they are intensely fruity with high acidity.
Common Riesling flavours
Range from stone fruits ( peach, apricot) to citrus (lime) and floral notes. They age we’ll developing aromas of petrol and dried apricot.
Riesling is the distinctive wine of?
Germany, producing a range of dry to sweet wines.
Alsace in France and Australia produce some very distinctive dry Rieslings.
Tannins provide a structure for ______
Sweetness
Too little acidity will make a wine ____
Flabby and seem fat
What does acidity do for sweet wines?
Stops them from being cloying and sickly by cleansing the palate.
A cool climate will produce grapes that are ____
Mainly white
High in acidity - usually ripens less
Lower in alcohol- less ripe = less sugar for fermentation
‘Refreshing’ wines
Hit climate produce grapes that are…
Mainly red ( they need more heat to ripen)
High in alcohol
Rich in flavour
Two examples of cool climate regions
Northern France ( champagne) Germany ( especially north)
Chablis
Light bodied French wine. Unasked with high acidity, green fruit (apple) and citrus aromas, made from Chardonnay grapes.
Champagne
French sparkling wine that can be made from a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot noir.
It had high acidity.
Sancerre
Med bodied French wine
High acidity, medium to pronounced flavours of green fruit and herbaceous notes.
Made from Sav blanc
Red Bordeaux
Medium bodied, high tannin red wine from France
Often has oak aromas and flavours.
Usually a mix of Cab Sav and merlot.
Pinot Grigio
Not a noble variety.
Grown in Italy,used for dry white wines that are light in body and flavour with high acidity.
Sauternes
Sweet white wine made in Bordeaux.
Full bodied with stone fruit (apricot) and honey flavours but with balanced acidity.
Soave
Light bodied Italian wine.
Citrus and apple flavours
High acidity
Cava
A popular light bodied sparkling wine from Spain.
Less expensive than champagne.
Chateauneuf-du-pape
From France
Full bodied red with red fruits and spicy flavours.
Rioja
From Spain
Med- full bodied red
Fruit and spicy lax flavours
Chianti
From Italy
Med bodied red
High tannin and acidity
Beaujolais
French red wine
Unoaked, light bodied,
Fresh and fruity flavours of red fruit and low tannins
5 basic steps to make red wine
Crush Ferment press Mature Bottle
5 basic steps for white wine.
Crush Press Ferment Mature Bottle
3 examples of hot wine climates
Australia
Southern France
Central Spain
3 Steps to wine tasting
Look
Smell
Taste
What to look for when tasting.
- Sweetness
- Flavour characteristics - fruits, flowers, spices, vegetables, oak, other
- Body
- Tannin
- Acidity
Range of ‘body’
Light, medium, full
What happens when black grapes are aged?
Softens tannins
Allows complexity to develop
Aromas of leaves and mushrooms develop.
Cabernet Sauvignon typical flavours.
Black fruits (black currant, black cherry) Herbaceous notes ( bell pepper, mint) Oak is often used to soften tannins and add spice/vanilla
Due to its high levels of tannins Cabernet Sauvignon is often_______?
Blended with other grape varieties such as Merlot in Bordeaux, which adds softness and body to the blend.
In Australia and California it is sometimes blended with Shiraz, this adds richness and spice.
Note some Cabernet Sauvignons…
Napa valley, USA
Bordeaux, France
Which grape is known to produce deeply coloured wines with lots of tannins and acidity with intense aromas. Black fruits and herbaceous notes.
Cabernet Sauvignons
Which wine is a popular softer alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon?
Merlot
Merlot in General…
Full bodied, low to medium tannins.
Intense fruity flavour/aromas from red fruit (strawberry, plum) to black fruits (blackberry, black cherry).
What is st emillion?
A merlot based wine from Bordeaux.
What are some common ways to alter a basic merlot?
Gains richness while maturing in oak, adding spice and vanilla.
Often blended with cab Sauvignon adding tannins, acidity, and aromatic fruit.
Compared to other black grape varieties Pinot noire tends to be?
Lighter in body and colour with low to medium tannins and high acidity.
What grape is used for red Burgundy?
Pinot noire
Common flavours in Pinot noire.
Red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, cherry)
What grapes are used in making champagne?
