Other fortifed wines Flashcards

Question

VDN (Muscat)- Climate

Answer 1

Warm Mediterranean: St Jean de Minervois: cooler Tx to altitude + calcareous soils

Answer 2

Warm Mediterranean

Answer 3

M of Frontignan. Oldest &a noblest variety. Small berries & seeds; white, pink, red or black. Sensitive to disease + lower yields. Orange flower and spices. BdV and StJM: mandatory 100% MBPG. Dominant in Greece.

Answer 4

Raised as wine and table grape. Larger, more oval berries vs MBPG. Inferior to MBPG but better yields. Grapey but less fine bouquet vs MBPG. In high proportion in Rivesaltes Muscat. Dominant in South Africa

Answer 5

Well suited for hot, dry, windy vineyards. Buds early, prone to coulure, ripens late. Can achieve hi sugar level. Paler than most reds.

Answer 6

Possible maceration for 24h before fermentation to increase flavour, body and reduce acidity. 95% spirit added to the fermenting must when it reaches 6% ABV to stop fermentation and reach 15% ABV. Mutage: process of stopping a must from fermenting via SO2 or alcohol. VDL and Vins Doux are 'vins mutes'. Vins de Liqueur: same as VDN but fermentation stopped earlier and therefore more spirit dominated. Designed to be drunk young.

Answer 7

Maceration. Mutage. Ageing can be made in various containers (stainless steel, wooden casks or bonbonnes), anaerobically or oxidatively (Rancio), in various containers (hot, humid, dry), indoor or outdoor. Bonbonnes: 25l glass jar for VDN storage often after wood ageing.

Answer 8

100%.MBPG. Fermentation stopped with spirit to 15%. Min residual sugar: 110g/L> more finesse + bouquet. Domaine de Durban concentrated + aromatic.

Answer 9

One of the three Languedoc VDN AC with Lunel and Mireval. 100% MBPG. Fortified half way to 15% ABV + min res. Sugar 125g/l. More orange- flower flavours. Domaine de Barroubio + Montahuc leading.

Answer 10

Nth of Perpignan. 70% of FR Muscat production. Muscat of Alexandria + MBPG. Skin contact + mutage sir Marc (ie skins)

Answer 11

Sweet mixture of just fermenting grape juice + pure grape spirit in various shades of red to brown. 90% Grenache noir (rest: G Blanc or Gris). Aged in cask or deliberately oxidated (sometimes exposed to sunlight) for min 2 yrs to produce Rasteau Rancio AC.

Answer 12

Finest and most complex; dry & powerful. No Muscat. Banyuls: min 50% Grenache Noir. Banyuls aged Cru: min 75% Grenache noir. Poor yields; often shrivelled b4 harvest (Oct). Alc added while must still on skins then elevated either in oak for min 30 mths (Gd Cru), kept in glass bonhonnes or barrels, outdoor in sun (Banyuls Rancio), local Solera system. Oxidatively aged= 'Amber/ tuile'. Hors d'age: min 5 yrs aging.

Answer 13

Mostly Grenache noir based but potential use of Grenache Blanc for white/ Amber styles. Stainless steel or wooden cask fermentation. Some Solera- type ageing system, glass bonbonnes or sun maturation. Improving quality.

Answer 14

From Grenache Noir grown in hi schist terraces. Produced in greater qty; less famous vs. Banyuls. Tannic in youth and deeper in colour. Dominates by Les Vigerons de Maury. Other: Mas Amiel.

Answer 15

Translates directly from French as a wine that is naturally sweet but is a term used to describe a French wine speciality that might well be considered unnaturally sweet. Vins doux naturels are made by mutage, by artificially arresting the conversion of grape sugar to alcohol by adding spirit before fermentation is complete, thereby incapacitating yeasts with alcohol and making a particularly strong, sweet half-wine in which grape flavours dominate wine flavours. They are normally made of the grape varieties muscat and grenache, and should have an alcoholic strength of between 15 and 18% and a potential alcohol of at least 21.5%. The minimum residual sugar level varies from 45 g/l for Rasteau and Banyils, to 100 g/l for the various Muscat de Somethings. The Greeks, happily ignorant of distillation, already knew how to make a sweet wine by adding concentrated must. Almost as soon as the techniques of distillation were introduced into western Europe, it was discovered that distilled wine, or alcoholic spirit, had the power to stop fermentation, thereby reliably retaining the sweetness so prized by our forebears. This is essentially how port as we know it, created nearly 400 years later, is made strong and sweet, and the technique is also used in the production of madeira and málaga. In each case, spirit is added when the fermenting must has reached about 6% alcohol, except that whereas the added spirit constitutes between 5 and 10% of the final volume of a vin doux naturel, typically resulting in an alcoholic strength of just over 15%, the added spirit usually represents 20% of the final volume of port, whose alcoholic strength is closer to 20%. The spirit added to vins doux naturels is considerably stronger than that added to port, however: about 95% alcohol as opposed to the traditional 77% used in port fortification. Nowadays, however, the spirit may well come from exactly the same source, one of France’s larger distilleries.

Answer 16

like young port, tastes relatively simply of grapes, sugar, and alcohol (although, since some fermentation has usually taken place, it may contain a more interesting array of fermentation products than most vins de liqueur, which are made by adding spirit before fermentation or just as fermentation is starting). Naturally aromatic muscat blanc à petits grains grapes are therefore particularly well suited to the production of vins doux naturels designed to be drunk young (and, usually, chilled to offset the sugar and alcohol). The best known of these golden sweet liquids that are made exclusively from this, the finest muscat vine variety, was historically frontignan. The Languedoc has three other Appellation Contrôlée vins doux naturels, however: Muscats de lunel, mireval, and, an exception far from the coast, st-jean-de-minervois, whose vineyards are even higher than most of those for the red, pink, and dry white wines of minervois. A similar Muscat is made in the Côtes du Rhône village of beaumes-de-venise and is probably easier for non-locals to appreciate than the southern Rhône’s other vin doux naturel appellation of rasteau, whose Grenache-based heady red and tawny sweet wines, some of them deliberately made rancio, have more in common with the vins doux naturels of Roussillon. The best of these, like the best ports, owe their complex flavours necessarily to ageing, whether in cask, bonbonne, or, occasionally, bottle. The greatest name is banyuls, which has benefited from some impeccable winemakers and, most important in this context, wine-éleveurs (see élevage). maury is a smaller appellation in the mountains with enormous and, occasionally, realized potential (although most wine made there now is dry table wine), while the extensive coastal rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes appellations are much more varied and sometimes traduced. Grand Roussillon is a largely theoretical vin doux naturel appellation designed as a lesser Rivesaltes.

Answer 17

are common, particularly among the Languedoc Muscats into which a little of the previous year’s output may be blended so as to smooth out vintage differences. It is common in Roussillon, however, to find indications of age and vintage dates, although most vins doux naturels are ready to drink as soon as they are sold. Many, particularly the Muscats, benefit from being served young and chilled, but the alcohol preserves the freshness of wine in an opened bottle for at least a week.

Answer 18

Are the appellations for France’s finest and certainly most complex vins doux naturels, made from vertiginous terraced vineyards above the Mediterranean at the southern limit of roussillon, and indeed mainland France. Grenache Noir must dominate the blend, constituting at least 50% of a Banyuls and 75% Banyuls Grand Cru (which latter appellation is ignored by individual producers of the calibre of Dr Parcé of Domaine du Mas Blanc, who could be said to have re-energized the appellation in the mid 20th century). The grapes yield poorly and are often part shrivelled before being picked in early October. Alcohol is added while the must is still on the skins so that a wide range of flavour compounds are absorbed into the young wine, which, after perhaps five weeks’ further maceration, is then subjected to one of a wide range of élevage techniques. For much of the last century a portion of Banyuls would be kept in glass bonbonnes, sometimes outside, before being transferred to large old wood. This oxidative style gave way from the 1970s or so to a fruitier, earlier-maturing style. The occasional reminder of the very austere rancio style of Banyuls, sometimes matured in a solera system that was made long ago can occasionally be found in the dustiest cellars. Some Banyuls is made to preserve the heady aromas of macerated red fruits while other Banyuls demonstrate the extraordinary levels of concentration that can be achieved by Grenache, heat, and time. Such wines are some of the few that go well with chocolate, although many a French chef has created savoury dishes, often with a hint of sweetness, to be served expressly with a particular Banyuls. This is the only French wine appellation, once routinely prescribed medicinally, able to offer 20- and 30-year-old wines as a serious proportion of its total production.

Answer 19

A large glass jar or carboy, also known as a demijohn, typically holding 25 l/6.6 gal, used as a neutral container to store wine, vin doux naturel, or brandy, often after a period of wood ageing.