Chardonnay and Pinot noire
Typical Shiraz/Syrah
Rich powerful peppery, deeply coloured wine
Usually full bodied, medium to high tannins.
Typical Shiraz flavours.
Black fruits (blackberry, cherry)
Spice (black pepper, cloves)
Herbaceous notes (mint)
Many undergo ok aging (spice, vanilla)
What kind of Syrah would one expect from the northern Rhone in France?
Medium bodied, high tannins and black fruit aromas.
What sort of Syrah would one expect from Australia ?
Full bodied spicy wines with softer tannins.
At what alcohol, % does most yeast die?
15%
Name some dry red wines.
Chateaucneuf du pape from France
Chianti from Italy
Cabernet Sauvignons from California
Which wines are most likely to be medium sweetness?
Whites or rose
Name some dry white wines
Sauvignons blancs from New Zealand
Fino cherry from Spain
Brut champagne
How is a medium sweetness wine made?
By either removing the yeast before fermentation is completed or by adding unfermented sweet grape juice to the wine.
What should sweetness be balanced with.
Acidity
Example of light bodied white wine.
Pinot Grigio from Italy
Example of full bodied red.
Beaujolais from France.
Two medium bodied wine examples.
Merlot from chile
Burgundy from France
Examples of full bodied wines
Oaked Chardonnay from California
Shiraz from Australia
What does tannin do for sweetness?
Adds structure and balance.
What does BILC stand for?
Balance
Intensity ( flavours/aromas)
Length
Complexity
What herbaceous flavours are characteristic of young wines?
Cut grass
Asparagus
Green pepper
How many glasses of wine can you get usually pouring 125 ml?
6
How many glasses of wine can you get usually pouring 175 ml?
4
How many glasses of wine can you get usually pouring 250ml?
3
Sweetness in food does what to wine?
Increases sensation if bitterness, acidity, burning effect of alcohol in wine.
Decreases perception of body, sweetness and fruitiness.
Which two flavour elements in food tend to make wine taste ‘harder’?
Sweetness and umami
Two elements in food that make wine taste ‘softer’.
Salt and acid
What does it mean if a wine tastes ‘ harder’?
More drying and bitter, more acidic
Less sweet/fruity
What des it mean if a wen is made ‘softer’ by food?
Less drying and bitter
Less acidic
Sweeter/more fruity
What is a good general rule for pairing wine with sweet food?
Select a wine that is on the sweeter side.
Umami in food
Increases perception of bitterness, acidity and alcohol burn
Decreases perception of body sweetness and fruitiness.
3 examples of food high in umami
Eggs, mushrooms, asparagus, ripe soft cheeses.
Acidity in food
Increases perception of body, sweetness, and fruitiness
Decreases perception of acidity.
Salt in food
Increases body in wine
Decreases bitterness and acidity in wine.
Bitterness in food
Increases bitterness in wine.
Chil heat in food
Increases bitterness, acidity and burn
Decreases body, richness, sweetness, and fruitiness
What commonly pairs we’ll with oily, fatty food?
Acidic high tannin wines.
What pairs we’ll with salty food like blue cheese?
Sweet wines (subjective though)
High risk foods
Sugar
Umami
Bitterness
Chilli heat
Pairing wine with sweet food?
At least as sweet as the food
Wine with food high in umami?
More fruity than tannic
Umami will emphasize bitterness in wine.
How can umami be balanced in food?
The addition of acid or salt but not so much ad to alter the basic character of the dish.
Bitter food paired with what in wine ?
White wines or lie tannin reds.
Bitterness in food emphasizes bitterness in wine.
Chilli heat paired with what in wine.
White wines or low tannin reds, both with law alcohol. ( bitterness and alcohol increased by chilli).
Fruitiness and sweetness can be reduced so, higher levels of these May be considered.
Low risk food pairings.
Salt and acidity.
High acid foods should generally be paired with.
High acid wines otherwise wines can taste too soft and flabby.
High risk wines with food?
Pairing high bitterness from oak and skin tannins with high acidity and alcohol, complex flavours.
Low risk wines
Simple unoaked with little residual sugar.
Change relayivly little when paired with food
Classic pairing with oysters?
Champagne, unoaked ( no bitterness to increase by umami), light flavour (won't overpower delicate oyster) High acid (still seems vibrant and refreshing when lemon juice is used on oysters.