Answer 20

Centred on the village in the Agly Valley of the same name, was one of roussillon’s famous vins doux naturels, a cousin from the hilly hinterland of seaside banyuls, and produced in greater quantity. But in 2012 an appellation for its red wines was authorized, in recognition of the increasing importance of these less alcoholic, terroir-driven, dry wines in the region, previously sold as vin de pays des Côtes Catalanes (its whites are igp Côtes Catalanes), at the expense of strong, sweet wines. Maury is on high inland schist at the northern limit of the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages area in the Agly valley. The ruins of the Cathar castle of Quéribus, a constant reminder of the area’s harsh natural environment, dominate the village of Maury. Summers are hot and dry, though slightly cooler in the higher west of the appellation. Both dry reds and red vins doux naturels are based substantially on Grenache Noir, with Carignan, Mourvèdre, and Syrah playing a subsidiary role in the dry reds and Grenache of other hues doing the same for the fast-declining production of vins doux naturels. The latter are invariably strong and sweet, those described as grenat or tuilé being based on Grenache Noir, although Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris may be used for the occasional vin doux naturel described as ambré or blanc. The co-operative, Les Vignerons du Maury, dominates production but since the 1990s the region has attracted an exceptional number of incomers too.

Answer 21

Is a pretty village in Vaucluse that produced such characterful southern red Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages that in 2005 it was awarded its own AOC for these spicy reds based substantially on Grenache and Syrah grown on over 600 ha/1,500 acres of vineyards. The village has some excellent high-elevation terroirs but for decades it was most famous for its unusually fragrant, sweet, pale gold vin doux naturel, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, grown on less than 500 ha/1,235 acres. Like the Muscats of the Languedoc (see frontignan, lunel, mireval, and, particularly, st-jean-de-minervois), this southern Rhône Muscat is made exclusively from the best Muscat variety, muscat blanc à petits grains, and occasionally its darker-berried mutation. Fermentation is arrested by the addition of alcohol to produce a wine of just over 15% but Beaumes-de-Venise can be more delicate and refreshing than most Languedoc Muscats. Apart from the extremely rare and expensive vin de paille, the Muscat is the Rhône’s only sweet, still white.

Answer 22

Small mountain village in the far north east of the minervois region that gives its name to the Languedoc’s most individual vin doux naturel appellation, Muscat de St-Jean-de-Minervois. It is made from muscat blanc à petits grains, to which alcohol is added during fermentation to produce a wine with at least 15% alcohol and 125 g/l residual sugar. Unlike these other Muscats produced closer to the Mediterranean, however, St-Jean’s vineyards are hacked out of the stony limestone and garrigue at 250 m/825 ft above sea level and the grapes ripen a good three weeks later. The elevation and less reliable weather can affect both quality and yields, which often have difficulty reaching the permitted maximum of 30 hl/ha, but the resulting wines are relatively delicate and refreshing.

Answer 23

Town north of Perpignan in southern France that gives its name to two of the biggest appellations of roussillon, Rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes, both of them vins doux naturels. Muscat de Rivesaltes, which represents about 70% of France's total Muscat production, can in fact be produced throughout most of Roussillon's recognized wine-producing area, together even with some sections of the Aude département to the north (including much of the fitou appellation). The Rivesaltes production zone is similarly generous but specifically excludes those vineyards that produce banyuls. In 2012 a total of 2,946 ha/7,277 acres were dedicated to the production of strong, sweet Rivesaltes in its many colours and styles. Muscat de Rivesaltes is the only Muscat vin doux naturel which may be made from muscat of alexandria as well as the finer muscat blanc à petits grains, which was once unpopular for its degeneration and unreliable yields; but new clones are being replanted. Average yields of these low-trained vines, often on difficult-to-work dry terraces, can be as little as 17 hl/ha (1 ton/acre) (the official upper limit is 30 hl/ha). Since the 1980s, more skilled vinification has helped improve quality, despite the domination of Muscat of Alexandria. Techniques include skin contact and mutage sur marc, i.e. on the skins. Muscat de Rivesaltes is already on sale the spring after the harvest and should be drunk as young and cool as possible, either as an aperitif or with fruit or creamy desserts.

Answer 24

One of the world’s great and historic names, of both grapes and wines, that has been benefiting from a fashion for wines labelled moscato. Muscat grapes—and many different Muscat varieties, several closely related, in several hues of berry—are some of the very few which produce wines that actually taste of grapes. muscat of hamburg and muscat of alexandria are grown as both wine grapes and table grapes (although it has to be said that Hamburg is much better in the second role). muscat blanc à petits grains is the oldest and finest, producing wines of the greatest intensity, while muscat ottonel, paler in every way, is a relative parvenu. See also various moscatels and moscatos. With such strongly perfumed grapes (thanks to a particularly high concentration of monoterpenes), described in French as musqué as though they were actually impregnated with musk, Muscat grapes have always been attractive to bees and it was almost certainly Muscat grapes that the Greeks described as anathelicon moschaton, and pliny the Elder as uva apiana, ‘grape of the bees’. Muscat wines, carrying many different labels including Moscato (in Italy) and Moscatel (in Iberia), can vary from the refreshingly low-alcohol, sweet and frothy asti spumante, through Muscat d’alsace and other bone-dry Muscats made for example in Roussillon, to sweet wines with alcohol levels between 15 and 20%, usually by mutage (as in the vins doux naturels of southern France and Greece). Since a high proportion of the world’s Muscat is dark-berried, and since a wide variety of wood-ageing techniques are used, such wines can vary in colour from palest gold (as in some of the more determinedly modern frontignan) to deepest brown (as in some of Australia’s sweet, fortified Muscats (see topaque and muscat). Most Muscat vines need relatively hot climates.

Answer 25

Is the cumbersome but descriptive full name of the oldest and noblest variety of Muscat with the greatest concentration of fine grape flavour, hinting at orange-flowers and spice. Its berries and seeds are, as its name suggests, particularly small, and they are round as opposed to the larger, oval berries of muscat of alexandria—in fact another synonym for this superior variety is Muscat à Petits Grains Ronds. But its berries are not, as its principal ampelographical name suggests, invariably white. In fact there are pink-, red-, and black-berried versions (although the dark berries are not so deeply pigmented that they can produce a proper red wine) and some vines produce berries whose colour varies considerably from vintage to vintage. Many synonyms for the variety include reference to the yellow or golden (gallego, giallo, gelber) colour of its berries. And Brown Muscat is one of Australia’s names for a Muscat population that is more dark than light, and resembles South Africa’s Muskadel in that respect (thereby providing more evidence of early viticultural links between these two southern hemisphere producers).

Answer 26

Is a Muscat almost as ancient as muscat blanc à petits grains, and also has dozens of synonyms, but its wine is usually distinctly inferior. In hot climates it can thrive and produce a good yield of extremely ripe grapes but their chief attribute is sweetness. (In cooler climates, its output can be seriously affected by coulure, millerandage, and a range of fungal diseases.) Wines made from this sort of Muscat tend to be strong, sweet, and unsubtle. The aroma is vaguely grapey but can have slightly feline overtones of geranium rather than the more lingering bouquet of Muscat Blanc. Its southern Italian synonym is zibibbo under which details of its Italian incarnations can be found. Today it is most important to wine industries in that old arc of maritime history Iberia, South Africa, and Australia, where it may be known respectively as Moscatel, Hanepoot, and Muscat Gordo Blanco or Lexia, a particularly Australian contraction of the word Alexandria. Spain’s total plantings had grown to 10,234 ha/25,278 acres by 2011, eight times as much as of the other major Muscat, called Moscatel Grano Menudo here. It is not known, however, exactly how much of this serves the wine industry, typically with sweet moscatels of various sticky sorts. Muscat of Alexandria’s various Spanish synonyms include Moscatel de Alejandría, Moscatel de España, Moscatel Gordo (Blanco), Moscatel Blanco, and Moscatel de Chipiona. In Portugal, its most famous incarnation is Moscatel de setúbal but Portugal’s under 1,000 ha of Muscat of Alexandria grapes, often called Moscatel Graúdo, have also been harnessed to produce aromatic, dry, much lower alcohol Muscats. This is also the fate of the majority of Australia’s static total of 2,400 ha of ‘Gordo Blanco’, the country’s dominant Muscat, once used mainly for fortified wines, although from cooler vineyards it can produce sound, unfortified wines that are sweet because late picked. Dry wine produced from the Gordo Blanco grown in Australia’s irrigated Riverland is typically used for blending with, and often softening, more glamorous grape varieties. Muscat of Alexandria is the dominant Muscat in South Africa—hanepoot is its traditional Afrikaans name—and was the country’s fourth most planted white wine variety in the late 1990s, but it is in marked decline and by 2012 less than 2,000 ha remained, mainly in hotter inland regions. For years it provided sticky, raisiny wines for fortification, as well as everything from grape concentrate to raisins. Today some drier, lighter wines are also made from it. It is still grown to a relatively limited extent in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and even Japan. Although Muscat Blanc is more important in greece, Muscat of Alexandria is grown widely there and is the Muscat that predominates in Turkey, Israel, and Tunisia, although in much of the Near East nowadays these grapes are eaten rather than drunk. In France, total plantings of Muscat d’Alexandrie, or Muscat Romain, have decreased slightly to about 2,700 ha, almost exclusively in Roussillon where it was introduced for Muscat de Rivesaltes.

Answer 27

A tasting term for fortified wines and VDNs. Its achieved by madeising the wine, oxygen exposure. The wine might be stored in barrels in hot storerooms, or immediately under the rafters in a hot climate, or in glass bonbons left outdoors to be susceptible to the changing temps of night and day. Has the same meaning as rancid, the wines that result have a powerful smell reminiscent of overripe fruits, nuts and melted or rancid butter.